Gun Control in America

Debate: Gun Control

 Many activists and US government officials in light to the disasters in Virginia, San Francisco and Colorado, feel the Congress should implement stricter gun policies and rules to control the possession and access to arms. Nonetheless, advocates who are fighting against more stringent measures on possession of weapons have presented their argument which favors their side concerning the issue. Both the two sides of the debate feel they are accurate on the evidence they provide regarding the issue while the other sector is wrong. Both the gun control and guns’ right groups have been battling by influencing the Congress for over a century to pass legislations and laws in their favor (O’Brien et al. 08).

 However, I believe the government should put stricter measures to avert further shooting that has led to the loss of innocent lives in schools, cities and churches. Though the information on such disasters regularly develops gradually, the policy-makers should make few changes to prevent future occurrence. Deaths resulting from mass shooting are a comparatively small fraction of the general homicidal vehemence in the US; however, they are heart-wrenching when they ensue (Domenech, 25). The issue of the mass shooting is more severe in America than in most of the developed nations, and it is getting worse every moment of the day.

 In light of these disasters leading to the wounding of government officials such as the gunfire in Virginia that injured House Majority Whip, Mr. Steve Scalise has increased the battle for arms control. Besides, the shooting that occurred in San Francisco UPS facility which resulted in the death of four citizens on the same day has brought another set of reactions from activists concerning the mass shooting. These are some of the effects of arms possession among reckless citizens which has brought public outcry requiring the government to put stricter laws such as bans on attack weapons and vigorous background checks (Harlan et al., 11).

 The American society has shown a long history of citing the second amendment of the constitution which allows citizens to possess arms for their protection when the need arises. Consequently, the second amendment has remained to be a hot-button issue making the headlines on social media whenever a mass shooting takes place or towards election period. The battling between the guns’ control and guns rights groups has brought the issue to the country’s highest court two times in the last two years.

Useful info: "I need help writing an essay!" - Is a common request among busy students. Writers at GrabMyEssay will help you out.

 In 2008, the Supreme Court heard a case of District Columbia v. Heller where the court made a ruling in favor of Heller who was in possession of arms. However, the citizens and activists felt the decision mainly applied to the federal laws while failing to handle the issue of state and local laws on gun control. As a result, in 2010 the Supreme Court made a ruling that having arms by citizens would also apply at the local and state level. The decision was in favor of the guns’ right group as it lifted the 30-year-old gun ban in Chicago. Even though many praised the decision especially those citizens of Chicago State, it was going to be difficult to get law-abiding citizens to have the possession of this firearms. Consequently, mass shooting has risen over the last five years since the court made the ruling that lifted all the bans on possession of guns.

 In most instances, we have had the weapons’ right group claiming that the government should keep the Constitution and respect the second amendment without thinking about its effect on the overall population. Nevertheless, the other side claim there is need to evolve and amend the Constitution to reflect the current era in case the government want to protect more lives. They argue that framers of the Constitution drafted it based on the time it was written whereby it was the responsibility of citizens to possess weapons for the protection of their country when the need arises. However, it is now needless for citizens to own arms initially meant for the military purpose at a time when the nation is safe from intruders or colonial government.

 Additionally, back then the government did not take background checks seriously. However, in the 21st-century background checks are of great importance to ensure deadly arms do not land in the hands of reckless citizens or those with psychiatric complications. One possible cause of increased mass shooting and active fire is putting lethal weapons in the hands of individuals suffering from psychological complications such as depression and drug abuse.

 In a nutshell, imposing bans and putting harsher regulations and measures on gun possession will possibly avert future crimes and further deaths of innocent citizens in the US. Moreover, the US government should implement more stringent laws on gun control and background checks to make sure that deadly weapons do not reach mentally ill individuals in the society. However, some states such as New York, Chicago and San Francisco have attempted to prevent mass shooting by passing legislations that prevent unlawful use of guns among their citizens. One practice of gun possession regulation adopted by states such as Chicago is safe storage of arms when not in use. I think the notion among citizens and guns’ right group that being in possession of weapons can help reduce tyranny in a country like America should be dismissed quickly to help protect the lives of innocent Americans (Wilson, 19).

Read also: How a professional research paper writing online service can help you cope with the stress.

Works Cited

Domenech, Benjamin. "The Truth about Mass Shootings and Gun Control: Crime and Killings Have Fallen as Gun Ownership Has Increased." Commentary, no. 2, 2013, p. 25.

Harlan, Raymond C., et al. "Guns and Gun Control." The Atlantic, no. 2, 2013, p. 10.

O’Brien, Kerry, et al. "Racism, Gun Ownership and Gun Control: Biased Attitudes in US Whites May Influence Policy Decisions." Plos ONE, vol. 8, no. 10, Oct. 2013, pp. 1-10.

Wilson, Robert. "Common Sense: It's Time for Police Officers to Start Demanding Gun Laws That Could End up Saving Their Own Lives." The American Scholar, no. 2, 2016, p. 18.