Today, gun violence has become too common of an occurence in today America. Many people have died as a result at schools, concerts, and other public places. Children need to be safe when attending school, citizens expect to be safe and protected when visiting public arenas and foreign places. The American government should listen and act out of concern for those who have suffered from gun violence. The procedure to procure a gun license and a gun needs to be rewritten to prevent those people who pose a threat to by purchasing a gun.
To comsense, the beginning of The United State’s huge debate started in 2012 with the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012. On December 14, 2012 Adam Lanza, a mentally ill 20 year old, walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School with a semi automatic weapon, shot and killed 20 children and six adults. Its appalling that after the brutal death of these children, Congress refused to revisit their weak policies. After the most recent mass shooting, the debate about strengthening America's gun policies has moved to the forefront of mass media. Including the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School massacre, there have been 1,606 shootings creating an average of one shooting per day in modern America (Lopez 4-5). Shockingly, after hundreds of homicides committed by guns, not one out of the hundred gun control bills have passed Capitol Hill. “They say that tougher gun laws do not decrease gun violence. We call BS… They say that no law could have been able to prevent the hundreds of senseless tragedies that have occurred…We call BS” (Nilsen 5). Due to the “birthright” of gun ownership based on the Second Amendment, federal laws have been set to the minimal regulation along with state involvement. While states have the option to choose the severity of their policies, the federal government put the Gun Control Act and Handgun Violence Prevention Act. The Gun Control Act prohibits the sale of guns to those under 18, criminals, and the mentally disabled, the Handgun Violence Prevention Act is set to mandate background checks amongst unlicensed purchases. Despite these policies existing, they aren't properly enforced and gun show loopholes, which allows anyone to purchase a firearm without a background check, puts this country in further peril. These flimsy policies in a country where 4.4 percent of the world’s population resides, allowed for 35 to 50 percent of the United States population to own a gun, constituting to one of the highest homicides by gun rates. Despite these statistics and pleas made by affected families and citizens everywhere, congress refuses to change their ancient policies. The latest mass shooting in Parkland, Florida was committed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle by a ‘mentally disabled’ 19 year old. Although the weapon was purchased legally, the lack of updated background checks and such fragile policies allowed Nikolas Cruz to murder 17 people. These are the exact policies that are set in place to protect us, but allow a semi-automatic weapon to fall into the wrong hands.
After a horrific massacre with a Colt AR-15 SP1, Australian lawmakers fought hard for a change and controlled gun usage in their country. In April of 1996, Martin Bryant fired a semi-automatic weapon in a heavy populated tourist area killing 35 people and injuring 18 others. Regardless of his “normal” appearance and lack of gun aim, pointing a loaded assault rifle into a crowd made it hard to miss. Within weeks of this tragic attack, Australian officials in each state and territory quickly got to work. “…Banned semi-automatic weapons and other military style weapons…prohibited their import… introduced a nationwide buyback program” (Leaf 1). With the buyback program, it encouraged Australians to freely give up their weapons. In a land of hunters and no gun violence no one saw a reason to regulate so harshly. The massacre in Port Arthur was enough to come together and change their policies. For the next 22 years, there have been no mass shootings. However, in 2002 a mentally disabled student in Melbourne killed 2 people and injured 5 others with 6 handguns. Thankfully, prior legislation prohibited him from carrying even more lethal weapons, had he gotten hold of a semi-automatic weapon, the body count could have skyrocketed. In wake of a second incident, legislators introduced a National Handgun Agreement, rewrote their gun trading policies and held a seperate buy back program. “Australian independence didn’t end. Tyranny didn't come. Australians still hunted and explored and big-wave surfed to their heart's content. Their economy did not crash; Invaders never arrived. Violence, in many forms, went down across the country, not up” (Leaf 2). Gun violence in Australia heavily declined in the past 20 years, as well as their murder rate with 32 homicides committed with a gun, as well as an 80 percent drop in suicides. However, in America the rates just keep rising.
Ever since guns entered Japan, where handguns are banned, they have had a long, complicated process. In order to get a shotgun or an air rifle, you need poise and tenacity. Compared to the United States, Japan has one of the lowest gun crimes with just six deaths in 2014, while America has had 33,599 (Low 1). “They are the first nation to impose gun laws in the whole world and I think it laid down a bedrock saying that guns really dont play a part in civilian society” (Low 3). Even without a school shooting executive director of Action on Armed Violence Iain Overton as well as Japanese officials have always understood how dangerous guns can be and cut the problem off at the source. To make sure gun usage stays under control, civilians must take an all day class, pass a written exam and shooting range test with 95 percent. To make sure you are of sound mind, mental and drug tests are administered. Police then thoroughly investigate your background and any criminal record you have, as well as family members and colleagues. Along with having the right to deny your license at their whim, they are also allowed to perform searches and seize weapons. They must be aware of the whereabouts of said gun, which must be inspected once a year, and ammo, both must be stored separately in a locked compartment. After three years, the license is expired, leaving the occupant to restart the whole meticulous process (Low 1-2). Fortunately, thanks to the intricate process, mass shootings are extremely rare in Japan, any mass killing is often performed with a knife. “Japanese officials rarely use guns…great emphasis on martial arts…expected to become a black belt in judo…practice kendo more than firearms” (Low 3). In a country where firearms are rarely used, the best way to deal with a violent criminal is to diffuse the situation instead of responding to violence with more violence. With both policemen and citizens armed and ready to fire, an arms war will inevitably rise upon their society, worsening the conditions and raising the crime rate.
Despite this heated debate, Americans believe there will be no change with an updated gun policy, if someone wants to commit mass murder they will find a different way. In a country like Israel, with their strict gun laws, assault weapons are banned and you must show a genuine need for a firearm. Although Israel keeps guns out of their society and the hands of their citizens, everyone 18 and older has handled a gun due to their military draft. As tragic as these events are, the mainstream media seems to cover mass shootings instead of how a gun saved innocent citizens like the Texas Church Shooting, a citizen disabled the armed shooter who had killed 26 people. Americas mass media sensationalizes every detail of a shooter, these mass shootings are great publicity for both parties, further influencing yet another mentally ill person looking to leave their mark on this world. “The mainstream 24 hour news cycle can only survive by selling millions of eyeballs to its corporate sponsors…they cover these mass shootings for all their worth making what was once an unknown sociopath into the most famous person on the planet”(Noir 2018). The insane coverage of every little detail involved with the shooter only draws more and more attention to the mind and actions of their lives. What happens when a psychopath looking to leave his mark on the world comes across yet another shooter being heavily publicized? An idea is planted, branching into a plan only to repeat the cycle. News casters should cover the positives of owning a gun in which it saves lives of communities. Truthfully, stricter gun laws and the prioritization prohibits men who own a gun for the greater good of protecting his family from standing out.
Without feeding into the delusional assumptions made by gun lobbyists, it is strongly believed that a gun control can and will make a difference. With inspiration from Japan and Australia, the United States should create the same dreadful process of becoming a licensed gun owner. If a man is using said gun for the right reasons, there should be even more compliance. The NRA gives the blame to the mass media for prioritizing these stories but if it truly were their fault for introducing the idea to mentally disabled people, and they want to keep their guns, why not make it so a mentally challenged person cant get a gun as easily as they have in the past. If people are “pro-guns” why not be pro-protecting the lives of men women and children everywhere. The epidemic that is mass shooting has become too much of a norm to just accept these conditions, there has to be a change in the way gun control is enforced.