The Gun Control Debate
Gun
control and whether to have stricter firearm regulation policies has become a
debated issue in America. Media houses have taken this matter and ran with it
since almost every news station appears to be reporting on the matter of gun
control. For starters, gun control is used to refer to implementing control
police to help manage the production, selling and the distribution of guns
in the hands of the public. This topic has become so controversial to an extent
that it splits the nation into two with each faction having a different point
of view on the matter of gun control. This paper discusses the problem of gun
control in the US and argues why there is the need to implement gun laws in the
US. The paper, in supporting its argument, will present how Japan and Australia
handled their gun troubles and how they have since enjoyed the policies they
implemented.
The problem of gun policies
In
the United States, the second
amendment is used by anti-gun law proponents to defend their arguments. The second amendment allows citizens the right to own and
store guns in their homes (Blocher, 3). Since the passing of the bill, people
have embraced guns so much to an extent that statistics have shown the
existence of approximately one hundred guns for every eighty eight people. So,
it is safe to assume that there is a gun in circulation for every individual in
the country: man, woman and child. This goes to show how dire the situation has
become. In recent times, school shootings have become an almost common
occurrence where students walk into school with guns and massacre their fellow
students and teachers. These occurrences, if not anything else, are what makes
gun control necessary. However, attempts to get this done have been met with
fierce opposition from those who are against implementing gun regulation policies
citing the violation of their second amendment rights as their major argument
(Blocher,10). The topic has become political which has only served to
make the nation even tenser. Democrats appear to be in favour of the
implementation of regulation policies while those in support of the Republican
Party coming out as bent on opposing regulation laws (Blocher, 10).
The need for gun control policies
The
first and major reason why there should be gun regulation policies is the fact
that more deaths in America are as a result of gun violence compared to those
that come about from terrorist instigated situations (Hemenway, 2). According
to Hemenway (2), the money spent by the government in anti-terrorist defences
is more than what is spent in protecting citizens against gun violence. This
makes one to wonder why the government has not made any steps to rectify the
situation even after being aware of the statistics. The number of school
shootings that have been reported,
and the casualties left behind by the
shootings should be a reason for implementation of gun laws (Siegel, Ross &
Charles, 2100). The fact that school going children are able to access
guns and even carry them around to school only proves that the existing laws
are not strict enough to ensure the safety of the average person. Apart from
schools, gun violence in the streets of America is also alarming (Siegel, Ross
& Charles, 2100). The number of gangs that roam the streets, and are able to
easily get guns to terrorize law-abiding citizens is on the rise and needs to be stopped. This
can only be possible if there are stricter laws put in place to make access to
guns hard.
The
second argument for gun laws is that the existing policies are not being
followed to the latter (Squires, 20). Background checks on individuals before they
are allowed to own guns are not being done extensively as a result of
the tension that is between federal laws and individual state laws as concern
the second amendment. The irregular implementation of laws has resulted in a
reduced number of people being screened for existence of mental health
conditions thus resulting in mentally unwell individuals obtaining guns with
ease (Squires, 22). When the individuals kill people with these guns and plead
to be mentally ill in court, there is nothing that can be done. So, why not
have policies that strongly emphasise the importance of extensive and thorough
background checks to effectively handle the situation instead of allowing it to
escalate and become unmanageable? Prevention is better than cure, and making
policies that will reduce deaths from guns will in the long run benefit the
nation.
The
third argument for gun control is that the argument that people have guns for
self-defence holds no water at all. If statistics are anything to go by, guns
are rarely used
by the owners to defend themselves. Statistics show that between 2007 and 2011,
there were 29, 618, 300 crimes of violence were committed (Masters, 2). Out of
these numbers, only 0.79% of the victims used firearms to protect themselves.
So, why argue that ownership is for self-defence when numbers prove otherwise?
There should be stricter gun
laws because the existing ones endanger the right to life of other human
beings. If everyone
argues based on the constitution, then
people’s constitutional right to life should also be brought into the argument.
