“Guns make violence more violent and deadlier,” said Richard Corlin, a seasoned medical doctor. A simple statement like this calls to light the utter destruction guns can create. Violence is brought to whole new level with the pulling of a trigger. Loose laws allow for this not so silent killer to wreak havoc on communities. If the United States continues on this path, there will be no end to gun violence. In order to protect the lives of many innocent people, gun control laws should be tighter and more restricted while also being enforced.
Every year 30,000 people are killed by guns in the US either by accident, suicide, or homicide (“Gun Control”). Victims and their friends and families are affected. Why doesn’t the U.S. regard guns with a higher caution? Guns are as dangerous as prescription drugs, tobacco, or alcohol which are closely regulated (Corlin). Everyday the threat of a mass shooting becomes bigger and bigger, but it is not only mass shooting that are killing people. Preventable firearm accidents killed 866 people in 1998 (Corlin). Also in 1998, 17,424 people died due to firearm suicides and 12,102 to firearm homicides (Corlin). This is strictly an American epidemic. The firearm death rate of other developed countries is extremely low (Masters). With 5% of the world's populations, but 35-50% of the world's guns and easy access, problems are bound to occur within U.S. borders (Masters).
Gun laws in the United States are extremely relaxed. It it easy to get access to a firearm either legally or illegally. In a matter of minutes one can walk into a store and buy a gun without hassle (Taylor). State and a federal background checks are run, but they are not as thorough and restrictive as they should be (Taylor). If you are a convicted felon, fugitive from justice, or have been convicted of domestic violence then you are stopped from buying a gun (Taylor). The background checks comes back with criminal history, therefore people with a mental illness can openly buy guns. This is not the only problem. In 39 states, private sellers are allowed to sell guns without performing any kind of background check — state or federal (Taylor).
Gun shows are a loophole that enable many who would barred from buying a gun to obtain one. Gun shows are not bound under The Gun Control Act of 1968 which requires anyone engaged in the business of selling guns to have a Federal Firearms License (FFL) and keep a record of their sales (“Gun Show Loophole FAQ”). If someone is selling from his or her private collection and their main goal is not to make a profit, the seller is not “engaged in the business” and is not required to have a license. Most gun show sellers are unlicensed therefore not required to keep records of sales or perform background checks on potential buyers, even those prohibited from purchasing guns by the Gun Control Act (“Gun Show Loophole FAQ”). People can avoid background checks by buying at a Gun Show. This puts guns in the hands of those unfit to obtain one.
Mass shootings are becoming more frequent every day. Since the start of writing this paper, there has already been another mass shooting. This shooting was in Sutherland Springs, Texas and 27 people were killed. Most of the shooters would not have been able to get access to guns if laws were tighter. Majority of the guns used in mass shooting were bought legally and with a background check. Many of the gunmen had histories of mental health or a criminal record (Buchanan, Larry, et al.). Christopher Harper, the Umpqua Community College Shooter, had a history of emotional issues. These issues did not disqualify him from legally buying 14 firearms thus killing 9 people. The buying of 14 firearms did not raise any red flags and it was was not required of the seller to report this fact (Buchanan, Larry, et al.). John Huser killed two people in Lafayette, LA. He was denied a state-issued concealed weapon-permit because he was accused of violence and arson. A judge ordered him to be sent to a mental hospital. He then went on to to purchase a gun legally (Buchanan, Larry, et al.). With a new set of laws, his background of violence and mental illness would stop him from buying a gun. Specialist Ivan Antonio Lopez opened fire at Fort Hood with a semiautomatic pistol, killing three people and wounding 16 others. Lopez had seen a military psychiatrist and was being treated for depression and anxiety. He then went onto to buy a gun legally. His mental illness should have been taken more seriously and barred him from buying a gun. Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and wounded 500 in the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S. to date. Perched high in a hotel room, he open fired into a crowd at a concert in Las Vegas. Paddock legally purchased 33 firearms from Oct. 2016 to Sept. 2017, most of which were rifles (Buchanan, Larry, et al.). Even with the vast amount of guns he bought, he was not reported to the bureau because there is no federal law requiring a seller to alert the bureau when a person buys multiple rifles (Buchanan, Larry, et al.). In the shooting, he used at least one semiautomatic rifle modified to fire like an automatic weapon by attaching a “bump stock”. Forty seven guns were found in his hotel room and his homes in Mesquite and Verdi, Nevada (Buchanan, Larry, et al.). Twelve of the rifles recovered from the hotel had a bump stock. Bump stocks are