Gun Ownership Should Be Controlled vs. People Should Be Allowed to Carry Guns in the United States

The topic of gun safety is divisive, especially in America, where many firearms are in the hands of people. Some believe they need firearms for self-defense, while others believe gun owners are more likely to commit crimes. Both licensed and unlicensed firearms in civilian hands are deemed dangerous, rendering the issue a hot one for legislators and policymakers. Any abusive incidents in educational establishments have been blamed for many of them falling into the hands of civilians who abuse them (Boyer, 2015). It may be difficult to make a choice of whether to license more guns or withdraw them from the public and only leave the state to offer security to everyone. Any crimes committed by gun use are serious since the consequences are fatal and irreversible. The US government should enforce a law that forbids civilians to own guns to improve security by reducing the number of firearms in the hands of civilians, reducing crime rates, and lowing incidental firings.
Security in the US can be improved by reducing the number of guns in the hands of the civilians and reduce deaths. Gun ownership should be controlled and never allowed to the public because of the effects on the owners, the victims, and institutions such as families. The government of the United State should allow the law enforcers to protect the civilians instead of allowing many people to have weapons. Gun violence has been going up accounting for almost 1.3 % of deaths (CDC 2013). This is alarming and controlling them is the only solution to reduce death rates and injuries among the citizens. Many deaths occur through suicides, murders, and incidental firings, which can be avoided if guns were regulated (CDC 2013). The citizens need to have faith in the police force and the government for protection instead of taking the carrying weapons. Many of the people that die through gunshots are the working class who are responsible for nation building. America is losing young energetic men via weapon misuse yet such deaths can be avoided. Family violence is common and those owning guns end up shooting their spouses and killing them. Since people are misusing guns, no one should be allowed to own them since, as civilians are using them at the slightest provocation. Policies that allow gun use are to be blamed for the increased mortality rates since gun deaths contribute to the statistics every year.
Gun control can also help in reducing crime rates in the US some of which are carried out by armed gangs. Crime has increased in the United States most of which are carried out by young people from poor backgrounds. Some of them do not acquire quality education, end up forming gangs, and use their arms to terrorize civilians. The groups steal weapons from their owners while others borrow them from friends and use them to commit crime. In addition, some of them are hired to carry out crimes and can easily acquire the arms from their hirers who have licensed guns. The former later claim that their guns were stolen and used to commit crime complicating the case. If only the law enforcement officers were allowed to own firearms, America would experience a reduction in crime rate. Many people are being robbed every day, others are carjacked, while many are kidnapped and their relatives forced to pay huge sums of money for their relatives to be released. American movies involve characters with licensed guns but in several scenes, others steal the weapons and commit crime. This can be taken as representation of the actual happenings when many people own guns and other dangerous weapons.
Several incidental firings are experienced in the US and some committed by children who steal them from their parents and gun control can reduce such incidences. Again, some people carry the weapons carelessly and end up injuring themselves and other people. Restricting gun ownership can help a lot in reducing such incidences and saving lives of many Americans (Crandall et al, 2016). Only the security personnel should be given the mandate of carrying weapons instead of allowing every interested individual to carry one. Drunken students who end up harming or killing their colleagues have reported cases of accidental shootings in institutions such as universities. Institutions of learning should never allow students to own guns as this can put the lives of teachers, students, and the rest of the population in danger. Students who take drugs can be dangerous and licensing them to carry firearms is risking the lives of other learners in the same institutions. At homes, there are cases of children shooting their siblings, friends, and even parents over petty issues. One of the incidences reported that a child shot people in a shopping mall with the mother’s gun, which could have been avoided if weapons were only allowed to be carried by police officers (Crifasi et al, 2015). Some of the deaths are considered carless and avoidable if proper measures are taken by the state.
On the other hand, people should be allowed to own guns since controlling them might not offer a solution to the increased crime rates, deaths, or incidental firings. Teaching people on family values and respect for life can help in changing the attitude of people and helping them to respect lives. The government should focus on measures that can help in controlling crime in the US without focusing on guns only as Mann and Michel (2016) argue. Issues such as education and income inequality should be at the center stage. If citizens can access quality services, there is no need of engaging in crime or using guns. Again, if the government can improve security there is no need of people carrying weapons for self-defense. Everyone should play his/her role effectively and there are other crimes such as cyber attacks, which do not require gun use. Since crime is crime, the government should focus on developing facilities such as recreation centers, learning facilities, rehabilitation center, and initiate other projects that help in promoting peaceful coexistence. The focus should social, economic, political, and cultural factors that contribute to increased insecurity in the United States.
In conclusion, controlling guns can help a lot in reducing crime and the related consequences in the US. If only the law enforcement officers are allowed to carry guns, deaths may reduce and crime rates will be lowered. However, there are better ways of reducing crime such as improvement of people’s standards of life through provision of important facilities. Quality education, health services, recreation centers, and resolving the issue of income inequality can help in improving life.
References
Boyer, D. (2015). Obama Says Gun Control to be Top Issue of Final Year. The Washington Times. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
CDC. ( 2013). Deaths: Final Data for 2013. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_02.pdf. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
Crandall, M., Eastman, A., Violano, P., Greene, W., Allen, S., Block, E., ... & Goldberg, S. (2016). Prevention of Firearm-Related Injuries with Restrictive Licensing and Concealed Carry Laws: An Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma Systematic Review. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 81(5), 952-960.
Crifasi, C. K., Meyers, J. S., Vernick, J. S., & Webster, D. W. (2015). Effects of Changes in Permit-To-Purchase Handgun Laws in Connecticut and Missouri on Suicide Rates. Preventive Medicine, 79, 43-49.
Mann, J. J., & Michel, C. A. (2016). Prevention of Firearm Suicide in the United States: What Works and what is Possible. American Journal of Psychiatry, 173(10), 969-979.