Abstract
Private gun rights get shielded by the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. The decrees forbid breach of the person’s right to bear weapons. Gun possession represents an American custom older than the nation itself and is sheltered by the Second Amendment. More gun acts have left the right to possess weapons out of account, while others still advocate for the implementation of stricter laws. Gun debate represents a sensitive topic that is characterized by antagonism and lobbying. The US Constitution guarantees the right of American citizens to carry arms and defend themselves under the Second Amendment. However, there have risen various interpretations of the Amendment whereby various explanations get offered. As the number of cases of rampant shootings and gun violence has increased, calls have been made to institute stern gun laws to curtail and check the usage of weapons. Thus, the following paper examines glitches associated with the gun laws and offers recommendations for making the laws better. The article further examines different motives and reasons that exist and influence people to acquire guns or become gun holders. Effects of the improper and proper use of guns are also examined in detail in the essay. Various roles of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in the gun laws of today get highlighted with the revision of the law that President Obama is trying to pass in the Congress. A brief conclusion inculcating recommendations supplements the essay with an accompanying reference page.
Part 1
Introduction
The present gun controls do not discourage criminality, but gun proprietorship dissuades crime. Besides, firearm regulatory laws interfere with the right to self-protection and deny people a sense of security. The police cannot safeguard everyone all the time. There rises the need for gun laws, but there also lurks the danger of imposing stricter laws. Security and well-being of American citizens are paramount. Hence, the laws should comply with the Constitution while still maintaining the protective aspect.
Problem Statement
Severe gun laws make it more challenging for people to defend their households and folks. The right to self-preservation and resources of protecting oneself signifies a basic natural right that develops out of the right to life. Many firearm laws impede the ability of decent citizens to secure themselves against vicious lawbreakers (Karp, 2007). Gun laws, particularly those that try to sanction assault arms, impinge upon the right to own guns for hunting and games. Assault armaments are often more potent than other hunting rifles. Gun laws do not avert criminals from procuring guns or contravening laws (Branas et al., 2009). During many mass firings in the United States, shooters use a lawfully obtained weapon. The problem with the gun laws is that at most times they take away weapons from just inhabitants, leaving them unprotected and susceptible, while wannabe criminals ignore them. The alleged “gun show gap” categorized in the Firearm Protection Act of 1986 proficiently allows anybody, including sentenced criminals, to buy firearms without a background check. The gun laws give too much supremacy to the regime over people (Malcolm, 2002).
The factor may result in state dictatorship and administration taking away all weapons from citizens. Gun control laws such as background checks and micro-stamping are an invasion of privacy. Contextual checks would require management databanks that keep individual discrete data on gun owners, comprising a name, address, psychological health account, illicit chronicles, and more open data (Bryant, 2012). Micro-stamping correspondingly requires a record of gun owners and programs, whereby their personal guns would have a stamp on cartridge cases. More gun regulation is needless because relatively few people get slain by guns (Lott, 2010). More Americans’ deaths get attributed to health factors like heart illnesses, malignant growths, diabetes, and many others than to the death from a gun whether by misfortune, manslaughter, or suicide (Miller, Hemenway, & Azrael, 2007). The gun laws and lower gun possession rates do not thwart suicides. A supposition that limitation or abolition of guns would have an optimistic effect on general suicide rate in the US does not hold up under the analysis (Winkler, 2013). The gun laws have the problem of more gun controls, while the only thing that is needed is training on weapons and firearm care is needed to stop accidental gun losses (Lott, 2012). The factor arises since weapons do not kill persons, but individuals kill people and, therefore, need more gun training and psychological ailment screening to prevent annihilations (Lott, 2010). The laws lack the drive to train people on values and principles and fail to curb the role the media plays in exalting violence and promoting the lack of reverence for the law. To elaborate on the truthfulness of the declaration, The Sporting Arms, and Ammunition Manufacturer’s Institute states that an accountable and informed gun owner becomes seldom tangled in a gun accident of any kind. The factor arises whether in the field, at the range, or at home (Miller et al., 2007). It gets perceived that children taught about weapons and their appropriate uses by family