not technically illegal in the US. One is just not allowed to modify a gun to make it serve as an automatic (Buchanan, Larry, et al.). To get rid of the risk of misuse of a bump stocks, they must be outlawed altogether. Some cases of people passing a background check with an unclean background was because their backgrounds were not made fully available. Dylann Roof, 21, killed nine people with a .45-caliber Glock pistol at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C. Roof was charged with a misdemeanor for possessing Suboxone, a prescription drug frequently sold in illegal street transactions. He then bought a gun legally. He should have been barred from buying the gun, but F.B.I. examiner conducting the required background check failed to obtain the police report from the February incident (Buchanan, Larry, et al.). Gunman Devin Patrick Kelly killed at least 26 people and wounded 20 in the recent shooting at a Sunday church service in Sutherland, Texas. Kelley was in the Air Force and was convicted of assaulting his wife and breaking his infant stepson’s skull (Buchanan, Larry, et al.). He was sentenced to 12 months’ confinement and a reduction to the lowest possible rank, E-1. Kelley received a “bad conduct” discharge from the Air Force. He then went on to buy two firearms, one in 2016 and one in 2017 (Buchanan, Larry, et al.). Both times, he passed a federal background check. The reason he passed was because the Air Force had failed to enter Mr. Kelley’s domestic violence conviction into federal databases, which could have blocked him from buying the rifle he used in the massacre (Buchanan, Larry, et al.). The “background check” that these gunmen went through were thus invalid due to the lack of information in the federal database. With a new set of laws, failure to add criminal charges and and mental illness into the federal database will be considered a felony. An emphasis on entering information and making is known will be put into effect. A low bar has been set in the US to pass a background check and buy a gun. This is evident in the unclean background of many mass shooters. A higher standard need to be held. Any sort of criminal background or mental illness should stop someone from buying a gun.
The culture of America in regards to mass shootings is different than any other. People move on from a mass shooting very quickly. A mass shooting happens and no action against guns are taken. If you look at the online pages of most major national news outlets, the mass shooting at the Sutherland Springs, Texas, church is no longer anywhere close to the top news(Lopez). On Google Trends, it’s no longer among the top 50 topics that people are searching for (Lopez). This may be due to the fast paced lives on Americans, but regardless it shows a desensitized attitude. Countless deaths by guns and mass shootings have cultivated this attitude all while the call for change gets quieter and quieter. This attitude is sickening and if change is not made soon it will engulf the American people. In other developed countries, a big mass shooting served as a turning point for gun control. For example, the Port Massacre of April 1996 was turning point for Australia (Masters). A young man killed 35 people and wounded 23 others with a semi-automatic (Masters). This led to tighter laws and restricted guns. Why doesn’t the U.S. take mass shootings this seriously? A man killed 58 people and wound 500 other just recently and nothing has been done about the lack of gun control. If other countries can change, so can the U.S.
Gun violence is not just mass shootings. It is homicides from interpersonal violence, suicides, and accidents.
Gun violence is strictly an American epidemic. Firearms in the US are loosely regulated in comparison to other developed countries. In many Europeans counties, gun ownership requires a license from the police (“Gun Control”). As stated earlier, 30,000 people are killed a year by guns. In Germany ,1,164 people are killed a year, the number is 1,034 in Canada, 391 in Australia, 211 in England and Wales, and 83 in Japan (Corlin). These numbers are significantly lower than the United States. In the US, there are no federal laws banning semiautomatic assault weapons, military-style .50 caliber rifles, handguns, or large capacity ammunition magazines (Masters). An extreme example of gun control is Japan, where guns are prohibited to the public (“Gun Control”). In Australia, gun control laws are highly effective. The National Agreement of firearms prohibited automatic and semiautomatic assault rifles, tightened licensing and ownership rules, and instituted a temporary gun buyback program that took 650,000 assault weapons out of public circulation. In order to buy a gun, he/she has to have genuine need for a specific gun and needs to take a safety course. The gun-related death rate was 1 per 100,000 in 2013-2014 (Masters). In Canada, the federal government requires that you must be 18 years old, have a licence that requires a background check and public safety course (Masters). To obtain a restricted gun, one must get a federal registration certificate from the Canadian government. Non-restricted guns are ordinary rifles and shotguns. Restricted guns include handguns, semi-automatic rifles, shotguns, and sawed-offs. Prohibited guns are automatics (Masters). The strict gun laws show a direct correlation to low gun related death rates.
