Gun violence refers to a type of abuse which involves the use of a firearm or a gun. It is a type of force which may be regarded as criminal or not criminal. It entails homicide, an assault using a harmful weapon, attempted suicide or suicide depending on the jurisdiction. Gun control involves actions in which proper measures are established to control the use of firearms amongst the citizens. In America today, there is an emergence of a debate on whether gun violence should be encouraged or stopped. Possession of the guns by the citizens contributes to the gun violence. As a result, a debate has emerged on whether gun violence should be encouraged or discouraged in America. Consequently, there are those who have supported the idea of limiting access to firearms while others promote the possession of the guns by the citizens (Clarke, 173).
Thesis
Guns do not kill people. People kill themselves. If they do not use weapons, they will use something else to kill themselves.
Abstract
Gun violence has increased at an alarming rate in America today. Most of the researchers argue that it is the exposure of the firearms to the people that have profoundly contributed to the gun violence. However, a group of the population support gun possession by the citizens while others do not support. The supporters of gun control states that the exposure of these lethal weapons to the citizens may have dire consequences as people may start shooting each other while those who do not support gun control argue that keeping a gun is a guaranteed method of ensuring that one is secure and that they are free from any attack. As evident, cases of terrorism have increased to high rates in the recent past, and therefore it has become necessary for every citizen in the country to come up with ways of ensuring that they are secure. There has been an increased politics on this issue, and therefore this has called upon the need to ensure that every citizen is educated to ensure that they understand what holds between the advantages and the disadvantages of the private ownership of the guns.
Interview
To fully understand the question of gun violence in America, two interviews were conducted with different criminology professors in America. The first interview was with professor john kelvin who is a criminal law professor at the University of Chicago. The question was, “What is the relationship between the level of gun ownership and the level of crime.” He explained that the level of gun ownership was directly proportional to the number of crimes committed because a vast population of those who owned the guns were irresponsible.
In the second interview, Professor Josephine loan from the Department of internal security in the United States was engaged. The interview question was “how do the guns get into the hands of the people who use them to commit a crime.” The professor stated that it was hard to determine who might use the guns irresponsibly during the licensing of the arms and as a result, the guns fall in the hands of the criminals.
In discussing the issue of having firearms at hand, various factors have been put into consideration — for instance, the mental and the level of education of the individual. In today's society, there have been increased cases of family, gender or even marriage-based violence. These types of conflicts that occur in our day to day lives do not require the possession of a firearm so that one can solve them.
The individual moral to keep a gun is one of the factors that ought to be considered when this decision to validate or invalidate the gun control measures should be adopted or not. When discussing the individual moral to keep a gun, it has been argued that guns should be kept for self-defense. However, the law practitioners and the human rights activists have continued to say that the possession of firearms should be totally legalized, and instead the police be allowed the mandate to take over and ensure that there is enough security and that the citizens are well protected from any activities that may lead to the violation of the law.
According to research, it has been evident that there have been other ways that people have always used to kill each other and therefore it is null and void to argue that the use of the guns has been causing mass deaths and shootings in the society. This paper will provide a suggestion that if the disadvantages of having the firearms outweigh the advantages of possessing the guns, then no complete restriction on the possession of the arms should be imposed but instead, a measure should be adopted to ensure that there is the proper use of the weapons.
Taking for instance, a case whereby the citizens have a right to own a gun and considering that handgun ownership leads to more human arms that the crime prevention that it has. In this case, two cases arise. One is should the use of the guns be allowed and encourage more deaths and crimes to occur? Another question is should the use of the weapons be burned entirely even to those who use these firearms responsibly and for their defense. Scholars and the lawmakers have come up with a criterion on how these two questions should be handled (Rossi, 74).
They have provided an opinion that a policy should adopt which will ensure that only those individuals who demonstrate responsible use of these weapons, and those who pass the standard set course are allowed to have the possession of the guns. The purpose of the firearms has proved positive impacts in the society and especially among the gun users, and therefore it is evident that these benefits should be maximized while at the same time minimizing the gun use drawbacks or the disadvantages.
According to this argument, it is ideal to state that some people should be allowed to use the guns, and therefore a total ban of the arms should not be justified. The total ban on the weapons should only be adopted as the last option when all the others have failed. Across the United States, gun users have provided a report that supports the use of the guns provides safety not only to themselves but also to those who surround them. As a civilized country, people should be educated that the right to own a gun should not be justified by the risk which it possesses, but on the on the benefits that the use of the weapon may have to both the gun user and those who are in the intermediate surrounding. When discussing the use of the guns, there are various areas of concern that need to explain in detail. These include the advantages of the use of the weapons as far as the defense is concerned. There is also the argument against the prohibition of the use of the guns and the campaign on the restrictive licensing (Miller, 359).
