Gun Control in the US

So why is it that the most important country in the world has the easiest process to get a gun? In a country that is so powerful and filled to the brim with people from around the globe getting a gun shouldn’t be so easy.

Mass shootings are a real problem in the United States and more so recently because they are becoming more frequent. Even though school shootings are the focus there are more problems than just that, sure there are the most terrible but there are also homicides, suicides, robberies, and sexual assault that happen because people can get their hands on guns with ease.

There are more guns than people in the United States, there are 317 million civilians and 357 million firearms in circulation (Gun Violence and the Common Good). Guns always seem to end up in the wrong hands, we can help stop these tragedies before they happen instead of intervening when they are present. We can make the process of getting a gun more elaborate and actually identify who is fit to have a gun and not give them out because they are within the age requirement which is 18 and have citizenship here in America. Some states run a background check which requires a waiting period but this is still not enforced and even skipped if they buy from private sellers. If you really wanted to get a gun here it would take no longer than an hour. Countries all over the world have been enforcing their gun control laws even if they say we are a first world country we are staying behind in safety. In Japan it is required to pass a firearms class, get a doctors note declaring mental sanity and drug screening, you have to describe why you need a gun to the police department which also checks where the gun is safely stored, and finally you must obtain a certificate from the gun provider to receive your firearm. This might seem like a tedious process but it is all for a greater good because in their country the safety of the people is actually cared for.

If guns are so dangerous why not totally remove them, guns will always find themselves in bad hands and will get people hurt as long as they are around. Civilians should be restricted of this right and the second amendment should just be repealed. This idea is not new in D.C. this ban of handguns, automatic firearms, and high capacity semi automatic firearms happened in 1976. Because of this ban it was obvious that firearm fatalities decreased by 50 each year. Just because this right is heavily protected the toll to pay is with lives every single day. There have been so many deaths like the shootings of Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, Tucson, Aurora and Oak Creek. Eighty people die daily in the U.S. according to the article (Repeal The Second Amendment). This article also states that America has 15 times higher murder rate than 1st world countries when comparing average.

Guns are a tool to neutralize dangers that are sure to come up, criminals can’t always be stopped by the police, citizens with firearms are the safest bet and if everyone is permitted a gun then the good can overcome the evil. One prime example that guns are no harm is the widely heard term, guns don’t kill people people kill people, guns are not the problem but those who want to cause harm will with or without guns that is why guns should be common and in every home. Another good example is when citizens have taken matters in their own hands when, a concealed gun carrier stopped a teenager who threatened a walmart customer with a knife and demanded she have sex with him (Gun Owners of America), luckily this man was there to stop him with his gun. The second amendment is part of the making of the United States it is embedded within our country. Taking away the second amendment is giving away all the power people have against corruption and other countries. Giving away the guns is weakening the country of the people and therefore becoming as corrupt and overrun as we once were under the control of the British.

My proposition is just to modify the way we do things for the better of everyone. If we do a better job at distributing guns to people who actually should carry one we are sure to improve safety and help decrease homicide, suicide, shootings and any crime that is committed by the use of firearms. We can’t totally eliminate guns that would be chaotic because those who hurt people don’t follow laws and they would find a way to keep getting firearms and the good people who follow rules will be left helpless. If civilians are left without guns then America would be weakened as a country. If we go Oprah Winfrey and give every single person a gun which is pretty much what is happening now it is stupid to ask ourselves why horrible things happen. Good guys with guns will overcome the bad ones but that will also create havoc it will just be a huge crossfire with innocent people in between and when police arrive which are the ones who should know what to do in these situations won’t because it will just be a shower of lead between people and will be unable to distinguish who to help and who to stop. We must enforce the process of getting a gun as Japan did we should have more requirements to earn the right to bear arms. Yes the second amendment is part of history and part of America but it is in the bill of rights and it is a living document meant to stretch and shrink as times change. We are the first in many things as a country but I am not pleased to be the first in murder counts but we can change that for safety. Hopefully one day we can accept a proposition like this instead of being a creature of habit scared of change even if it is for the good, or maybe it is because people truly are lazy and will not want to accept a longer tedious process of getting a gun even if it means reducing all the harm that is being caused now a days.

Bibliography

chinoy, sahil. How to Buy Guns in 15 Countries. Audrey Carlsen, The New York Times, 2 Mar. 2018, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/02/world/international-gun-laws.html.

Seufert, Stephen. Gun Violence and the Common Good. Huffpost, 10 Dec. 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-seufert/gun-violence-and-the-common-good_b_8265620.html.

The editors. Repeal the Second Amendment. Repeal the Second Amendment, America Magazine, 10 Nov. 2017, www.americamagazine.org/repeal-second-amendment.

Knighton, Tom. Concealed Carrier Stops Assault. Concealed Carrier Stops Assault, Gun Owners of America, 18 Sept. 2018, www.gunowners.org/concealed-carrier-stops-assault.htm.

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