It is a necessity that gun laws in the United States are changed. The solution to preventing gun violence are in the new laws that follow: registration of all guns must take place, confiscation of guns held by felons and those diagnosed with a mental illness, only two guns can be owned by someone, a genuine reason is needed for ownership, and a rigorous background check will ensue, a buyback of automatic, semiautomatic, handguns, and any guns with no genuine reason or need will take place. A genuine reason or need can be defined as sports shooting, recreational shooting/hunting, primary production, vertebrate pest animal control, business or employment, occupational requirements, animal welfare, firearm collection, museum display, and inheritance, but the state of residence will make the ultimate decision if one is qualified (“Firearms Genuine Reason/ Need”). A genuine reason needed for buying a gun is something that many countries have in place. This genuine reason does not include self-defense. With all these requirements set in place, many mass shooting, interpersonal, accidents, and suicides will be stopped. These laws ensure that those with criminal charges or mental illness are stopped from purchasing a gun. Online selling and guns shows must be stopped in order for these newly proposed laws to work. With these new laws in effect, gun violence will plummet which is exactly what the United States needs.
In addition to gun control, more funding is needed is prevent gun violence. Knowing more about the who what, when, where, and why about violent homicides and suicides will help prevent unnecessary deaths (Corlin). Guns are a public health issue yet very little is spent on researching gun-related injuries and deaths. Every year of life lost to heart disease is $441 spent. Every year of life lost to cancer is $791 spent. Every year of life lost to gun violence is $31 spent (Corlin). While gun violence is not a disease, is kills thousands a year. Gun injuries cost $2.3 billion in medical cost a year (Corlin). Every dollar spent researching gun violence has the potential to reduce medical costs by $885 (Corlin). In the mid-90’s, the gun lobby targeted NCIPC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Congress then eliminated its funding of $2.6 million that the NCIPC used for tracking gun deaths (Corlin). In the long run, $2.6 million would save billions of dollars each year. To fight the gun epidemic, the NCIPC needs the budget and authority to gather data. It will end up saving the US billions a year, not to mention the vast amount of lives it will save.
Stopping violence before it starts can be done with programs such as Cure Violence. Chicago’s Cure Violence Program sends- ex-offenders on the streets to help resolve tension and “interrupt” shootings before they happen (Truesdell). The ex-offenders aim to defuse old and emerging grudges before shots are fired between rival gangs (Truesdell). In the these programs there are three workers. “Outreach workers” help with jobs and even drive kids to school. “Violence interrupters” dive unarmed into disputes and negotiate compromises that buy time for people to cool down. “Hospital responders” go to the side of injured victims and their families before anger can grow (Truesdell). Programs like these look to understand what drives people to act violently in the first place instead of all the focus being on gun control and criminal justice. Shootings dropped between 41% and 73% in seven communities after Cure Violence launched in Chicago in 2000 (Truesdell).This type of organization is known as Safe Streets in Baltimore and Aim4Peace in Kansas City. More organizations to stop violence before it even starts is another way to lower gun violence rates.
One could argue that guns are needed for self defense and hunting. It also violates the second amendment to ban people from owning guns. With the proposed laws in this paper, hunters can own a gun if they have a clean background because they have genuine reason for the gun. They should have to give the government proof of their using the gun for hunting. Many citizens want to have a gun in their house because it makes them feel safe. They would use it for self-defense in the case an intruder attacked them. There is one justifiable homicide for every 896 guns put in the hands of criminals (Martelle). In this case, the bad outweighs the good. The one justifiable homicide is not worth the many other lives lost. Self-defense would not be a genuine need to obtain a gun. In regards to the Second Amendment, context in which it was written needs to be kept in mind. The founding fathers wrote this amendment so U.S. citizens could take up arms and from a militia (“Gun Control”). How guns are being used now was not the intention of the Second Amendment. The overall safety and lives of the citizens of the United States are more important than the keeping of guns because of a second amendment whose purpose is being misused. Guns kill citizens randomly far more than a gun kills someone in self-defense.
All states should have the same gun control laws as proposed in this paper. The Federal Government needs to require it.