Gun Control

Armed and Free

Gun control can be defined as the act of controlling and regulating through legislation, the manufacture, sale, distribution and possession of fire arms (Cothran 4). Gun control is implemented as a protective measure to curb high gun related gun related crimes witnessed over the years in most states of America. Even with this, the issue is faced with a lot of controversy because in the U.S for instance, the constitution gives allowance to citizens who want to own guns the right to do so, but these has led to increase in the level of violence more so gun related. Controversy also arises due to the fact that statistics show that the highest number of murders by fire arms occur in states where most restrictive gun laws are enforced. For the purpose of this paper, I will argue out that gun control is not effective in regulating and also reducing gun related crimes and therefore should be done away with.

Though political and social discussion over gun control has been put on halt over the past decades, the issue has become a pressing one due to recent related crimes that have been witnessed. Roleff writes that pressure to address the issue has grown from the public, leaders and other stake holders due to its urgent nature because of the unnecessary and painful loss of innocent lives in schools and other public social places (54). It is cases such as the 2007 shootings Virginia Tech shootings, the most recent Sandy Hook Elementary School killings that saw 27 dead and other consequent school shootings that have increased the need to address this matter. Groups that are concerned and work closely with the government in order to address the issue include the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Brandy Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

The issue can be discussed in reference to three major stand points i.e. legal, ethical and sociological perspectives. The legal perspective involves the interpretation of the U.S constitution Second Amendment on whether private citizens have the right to posses fire arms or not or if it applies only to special militia. The social issue is concerned with the effectiveness of gun control in reducing related violence. The ethical perspective is addresses the right to be in possession of guns against enhancing the security of citizens and reducing crimes (Blake 33). Other issues that may arise include the inquiry of whether better enforcement of the current legislation is needed, or it is more legislation that is required or most importantly, whether the whole gun control should be done away with (Roleff 35). Control measures proposed and laws enacted over time to curb reduce gun related violence include the regulation of intermediary arms sale, compulsory child locks, concealment laws, background checks and waiting period

before acquiring a firearm, bans on light weight guns and child access prevention laws.

It is important to note that collected statistics show that unlike Republicans who are divided on gun control legislation, Democrats on the other hand give full support to it sparking up arguments that gun legislation is more of a political issue therefore beating the essence of it being implemented (Cothran 24). Organizations such as the NRA that are pro Republican oppose any gun control measure and give more support to republicans by contributing in republicans campaigns indicting political rather than crime reduction. This causes the democrats to oppose the republicans by championing for more control to ensure long endurance in their district. Because it means if gun control is implemented fully, these organizations will have minimal membership thereby reducing the number of campaign contributors working against them. Democratic affiliates therefore might fail to vote for gun control for fear of missing out on their seats in the election. It is evident that gun control fails to carry its intended function and it being more of a political scapegoat therefore inspiring the stand against gun control.

In 1994, the United States had a ten-year ban on semiautomatic rifles that resemble those of the military but on the ban's demise in 2004, it was an expectation that crime rates would steadily increase but as a surprise, it was not the case (Conrad 23). This shows that gun ban measures are not effective, as perception has is. It takes education to reduce the violence related to guns as citizens get to understand the negative result of irresponsible use of guns. Roleff writes that gun control in other nations has proved futile due to the fact that countries that do not implement gun laws enjoy lower crimes to a point of being lower than countries that implement it (54). In U.K for example, the bans introduced in 1996 after the Dunblane massacre have not had any positive impact but in contradiction, gun related crimes have been in the rise and records show that there are over 3 million illegal firearms. An examination at Canada too shows that gun control is ineffective because even after introducing tighter gun laws in 1997, they have not worked both in the past and in the present to control crime (Kimball 54). Police reveal that guns are becoming identity accessories especially with drug dealers for the purpose of protection. Firearms in the hands of such dealers become use to settle small disputes. This may act as prove to show that gun control is also very much likely to fail also