Since the independence of America, the United States Bill of Rights in 1791 stated that “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”. So, the concept of owning guns is very old, but it evolved since the last century because of the increase in crime with laws like the National Firearms Act ('NFA') or the Gun Control Act ('GCA'). However, gun control is one of the most controversial and divisive issues in American politics. On that tone, I think guns should be banned in the US.
Since the legalization of guns in the US, we keep hearing of mass shootings happening around the country and the violence that emerged is hugely critical, so it’s time to make a move about the situation and revise the restrictions around gun laws. During 2017, the rate of crime increased, there were 427 mass shootings and more than 15,000 people were killed in firearm-related incidents, while over 30,000 people were injured, according to Gun Violence Archive (2019). These numbers are insane and show the seriousness of this situation. Let’s also recall the mass shooting that happened on February 14, 2018, in Florida during which someone murdered 17 people in class in a few minutes. This is evidence that the rate of crime due to using guns is increasing and that people don’t feel safe anymore to go to school or walk the street knowing that anyone around them could have a gun. Killing and owning guns became so easy and insignificant that lives keep getting taken away, condolences to families are not enough, and the situation keeps getting worse, but there is still no action from the authorities.
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Not only the rate of crime is constantly increasing, but America stands first in the circulation of firearms in the world, and they are actually encouraging the diffusion of guns, as we can see in National Observer (2018): “According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the vast majority of guns seized and traced in Mexico are of American origin”. Other statistics of the same website show that more than two-thirds of all the victims in the US were killed by guns and that Americans are forty times more likely to encounter a gun than most other human beings in the world, and that is explained by the huge amount of guns circulating. “In 2011, 270 million firearms were circulated in the U.S., almost 90 guns for every 100 people”, and nowadays “There are an estimated 393 million civilian-owned guns in the United States. That translates to 1.2 guns for every man, woman, child, and baby in America”, according to Brian Klaas, an assistant professor of global politics at University College London. These numbers show that America is at the center of the production of firearms and proves the danger they are creating to society when approximately half of the population own a gun.
Let’s now talk about how much America needs gun control because the laws and restrictions are not enough, but we will first briefly introduce the procedure followed by American to own a gun. Generally, when someone wants to buy a firearm from a gun store, they have to go through a quick background check. The seller will call the FBI, which will eventually use a database called the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to go through their customer’s records, and then, if he has a clear record, the purchaser can get his gun, but if he’s convicted of a felony or any type of crime, he won’t pass the background check (Euronews, 2017). However, a lot of mistakes and clerical errors can pass because the records of criminals are not always updated in the database of the FBI. For example, according to Euronews (2017), the shooter Devin Patrick Kelley was able to legally purchase a gun from a gun store and so was able to slip through the cracks of the system because of their mistake. Moreover, background checks are only made when you buy a gun from stores, but if a person wants to sell their gun, they could easily sell it to someone who has a criminal record, and so guns are circulating between people without knowing who is using it for a bad or good intention. In fact, 37,5% of the offenders obtained their guns from the streets (Daniel W. Webster, John S. Vernick, 2013). Additionally, each state has its own gun laws, and “out of 50 states, 35 do not require that gun owners hold a license, obtain a purchase permit, or register their weapons” (Euronews, 2017), which represents a big threat and danger to society. Therefore, these statistics show that the American government needs more strict laws about firearms and guns.
Although we know that guns can prevent accidents like home invasions and terrorist incidents, it’s very rare to see a mass shooting stop thanks to the intervention of a gun holder, but instead, he is more likely to scare people even more and get them confused, and by that shoot someone innocent rather than the intruder. In fact, 11,4% of the offenders detained in prison were licensed gun holders (Daniel W. Webster, John S. Vernick, 2013). This shows that even people with licenses are not able to take the situation in control and protect people during an incident. Moreover, more than 2000 unintentional shootings were registered in 2017 (Gun Violence Archive, 2019), and this number takes into consideration domestic violence, but also if someone who is angry or drunk could easily make an accident by shooting an innocent person without noticing because they are not in their stable state of mind. We also can’t deny the fact that the circulation of guns increases the rate of suicide because teenagers or even adults could have access to guns without necessarily having a bad record, and this creates a big danger since it’s hard to survive a gun blast: “In 2005, an average of 46 Americans per day committed suicide with a firearm, accounting for 53% of all completed suicides”(Matthew Miller, M.D., Sc.D., and David Hemenway, Ph.D.).
In conclusion, even if people have the right of defending and protecting themselves, the right of possessing guns has been abused and used to commit so many crimes that we can no longer neglect it. The crime rate is increasing rapidly and laws are not strict enough. People are losing families and friends because of barbaric behaviors and all they receive are some condolences, but it’s time for the authorities to make a move and stop this epidemic disease of killing.
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