Defense benefits of guns
It is common to state that guns act as weapons and therefore they can be used for self-defense. According to the research conducted by the national hospital institute in 2013, it was indicated that nearly 90% of the violence victims who possessed guns during the period of the attack were able to escape injury and hence the use of firearms acted as an effective means of self-defense. The research further indicated that resisting crimes that are committed violently with a gun was related to low rates of injury and therefore the use of firearms was recommendable since they helped in reducing the injury levels. Despite having human enemies such as criminals, other attacks can arise as a result of an attack by wild animals and therefore, when in possession of a gun, one is in a position of scaring any enemy that may attack (McGinty, 74).
Gun prohibition
Research conducted across the united states revealed that the legalization of the gun uses in the united states led to more social harms in the society that the benefit. Therefore, the conclusion of this study called for a careful analysis of the methods that should be adopted to ensure that there is proper utilization of the guns in the United States. A study recommendation is that the prohibition of gun use was not the solution. Therefore, people were supposed to continue enjoying the benefits that were associated with the gun use and control in the United States (Kleck, 86).
It was found that this could be affected by ensuring that some guidelines and regulations were followed, which included the use of policies to help in providing that there was a proper use of the guns. Since the use of firearms had bored some fruits, it was now time to device ways and measures to ensure that there was a minimization of the misuse and the social harms of the guns, while at the same time maximizing the advantages of the use of the handguns. The immediate ban of the use of the arms should not be the quick solution to the crimes committed by those who misuse them, but instead, ways should be sought to ensure that there is the correct use of the guns. The strict laws adopted should not limit everyone, but instead, some people should be allowed access and possession of the arms so that they can help secure the society.
The restriction licensing of the guns
In the United States, a policy has been proposed where those who want to be in possession of the weapons have to acquire a valid license from the government. There has been a restriction on how these licenses are issued, and therefore this is a factor which has raised a lot of concern amongst the citizens.
Those who support the possession of guns have highly advocated for the abolition of the restrictions that are imposed during the process of licensing of the firearms. Public opinion has indicated that people who pass the given moral standards and those who possess all the qualities required should be allowed the possession of the guns without any restriction. According to the law, it would be unjust to need a right-minded citizen to justify his or her desire of possessing a firearm. If anyone proves that they are capable of maintaining the weapon and taking the full responsibility, then they should be provided with the license to possess that particular weapon for self-defense.
Pro-gun control
As much as the campaign on the anti-gun control should be advocated for, the pro-gun control still dominates the whole process. It is because, in today's world, insecurity had posed a significant threat to the existence of human life. Acts of terrorism have dominated every sphere of the world today, and this has been fueled by the fact that citizens continue to possess weapons within themselves. In society today, there has been a lot of social harms, and therefore this has impacted a lot of crimes and violating human rights and freedoms. In today's world, there is a competition between the criminals and the right-minded citizens (Quinn, 92).
The criminals want to attack the citizens and deprive off what is right from them while the citizens want to stop these criminals from committing the crimes. As a result, there has been a competition between the two. It has highly contributed to the reduced use of the weapons, and therefore a measure should be sought to ensure that there is effectiveness in the manner in which the guns are handled in the society (Webster, 5).
The government has controlled the mishandling of the government by establishing measures to ensure that there is a regulation on how guns are used. One of the practical means to help minimize the crime is to provide that firearms are not allowed to the citizens, only those with legal licenses should be allowed the possession of the handguns. Doing this, the government would reduce these crimes by over 95%, hence creating a crime-free society (Rossi, 74).
Conclusion
Although the disadvantages of having guns outweigh the cons, this should not form a basis that should be used to ensure a total ban on the handguns. As discussed in the paper, there are advantages such as self-defense, social protection and personal injury protection that come along with gun possession. Therefore, a proper method should be sought which will ensure that only those people with good moral standards and can take the responsibility of their weapons are allowed the possession of those weapons. It would be a positive move towards ensuring that there is smooth running and a well-secured society is achieved.
Works cited
Clarke, Ronald V. Suicide: closing the exits. Routledge, 2017.pg 173
Rossi, Peter H. Armed and considered dangerous: A survey of felons and their firearms.
Routledge, 2017.pg 74
Miller, Matthew, and David Hemenway. "Guns and suicide in the United States." New England
Journal of Medicine 359.10 (2008): 989-991.
Kleck, Gary. Targeting Guns: Firearms and their control. Routledge, 2017. Pg 86
Quinn, Riley. Guns, Germs " Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. Macat Library, 2017. Pg 92
Webster, Daniel W. "Commentary: Evidence to guide gun violence prevention in America." Annual review of public health 36 (2015): 1-4.
McGinty, Emma E., et al. "Public Opinion on Gun Policy Following the Newtown Mass
Shooting and the Disconnect with Po liti cal Action." GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA
(2014): 36.