members have much lower rates of felony than children in families without weapons. The gun controls inhibit citizens from defending themselves from external aggressors (Miller et al., 2007). Protection gets restricted and, hence, citizens are susceptible to domestic crime and the threat of external invasion. Gun laws should, in turn, be developed to provide for a disorderly armed community prepared to assist in the mutual defense against a foreign invader or a local autocrat. The gun laws do not work in Mexico and, thus, they will not work in the United States. The factor arises since Mexico has some of the sternest gun control laws in the world, but experiences most gun shootings and killings (Killias, 1993). The country also has only one legal gun store with strict procurement measures. Another problem with gun laws is that they are discriminatory. The current gun regulatory laws get often aimed at the inner city, underprivileged, and black societies who are alleged to be riskier than white gun owners (Miller et al., 2007). Some gun controls are still founded on ethnic fears where whites with assault weapons walking in the street get considered as protectors of American values, while blacks in that perspective get viewed as a public adversary number one (Winkler, 2013). The factor goes back to the Civil War where blacks were not permitted to carry arms for fear of rebellion. Gun laws have proved to be unsuccessful since there is no connection between waiting periods and homicide or theft rates. For example, outlawing high-capacity magazines will not inevitably discourage crime because even small firearm magazines can become altered in seconds (Branas et al., 2009). Totally prohibiting guns will create the prospect of a black market helping offenders get more access to guns than upright citizens. Systematized crime will therefore flourish. If the existing gun laws get applied exclusively, there will be no need for extra laws. Evil administrations in the past have used gun archives as a way of tracing and seizing privately-owned arms (Parker, 2011). The gun laws are poorly implemented, leaving felons with a window of buying guns even when the decree says that they should be forbidden (Killias, 1993). Some breaches also exist in the state law. The riskiest gap subsists because the federal Brady Law only requires background checks for sales by an approved gun merchant. Because of this, roughly 40% of all guns bought do not necessitate background checks, permitting precarious people to skirt the law. State gun laws also decree matters to a greater extent in order to protect residents in adjacent states. Flaws in the American neighboring countries’ gun laws relate to the number of crime guns traded across state lines. Guns acquired in such countries get often marketed into the United States where they impact crime acts (Hemenway & Miller, 2000).
Question Statement
More gun laws should be introduced to reduce gun losses. The state should also guarantee that high-capacity magazines should be forbidden because they often turn manslaughter into mass killing. The factor arises when mob members use high-capacity magazines to reimburse for the lack of precision while maximizing the chance to damage. The gun laws should also be comprehensive to defend women from local abusers and pursuers. Stern gun laws should be introduced to control the flow of legitimately owned guns getting stolen and being used by lawbreakers. Besides, gun decrees should be endorsed to reduce collective costs related to gun violence (Malcolm, 2002). Despite various protests, background checks, as well as bans on assault arms and high-capacity magazines should be instituted as measures of gun controls. In reducing the number of unintended gun losses, gun control regulations such as obligatory safety structures should become ordained. Armed citizens are unlikely to halt crimes (Parker, 2011). On the contrary, armed citizens are more likely to make precarious circumstances, making mass shootings more lethal (Hemenway & Miller, 2000). Therefore, armed citizens should be subjected to protocols.
The factor gets complicated by the fact that a normal gun owner, no matter how accountable, is not skilled in law enforcement or on how to handle severe situations (Lott, 2012). In most cases, in the event of a risk, increasing the number of weapons creates a more unstable and hazardous situation. The state should enact preventive gun laws to lower gun killings and suicide rates (Beautrais, Joyce, & Mulder, 1996). The gun decrees should clearly explain to citizens that the Second Amendment has been envisioned to safeguard the privilege of armies to possess firearms, not the right of persons.
The gun laws should also ensure that noncombatants, including hunters, should not own military-grade firearms or firearms accessories. Inhibiting gun owners from acquiring assault rifles is not unlawful. Assault rifles get only meant for the police or military, not civilians. Gun laws sanctioning background checks and compulsory waiting period should be improved to deter offenders and possible disasters (Bryant, 2012). Gun laws should be enhanced to ensure guns are listed and branded before they are used to commit a crime. The current gun conventions have significant ambiguities and should get plugged.
