1. Thesis statement
In America, guns are the cause of many violent and senseless crimes. Therefore change must take place in order to regulate the purchase of handguns and rifles for the use of mass shootings.
2. Introduction
a. Gun violence is the most common form of crime that happens often across the United States. This can be connected to easy availability and accessibility of guns across the United States
b. The availability of guns is one of the major obstacles faced by the legislature in their efforts to fight against the increased rate of gun violence.
c. Despite being the richest and most developed country in the world, the United States is still the leading country with increased rates of violence across the world.
d. The fight against high rates of gun violence is a mutual responsibility that should involve every individual including race, age, and gender.
e. Studies have shown that 20,000 laws and regulations across the united states that have attempted control the use of firearms.
f. However, it’s unfortunate that the efforts have not declined the prevalence of gun violence
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3. Policies on gun control
a. “The Brandy Bill was a bill passed by congress in 1993 that mandated federal background checks on firearm purchasers in the U.S and imposed a five day waiting period on purchases “(Victor, p 1. Par. 3).
b. Victor argued that the United States should start allocating resources to battle issues in the low-social-economic regions so as to fight gun violence.
c. The number of violence associated with guns has not reduced even after many laws and regulations have been established (Victor).
d. According to Victor, the federal assault weapons Ban in 1994 was effective in reducing the accessibility of large capacity magazines and assault weapons.
e. The ban took 10 years and was not renewed by the Congress in 2004.
f. Studies have concluded that there are mixed efforts in the attempts to minimize crimes related to crimes because of different exceptions and weak areas in the federal assault weapon ban (DeGrazia and Hunt).
g. Studies found that the ban did not have an effect on the gun crime the period it was enforced (Victor).
a. If future laws imitate the previous bans there will be little effect on the increased gun crimes but it might help prevent some incidences of shootings especially those that involve a large number of victims (O’Brien, et al).
h. Limitations that are focused magazine capacity tend to have a higher chance of receiving adequate public and political support to be enforced and not new policies that restrict the assault weapons (Victor).
4. The opinion of the public on gun control
b. Studies have indicated that the pressure from the public regarding gun control is caused by two factors including the increased rate of violent crime and the attempted or finished assassinations of presidents in 1963, 1981 and 1936 (O’Brien, et al). “Most Americans would like restrictions on gun ownership for people with a history of mental illness” (American attitudes towards gun control).
c. Studies have indicated that the opinions of the public have shifted views of the Americans to an increased support for the gun control laws (O’Brien, et al).
d. According to O’Brien, et al, around 59% of Americans support strict laws on gun control
e. The shooting incident at Sandy Hook made most of the policymakers to begin thinking a wider range of gun policy alternatives (O’Brien, et al).
f. Studies have also shown that the attitudes of individuals concerning gun policies usually depend on gun ownership and partisanship (O’Brien, et al).
g. Based on studies conducted, most of the Americans support the increased expenditure of the government on the treatment of mental issues as a policy to minimize the rate of gun violence (O’Brien, et al).
5. Advantages of Gun control
I. Gun control can help reduce accidental injuries.
a. Studies have shown that accidental shootings have caused deaths of over 1500 people between 2010 and 2017.
b. Additionally, over 1000 people have been victims of accidental shootings (NRA-ILA, n.d.)
a. Some of the lives lost during the accidental shootings could be prevented by addition of loading indicator as well as safety locks (DeGrazia and Hunt).
II. Gun control does not need taking them away
b. American citizens have the right to own arms for self-defense and security which is protected by the constitution as well as state laws (DeGrazia and Hunt).
c. Gun control does not need the arms to be taken away from the owner or other restriction measures (DeGrazia and Hunt).
a. DeGrazia and Hunt argues that only simple actions are required in the process such as licensing and a training or understanding of how the guns should be used in order to minimize the occurrence of gun violence. Resources could be allocated in order to make sure that licensing procedures are followed as well as safety classes are offered to people (Bui, 2016).
III. Access to guns increases the risks of violence.
d. Studies have shown that having a firearm at home increases the risk of suicide or homicide incidents (DeGrazia and Hunt).
e. The risk is still high despite the number of guns owned or how safe the guns are stored in a safe (DeGrazia and Hunt).
f. People living in a home with a firearm have 40 times risks for homicide than those who live in homes without a firearm (DeGrazia and Hunt).
g. Additionally, studies also conclude at the danger is suicide associated with a firearm is 90 times higher when there is possession of a gun in a home (Albrecht).
IV. People who are not required to own guns can still buy them
a. According to Albrecht, the United States law still has an exemption for the private sale of firearms and does not need conducting a background check on the person.
b. Albrecht states that Private sellers can still sell guns to people who are unlicensed in their residential states if they don’t know that the person should be prohibited from owning a firearm.
c. There are some states who have managed to close this gap but there are still chances that people who are restricted from owning firearms can still purchase one (Albrecht).
6. Conclusion
a. The issue of gun control is highly debatable in the United States
b. Many of the American citizens tend to have their own reasons as to why they oppose or support gun control.
c. Self-interest has been constantly mentioned as one of the major factors that influence the attitude of individuals toward gun control.
d. Some scholars have proposed that people who want to buy guns should give a full list of all people who will have secondary access to the guns.
- Albrecht, James F. “Book Review: Reducing Gun Violence in America: Informing Policy with Evidence and AnalysisWebsterD. W.VernickJ. S. (Eds.). (2013). Reducing Gun Violence in America: Informing Policy with Evidence and Analysis. Baltimore, MD: The John Hopkins University Press. xxviii, 282 pp. $9.95, ISBN 978-1-421-41110-1.” International Criminal Justice Review, vol. 23, no. 4, 2013, pp. 409-411.
- American attitudes towards gun control. (2018, February 23). Retrieved from https://www.economist.com
- Bui, Q. (2016, May 26). How to Reduce Mass Shooting Deaths? Experts Rank Gun Laws. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/
- DeGrazia, David, and Lester H. Hunt. “Gun Politics in the United States.” Debating Gun Control, 2016, pp. 229-245.
- H, Victor. “Gun Control in the United States.” Journal of Political Sciences & Public Affairs, vol. 4, no. 2, 2016.
- NRA-ILA. (n.d.). NRA-ILA | State Gun Laws. Retrieved from https://www.nraila.org/
- 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, 2013, p. e77552.
