Gun Control Laws in the United States

Almost every individual including those who ought not to be in possession of a gun often legally acquire the firearms due to support from the second amendment. This means that people will an intention of executing crime using the gun have been given a through pass by the law. Opponents of these laws, however, claim that restricting individuals from owning a gun makes them defenseless thus putting their lives at stake. They also believe that criminals can access guns even with the barrier in place. Therefore, they are of the opinion that people be permitted to access firearms as a way of promoting equal protection for all the citizens. One should be able to give adequate reasons as to why they want to own a gun besides using it for self-defense.

The government re-acquired the guns from the civilians through a buyback program which greatly decrease the number of guns in circulation. Following the completion of this program, the country recorded a drastic drop in the number of gun-related deaths, homicides included. While doing so, the government should roll out a comprehensive security measure to ensure that those who surrender their firearms do not live in fear of anything. Most of the illicit guns are believed to be in the United States with an estimated 310 million people who are not in the military owning guns. President Barrack Obama showed political goodwill in the fight for gun control at the national level. However, the Congress shot down his efforts thus making his measures null and void.

Spitzer (2015), being a member of NRA and Brady Centre, is recognized through the message in this book as a fighter towards the adoption of gun laws. The sixth edition of his book has several up to date data on people owning guns, deaths resulting from misuse of firearms, shootings in schools and new topics surrounding gun control saga. Like any other party interested in gun laws will like to discuss, Spitzer could not conclude his book without speaking about the Second Amendment. In the other countries that have banned gun ownership amongst the civilians, the worst that can happen is being hit by a fist, glass bottle or suffering being stubbed with either a blunt or a sharp object (Tashiro et al.

However, the worst happens when there is a gun involved in the process. Deaths resulting from gunfire have become part of the daily business being discussed in the United States. There are varying rates of deaths in different states as well as differentiating cases of homicides from suicides. Owning a gun and the sluggish implementation of gun control laws are attributed to rising cases of these deaths. Poverty and consumption of alcohol have been associated with frequent misuse of firearms. Out of all cases of violence cases reported to the criminal investigation authority, 82-90% involves victims who are under the influence of drugs. On the other hand, gun-related suicides are often reported among the poor people. These actions are attributed to the need by this vulnerable individuals to end suffering in their lives.

Blumstein (2017), in his research, recommended that the United States government should focus on issues that arise as a relation of low socioeconomic status before implementing the state laws. Even though the earlier ban did not show positive fruits, the researcher perceived that renewing it could have been the best decision for the Congress. He believed that having this law in place and enacting more laws regulating gun usage would have gone a great way towards promoting calm and reduce gunshot victimization in the United States. He also warned the government that if future bans will mimic the previous one, it will just be a waste of time and resources. Even though it may have an impact on reducing the number of shootings, it may not be effective in reducing the number of gun crimes.

Shootings involving a huge number of victims are likely to reduce. Possession of a gun may result in the transformation of a small conflict into a huge crime. The gun has vast power that is always appreciated whenever it is used in the right hands for the appropriate intention for example in combating criminal activities and terrorist attacks (Masters, 2017). Whereas a gun can be a good source of protection, it can also be lethal to one’s life. Using a handgun to end the life of a criminal is often lauded as bravery but using it to intentionally end the life on an innocent soul is followed by lots of condemnation from all classes of people. Therefore, that power of a gun should only be left at the best hands (security personnel) that are evenly distributed amongst the population.