Utility of Study
The utility of this particular research manifests itself through the following aspects. Firstly, it sheds light on possible reasons of gun possession. In addition to that, the paper is merely an attempt to give insight into the National Rifle Association’s role in regulating arms proprietorship. Lastly, the paper outlines key aspects of the current American administration’s arms legislation, which, in turn, may presumably increase the audience’s awareness of the matters being discussed.
Part 2
Literature Review
Upon reviewing the literature being used to conduct a research, it has been important to find out why gun possession remains topical in the United States of America to these days. Besides, studying the state current administration’s arms legislation has been another important objective. Hence, the following tendencies in arms proprietorship and arms legislation have been revealed in the course of review of literature incorporated within this particular research.
Reasons for Gun Possession. Gun possession represents a vital topic and people have diverse reasons for having guns and keeping themselves armed. Though some people may have their personal motives for gun proprietorship, the following reasons are among the most collective ones with the proper effect.
Self-protection. The factor represents the most authoritative common reason for anyone to own a gun. According to the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics, any person may be the target or the envisioned victim of a ferocious crime at some point in life. Many people select to arm themselves to stay safe and keep their relations safe due to the risk of vehement crime in mind (Karp, 2007). The police cannot protect citizens all the time and even if they could, they lack the compulsion to do so, making one responsible for one’s own security. The factor arises due to the strong protection urge. With the prospect of a violent attack, some gun holders choose to carry a weapon, while others choose to keep their arms at home in case of a theft or home attack (Malcolm, 2002). Individual defense, therefore, remains the main goal in either instance.
Hunting. Various explanations exist as to why people hunt. Various individuals hunt for sport, while others hunt out of the requirement for nourishment, skins, and even pets. Skilled hunters or those who hunt may own a variety of firepower based on the game type for which they are hunting. Long weapons like rifles and shotguns are normally used by hunters though some hunters use handguns when hunting for animals of all sizes.
Sport Shooting. People who take part in firing sports own guns for fun. These people have a wide variety of interests and comprise those who engage in challenge sharpshooting, those who aim at clay pigeons, and even those who fire at tin cans and glass flasks in the yard. Sport shooters may have a selection of guns for diverse types of shooting just like other firearm holders.
Collecting. Some firearm holders are fond of gathering and amassing attractive weapons with historical or individual meaning, but have absolutely no craving to use guns. The collected guns may be exhibited conspicuously in a case or may ultimately wind up in a dusty box in the loft. However, some amassers are also shooters and proudly bring their prized arms to the range or to shooting events. Mostly, collectors sometimes focus on a specific type or era of a firearm such as revolvers, shotguns, law implementation firearms, and Civil War era weapons among other deliberations (Killias, 1993). Other collectors enjoy gathering a wide assortment of guns of all types and ages.
Exercising the Right. Some people own arms just to exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms. Normally, people who are ardent about this right also own guns for other reasons like hunting and self-defense. Nonetheless, this is a mutual reason for gun possession and many owners will say that the best way to keep the right is by exercising it (Karp, 2007).
Gun Holders by Default. Some people become firearm owners by default. When a parent or forerunner dies and leaves behind weapons, the heir sometimes becomes a hesitant or uninterested gun owner. If the heir is reluctant to auction or discard of the rifle, they may keep it in a box or use it to start their assortment.
Spirit of Founding Ancestors. The factor becomes another outstanding reason to own a firearm and to get experienced in its use. People who founded the USA felt intensely that its inhabitants should be armed and ready to use the arms at any time. The founding fathers wanted the American public to be armed and experienced in the use of arms for defense against a dictatorial administration more than anything else.
As an Asset. Guns rarely decline in worth provided that they are bought at a non-inflated amount and are not battered or greatly used. Some may raise the price over just a few years’ time. Some individuals view weapons as investments and are satisfied to keep them till their significance develops.
