In the world that humanity has constructed it has left itself vulnerable to threats that nobody could comprehend: terror, mass murderers, chemical warfare, and numerous others. These fears have caused a vast rift in the population of the United States. People just do not feel safe anymore and how the population is dealing with their fear is coming across numerous fields; the biggest area under siege is the Second Amendment. In this debate on United States citizens gun rights, there are two main groups, the gun rights supporters and the ones who argue for gun control/ban measures.
What gun control advocates fail to understand is that crime is decreasing as gun density is increasing, the amount of violent crime committed with firearms is negligible, and the number of responsible gun owners in America greatly out way the irresponsible. The United States of America is one of the very few countries in the world that gives its citizens the ability to purchase firearms freely. Unfortunately, there are on average 30,000 U. S. residents that die in firearm related incidents (Koenig 2).
Not only that but whenever there is a mass shooting it drives up gun sales to the point where it can not even be estimated however these effects do fade over time (Koenig 2-3). The problem with this is that it seems that mass shootings occur much too often for these to fade, but what this actually implies is that if there is a massive influx in firearm purchases then there are more guns and not necessarily more crime. According to Koenig, the number of deaths in relation to firearms has actually gone down since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The only type of crime that went up was murder but the article did not specify what type of weapon and that this was only a temporary spike in murder (4). This may seem like compelling evidence but Koenig states that this is not good enough evidence to state that guns are a deterrent (4). This may not be enough but there are too many other factors to take into consideration like the fact that mass media plays a major role in the psyche of criminals because it makes it seem like crime is the thing to do (Lott 19).
Society have idolized guns for years and now it is coming back and not in a good way, or at least that is the way that is portrayed. Maybe if the media would ever to report the good that people do with firearms it would change some of the perspectives of people. The media also has people pushing for extreme gun control measures. Hillary Clinton, a presidential candidate even stated that she supported a total gun ban similar to Australia’s.
Numerous people feel that gun control is a good thing but according to a study done by Kleck and Patterson study a question but find no correlation between gun control and violence (Koenig 6). However according to numerous others the possibility of limiting deaths with gun control is real (Koenig 4-5); however the gun control measures that the numerous others are proposing we already have: Gun Control Act require FFLs (Spitzer 167), NICS is a computerised system operated by the FBI to handle background checks (Koenig 8 and Spitzer 20), and The Brady Act mandates background checks (Koenig 8).
Not only that but in many states, if you are a convicted felon you can not even purchase a firearm (Koenig 8). Some people who know about these restrictions push for a Chicago-style gun ban, but Chicago is now the worst place for education and the most dangerous place for American youth to live. Chicago has more gun violence than any other city in the United States. Not only that but it has one of the poorest inner cities in the United States. There is also a major problem created in the world of academics due to the terrible salaries of teachers.
It has caused eighty percent of eighth graders not to be proficient in reading and writing (Problem). It has become the greatest spawning point for gangs, thieves, and whatever other types of criminal because there is nobody who can legally stop a criminal with a gun except for the police. The next big controversy with firearms is the question of whether they promote criminal actions or not. According to Koenig, it is hard to tell because over certain intervals the correlation changes drastically as the timeline being analyzed gets lengthened (4).
Not only that but in certain areas crime increases with tragic events like mass shootings, however, lesser events do show a spike in crime; some of that event include the 2012 presidential election and the loss of a hometown football team (Lott Jr 4). So with these factors taken into proper consideration, one cannot just say that guns cause crime. Yes, their use in crime is much too high, but they are not the reason for crime. Since firearms are used in crime so much we do have deterrents built into the purchasing process. The main deterrent is the cost (Koenig 12).
Cost is not the only deterrent. As mentioned before, there are background checks, licenses, and only certain places to buy guns. These deterrents do not work for everyone. Mass shooters do not respond to the threat of punishment (Epstein). What this means is that mass shooters will find ways to acquire firearms illegally because for them there is no punishment. Not only do they not respond punishment, but they do not even think rationally (Epstein). What this implies is that mass shooters would charge straight into any situation and just start shooting with no care for themselves.
Neither the theory of deterrence nor the theory of retribution works for persons who choose to take their lives (Epstein). It does not matter how much you put in place it will not stop them. The fear of sinking themselves economically does not stop a mass shooter (Epstein). It does not matter what type of deterrents or laws that you put in place. It will not affect these shooters. People often talk about the criminals and what they would do with firearms, but what about all of the responsible gun owners in the United States.
There are two main factors that drive the sale of guns and they are the need for self-defense and fear of tougher gun legislation (Koenig 2). It does not matter what state one looks at it seems to be the same across the board (Koenig 3). Numerous people everyday carry firearms for self-defense, some of them not even being police officers. The community who advocate really harsh gun legislation cannot get it past one of two places. These people struggle in the Senate were multiple proposed assault weapons bans have been shot down (Koenig 10).
If gun control even struggles in the Supreme Court. In 2008 the Court choose to uphold the constitution and fight a District of Columbia gun ban (Spitzer 149). Not only do some of the gun control advocates want a total ban but the want the laws we already have to be harsher. Right now we have laws that work and make sense for law abiding citizens. The Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibits the interstate transfer of firearms which does limit criminals access (Spitzer 99). Then on top of that, there is the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act which mandates background checks (Koenig 8).
The background checks that are used are run through the NICS system, a system run by the FBI to make sure there are no criminal charges against your name (Koenig 8). These are just the federal restriction let alone all of the state responsibilities imposed on gun owners (Koenig 10). There are many aspects of our live that are defined by the government, and guns should not be one of them. The are not used in crime nearly as much as people think. The world is dominated by fear and gun owners should not fold due to others fear. Responsible gun owners are the majority