German Lopez, a reporter for Vox, has very strong views on the current situation in America in relation to gun control laws and policies. The reporter posted an article on March 24th this year titled “I’ve covered gun violence for years. The solutions aren’t a big mystery.” posing the various problems that are being experienced in America with regard to tragedies that have been evidenced. Over the past seven years, America has seen an increase in the number of mass shootings. There has been a lot of controversy over the actions that are to be done in order to prevent repeat shootings since 2012, however, little has been done to enact changes that would see the end of the devastation. In the article, Lopez argues that Congress has deliberately ignored any cause of action that could see the change of the current situation in the states and due to that, there continues to be a rise in the number of tragedies and loss of lives attributed to mass shootings in the nation. He proceeds to define five solutions that can be implemented in order to assist in the management of the guns and gun violence problem that is currently being experienced in the country.
He begins the article by stating the number of mass shooting cases he has handled and the process/pattern he has observed since 2012. Currently, the author has developed a process to address any cases that arise due to a mass shooting, an event that should not be so common that it develops a strict pattern of event flows that can be instinctively identified (Lopez par 2-3). The process that has been developed in the public eye and in Congress is clearly evident. A lot of action is promised for the first two weeks, however, after much debate, the people and Congress relax and no more action is followed up. Policies for better gun control policies are yet to be developed by Congress and continue being ignored. Currently, Congress believes guns and gun violence is not a major problem in America, and that people should be able to control the problem by also holding weapons to protect against such mass shootings (Lopez par 4-7).
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In the article Lopez (2018) identified the current problems that are trending in the nation. The first is that it currently holds the highest number of deaths by gun violence in all the developed nations and as a result currently has one of the highest homicide rates (Lopez par 11-20). The second problem is that people tend to blame mental health and illness for the cause of gun violence in the state (Lopez par 21-27). The third problem that was identified was that there are little gun control measures that are carried out in the country. According to a research conducted by UC Berkeley, they identified that many of the deaths in America are attributed to the abundance of guns in the country and not to mental health. Similarly, the research also identified that gun control can work. The research compared gun control policies that are present in other developed nations such as Australia, how they have been implemented and the impacts they had on the homicide rates after implementation. In Australia, the government implemented gun control policies which saw the confiscation of certain types of firearms and banning of automatic and semiautomatic rifles and shotguns. The confiscation of the firearms was a mandatory exercise that saw the government buyback over 650,000 of the guns in the country from the owners after which there was a drop in the rate of homicides by 42%, and a drop in firearm suicide rate by 57% (Lopez par 28-34).
The fourth problem that was identified in the article was that state and local actions were not enough to finish the gun control issue in the country. The article sites the current gun policies that are present in Chicago. They are some of the strictest laws in the nation, however, they have not stooped or eradicated the presence of gun violence in the state. However, Lopez argues that the solution for gun control cannot be implemented by a single state and be successful where there are others that do not uphold the same policies. It is important that the whole nation implement the same solutions to the current problem that is being experienced (Lopez par 35-43). The last problem or solution that is defined in the article is the need for America to look further than implementing small solutions that do not amount to any major changes (Lopez par 44-51).
From the article, the author states valid and proper points regarding the current gun policies and control measures that are present in the United States. There is little effort that is being made to change the current state of affairs, and with this action, many more lives are being lost to gun violence. The American Government needs to develop a strategy that will see the end or compete drop if these violence and guarantee the safety of its citizens in such harsh times. There are various examples of systems of gun control that have been successful when implemented. It is not a must that new policies be implemented as there are barriers identified with the presence of the second amendment, however, policies that are present can be made tighter and ensure that there is a strict policy on gun control with the current measures that are important. For this purpose, Lopez suggests the need to review the current policies and work on how to improve them.
From the perspective of the article posted, it is evident that there is little that has been done in order to change the current situations with guns and gun violence. The statistics presented have a true base on what has been going on in the United States and the processes that have been ignored in solving the problem. The article highlights important factors that need to be addressed, for one, the people have to be more adamant in pressuring the government to make changes and implement better gun control policies. The implementation of these policies does not require a lot of effort, rather, reviewing the current policies in order to begin viewing the kind of changes that can be brought by implementing proper control systems, rather than blaming gun violence on biased excuses. The action is required presently and urgently.
- Lopez, German. “I’ve Covered Gun Violence for Years. The Solutions Aren’t a Big Mystery.” Vox, (2018). https://www.vox.com/