Historical Motives. Numerous gun owners like guns mainly due to their historic value. Guns have become celebrated in history like the old Kentucky rifle or the original Colt Peacemaker by having historical value. Other people favor military weapons that have a certain meaning to those whom relations have served in the army during a war. Many rifles are pieces of history as much as they get used for other purposes and it becomes vital to preserving that history lest it is forgotten.
Interest in the Mechanics of Firearms. Most guns represent automated marvels. Weapons are fine machines that execute a job by merging engineering brilliance with raw power, which gives striking results. Many weapons are perfect machines and the sheer appreciation of the fact may drive various fans to own them for that purpose alone.
Family Legacy. A family heritage of gun possession is often a factor in determining whether one will become a gun owner as many get their first weapons as gifts from parents. Moreover, when parents have taken more care to teach and illustrate proper gun-handling abilities and other weapons knowledge, there exists a higher chance that the receiver of the legacy will embrace it. However, guns have adverse effects when used wrongly.
Guns are used for committing crimes each year. The factor has caused criminal migration from gun havens caused by the criminals’ coward avoidance of armed householders and concealed-carry civilians (Killias, 1993). When offenders meet helpless, defenseless residents, they use guns to engage in criminality. Guns are used by inner city gangs and drug dealers to commit wrongdoings. The factor raises concern since these comparatively small and geographically limited groups constantly commit major gun crimes that usually peak as turf wars erupt over drug war changes. Most females are raped, assaulted, or slain with the help of guns (Malcolm, 2002). Firearm holders engaging in self-protection takes the law into their hands that are wrong since only law enforcers and felons have the liberty to take the decree into their hands (Bryant, 2012). A criminal does not require anyone’s authorization to use a firearm, but acts on own parameters. Weapons have been used by children and young people to dissipate images created by violent video games and TVs, resulting in nasty outcomes. Sometimes, a disturbed lunatic may go on a firing spree at any time and would result in deaths. Guns also get used to committing suicides, homicides, and murders (Beautrais et al., 1996). Guns also get used for wrong purposes like threats where one meets his or her ends by intimidating the use of a firearm. Guns, when used wrongly, have been observed to be used in international hijackings where the result is mass destruction. The rise of extremist groups gets facilitated by the availability of weapons that are used to commit atrocities against the humanity and regimes. Depressed people use guns as the only easy way out leading to death or injury (Conwell et al., 2002). Weapons, when used as toys, signify an improper use that will lead to a kid using the gun, unknowingly causing loss. Firearms have been used incorrectly to topple elected regimes and impose a dictatorial rule (Bryant, 2012).
Role of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in the Gun Laws of Today. The NRA represents an American charitable body established in 1871, which campaigns for firearms rights. The institution has informed its members about firearm-related bills since 1934, pushing for and against the regulation since 1975. The NRA has diverse roles in the gun decrees of today. The current NRA continues to teach gun capability and security. The institution trains noncombatants and police officers, the youth and adults in several programs. The group also publishes several periodicals and promotes competitive marksmanship actions. The establishment has influenced the law, contributed to, instigated litigations, validated, and opposed various aspirants. The NRA has the responsibility of defending and shielding the Constitution of the United States. The role becomes especially topical with respect for the inalienable right of all American citizens to obtain, own, amass, show, convey, carry, handover possession of, and relish the right to bear weapons (Parker, 2011). Through the Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), the NRA lobbies for gun privileges modifications. The NRA opposes most new gun-control bills, calling instead through the NRA-ILA for a firmer implementation of prevailing decrees. The establishment campaigns for augmented sentencing for gun-related criminalities. The body advocates for concealed carry in the United States and takes positions on non-firearm hunting issues. The factors represent assisting wildlife administration programs that allow hunting and opposing constraints on devices like crossbows in its contribution to the contemporary firearm laws. The establishment opposes the Arms Trade Treaty. The NRA has been important for the defense and protection of the Second Amendment. The NRA fights for free retention and ownership of weapons and guns, while others want tougher gun decrees and regulations instituted. The NRA lobbied for the Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act of 2006, which forbids impounding of legal guns and weapons from citizens during confirmed states of disaster by any centralized, national, or local agency. The NRA’s defense of the right to bear arms makes the body a civil right defender at its humblest purpose. The NRA has instituted the National School Shield Program that remains to be realized to date, guaranteeing that armed police officers guard scholars in every US school.
