The Role of the Government in Gun Control

It is for this motive that the Gun Control Act of 1968 was developed to limit the chances of the firearms falling into the hands of felons. This law employs strict licensing policies on the firearm industry, bars the sale of firearms to criminals, and defines the categories of offenses committed with the use of firearms (Esposito, and Finley 2014). The government plays a vital role in the enactment, amendment, and the implementation of various policies under the gun control act in order to enhance the appropriate and respectable use of firearms. Each of the three arms of the US federal government has a role in ensuring efficient and effective gun control policies that bring about peace and harmony in the society. The legislative branch of the government is tasked with developing effective policies that bar the use of firearms for criminal activities.

Secondly, the legislature has a responsibility of carrying out amendments to the existing laws under the gun control act. In their attempts to seal all the loopholes that exist in the regulation of firearm ownership, the lawmakers have played a critical role in amending the existing laws, thereby tailoring them to address the problems encountered that directly relate to firearms. One such law that has been amended is the Enhanced Assault Weapon Background Checks, which now requires that individuals aged below twenty be restricted access to firearms. It also requires that individuals undergo a training on safety and also, annual background check renewal. There are, however, a couple of ways in which the legislature has not acted to enhance the gun control laws.

He or she also plays a role in issuing executive orders that bar the use of firearms to perpetrate criminal activities. President Obama, for example, contributed to the issue of gun control by signing executive orders requiring that the gun sellers carry out background checks on the buyers to determine whether they have any criminal record (Valdez, and Ferguson 2012). The vice president is mandated to discharge the presidential duties in case of any event that incapacitates the president. It follows, therefore, that the vice president has been essential in ensuring that the gun control laws are implemented in the absence of the president, for example when the president is out of the country. The cabinet, on the other hand, consists of departments, such as that of Homeland Security, which is tasked with the responsibility of preventing and disrupting terrorists’ attacks.

It consists of various criminal and law courts headed by the US Supreme Court. This arm of the government is critical in interpreting the constitution and punishing the law offenders. It also regulates the acts of the other two arms of the government, that is, the executive and the legislature. For these reasons, the judiciary has, in a number of ways, contributed to the effective gun control policies. The first way is that it has efficiently interpreted the constitution to the gun dealers and as a result, law-abiding dealers have been able to conduct their businesses as stipulated by the constitution. In a nutshell, the three arms of the government are tasked with great responsibilities of regulating and restricting firearms from getting into the wrong hands.