By having laws that do not protect this right, the government is failing its
citizens. Every individual has a right to security and life and it is the
government’s duty to see to it that any dangers to this rights that can be
prevented are not allowed to occur (Blocher, 7). How can the government therefore
assure its citizens of safety citing anti-terrorism trainings and spending when
it cannot protect
them from internal threats which are easier to control? (Jacobs, 3). Individualizing
gun ownership stifles the people’s right to free speech. The challenge posed by
guns to people’s freedom and consequently, their liberty, is monumental.
Liberty is the backbone of any strong democracy. Guns make this impossible
since they limit people from expressing themselves due to
caution over behaviour that may be viewed as threatening by gun owning individuals
(Blocher, 7). When arguing with someone who has a gun and they wield it
to one’s face, they are
communicating the end of the discussion
and trying to argue otherwise may result in unwanted repercussions. Free speech
and liberty can safely exist only when people are assured that nonviolent methods will meet their arguments (Jacobs,
7).
Gun control in Japan
In
japan, the weapons law starts by pointing out that no single individual is
allowed to own or wield a sword, or a firearm (Kopel, 15). Exceptions
to the law are minimal and people are only allowed to have firearms- usually a
shotgun- after extensive application and a procedure for licensing that takes
long. When allowed, the firearms are only for use in hunting. By controlling
guns and their ownership, japan has had few gun related deaths.
In 2008, the number of gun deaths reported in Japan was eleven compared to the
12,000 deaths reported in U.S.A. the framework to gun approach in Japan is the
exact opposite of the approach in America (Masters, 3). In Japan,
the laws starts by forbidding gun ownership while in America, the law enshrines
ownership. The results of the differences are stark. In a nation with a 128
million population, only two gun deaths were reported in Japan in 2006
(Masters, 3). Japan based its laws on the protection of the public’s
safety and everyone
can see the results. America needs to
borrow a leaf from this nation and change its laws. The argument for
self-defence can be overcome by giving police officers more power. It can be viewed
as a violation of individual liberty in America but then, it is a necessary
sacrifice that has to be done
to uphold the sanctity of the human life.
Making the trade-off between ensuring the safety of the public and maintaining
individual liberty is not an easy task but a worthy one.
Gun control in Australia
Australia
is a nation that did not allow the problem of guns to manifest to an almost
uncontrollable point. After the 28th April 1996 mass shooting that
claimed 35 lives and wounded 23 others in Tasmania, Australia moved to nip the
matter in the bud before it become more problematic (Chapman et.al, 367). The nation
banned private owning of guns and moved to carry out a mandatory buy back of
guns which saw half a million guns being returned to the state. In Australia, the law requires individuals to get a firearm license. While applying for said license, the
applicant is required to demonstrate a reason for wanting a gun that is
genuine. The law states that self-defence should not be cited as a reason
(Chapman, 3). Those given the license have their firearm’s serial
number recorded against the license to prevent cases of people obtaining guns
for other people. The results of these laws are that in ten years, the number
of gun suicides reduced in more than half the number. In 1995, the nation had
389 gun suicides while in 2005, there were 147 gun suicides (Chapman, 3).
In
conclusion, all everyone wants is safety for them and theirs and
lenient gun laws do not allow for this to happen. It is a shame that what can
be termed as a significant step toward gun control occurred in 1993 when the
Brady Handgun Prevention Act was passed. The difference in years since then and
now should act as a wake-up call to raise up and add more voices to this unique
course. The benefits of having strict rules should be looked at by policy
makers and used as arguments for gun control laws: reduced unnecessary loss of
lives that leads to a reduced work force thus consequently harming the nation. Activists
should also reach out to people’s humanity and preach the importance of gun
laws in helping preserve the sanctity of the human life. Also of importance is
the need to remember that the second amendment protects people’s right to have
guns. It however does not state that there should be guns in every home as has
been passed by some states such as Georgia.
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