Obama and Gun Control. With a view to addressing rampant gun violence in the United States, President Obama has disclosed a major amendment comprising of 23 administrative actions and three high-level memos, most of which need congressional consent. The revision requires background checks for all firearm deals and reinforces the background check system. The factor will include eliminating obstacles under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The move will ensure countries share data more freely about psychological well-being issues relating to prospective gun buyers. The revision offers states financial motivations to share data. The move will ensure that records on illegal history and people banned from gun possession due to mental health reasons are more available than before. The plan also bans military-style assault weapons and limits magazines to a capacity of ten rounds. The revision provides additional tools to the law enforcement. The plan proposes a crackdown on gun trafficking by asking the Congress to pass the bill that addresses ambiguities in gun marketing laws. The apparent statute institutes strict consequences for “straw purchasers” who pass a background check and then permit weapons to barred persons.
Methods Section. Data Collection Process
The essay has employed numerous data collection methods to address specific information through the attempt of writing it down in an intelligible and concise way. The data methods involve questionnaires, as well as interviews with gun holders and individuals from weaponless homes. Publications from relevant bodies like the NRA have also been influential in the quest for data acquisition. The essay has also analyzed crime statistics in the United States and particularly those involving guns and gun violence.
Part 3
Findings and Discussion
The plan urges the Congress to pass the government’s $4 billion bid to keep 15,000 government and local law enforcers on the street to help prevent wrongdoings. The plan exploits efforts to deter firearm violence and prosecute gun felons. The head of the state calls upon the attorney general to work with US attorneys across the country to define gaps in the area under consideration and where complementary resources are suitable. The plan provides an exercise for active shooter circumstances to 14,000 law enforcement officers, first responders, and school officials. The review encourages the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to issue a report to healthcare providers that the national law does not forbid them from informing about intimidations of violence to appropriate establishments.
The modification launches a state gun security crusade to encourage responsible gun ownership and authorizes the Consumer Product Safety Commission to survey issues relating to gun safety locks. The plan helps schools invest in well-being. The president’s strategy calls for more school resource officers and therapists in all institutes through the Community Oriented Policing Services hiring program. The plan also calls for the state administration to assist schools in evolving disaster management plans. The revision increases mental health consciousness through enhanced teacher training and referrals for treatment (Conwell et al., 2002). The plans call for training of 5,000 additional mental health professionals nationwide. The revision nonetheless calls for coverage of psychological health treatment under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.
Conclusion
Guns have been the center of debate in the United States with numerous and rampant gun violence and gun issues emerging. Gun control laws have pros and cons with both sides have supporting data. However, even though there are some laws governing the possession of arms, care should be taken to ensure protection of the constitutional rights. Nonetheless, stringent measures should be taken to curb rising cases of gun violence or improper gun usage while still upholding the citizens’ rights.
A scenario, under which the state authorities grant citizens a permission to possess weapons, proves that governmental law-enforcement agencies trust citizens. Technically, the aforementioned scenario may increase some risks. The risks, in turn, are associated with the fact that accidents involving weapons are becoming more frequent. Apparently, gun control should be more severe. The essence of licensing should be clarified as registering procedures, proprietorship/possession of weapons, acquisition of ammunition, as well as the right to bear and use arms are misinterpreted. Individuals should undergo by all means a more thorough checkup and control in order to obtain a possession and acquisition license.
The latest events prove how fragile systems created by people are. Societies are vulnerable politically and economically. Further research should be designed to investigate the impact of technology and the most tendentious social process (such as migration and globalization) relating to gun control legislation. More specifically, further research should elaborate possible and adequate solutions to eliminate the negative impact of arms escalation on the spread of violence.