Stricter Gun Laws in The United States of America

Stricter Gun Laws in the United States of America
The issue on gun control in America is one of the most divisive issues in the American
society. On the one are those who believe that the right to bear arms as enshrined in the Second
Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America should be protected and upheld
by the state. Such tradition may be the sole strongest explanation to the relatively loose gun
policies in the U.S. On the other hand, people insist that the U.S. government should tighten gun
control on all of the States in the interest of public safety. Indeed, America remains the one
developed country with highest cases of mass shooting and, consequently, of gun-related
fatalities every year, surpassing a lot of low-income country [ CITATION Aiz19 \l 1033 ].
This paper argues for two things. First, tightening the gun control in the United States is a
crucial and integral step in lessening and mitigating gun violence that has victimized innocent
civilians and enabled criminals to execute murder by the thousands. Second, this paper argues
that the Second Amendment of the American Constitution which is considered by anti-gun
control groups as their main justification on continued gun ownership is taken in the wrong
context. But assuming without conceding that ownership of firearm is an enshrined constitutional
right, the value of the lives of innocent Americans far outweigh the value of the Second
Amendment.
On the first argument, stricter gun laws, which entails tedious and stern demand of
requirements, permits, accreditation, and exams before one can be allowed to own fire arms, are
integral in the reduction of gun violent incidents and casualties. As mentioned above, America
ranks high in the number of gun violence among rich countries. Studies show that the most
important determinants in the repeated occurrence of mass shootings and gun violence are not
mental health problems or increased consumption of media with violent content like video games
and action movies. Rather, everything boils down to policy. There is an established link between
stricter background checks and qualification for gun ownership, home secure lock requirements
among others, and dramatic decline in gun-related deaths [ CITATION Woo19 \l 1033 ]. Different
studies point to this conclusion. For example, a 2019 study inferred that individuals who own or
have access to firearms are 18 times more likely to threaten someone with gun violence
[ CITATION LuY19 \l 1033 ]. Aside from gun violence inflicted to others, access to guns also make
more suicides possible. According to the Center for Disease Control, a whopping 60% of gun
related mortality is suicide. In Israel, prohibiting soldiers from bringing their service firearm at
home reduced suicide by 40%[ CITATION Woo19 \l 1033 ]. Conversely, when the U.S. congress
lifted the ban on assault weapons, gun massacres shot up by 239%. In the face of overwhelming
evidence, the U.S. government should accept that the only way to obliterate gun violence is
through stricter gun laws.
Second, pro-gun people’s relentless invocation of their right to bear arm as enshrined in
the American Constitution is a misunderstanding of what that particular constitutional provision
entails. Certainly, the Second Amendment does not preclude stricter gun control. As a matter of
fact, the U.S. Supreme Court has, time and time again, ruled that that particular amendment does
not prohibit enactment of laws that prohibit gun possession for the mentally deranged, freely
carrying of guns in places like schools and government buildings, and imposition of meticulous
conditions in the qualifications on commercial sale of arms [ CITATION Epp18 \l 1033 ]. Thus, the
constitution cannot be used as an excuse for the continued unregulated sale and purchase of
firearms in the United States.

But assuming without conceding that the Second Amendment protects such “right”, the
ever increasing death toll because of gun violence should supersede the right to bear arms
because human life remains to be the greatest value there is.
References
Aizenman, N., & Silver, M. (2019, August 5). How the U.S. compares with other countries in
deaths from gun violence. Retrieved from NPR:
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/08/05/743579605/how-the-u-s-
compares-to-other-countries-in-deaths-from-gun-violence
Epps, G. (2018, March 8). The Second Amendment does not transcent all others. Retrieved from
The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/03/second-
amendment-text-context/555101/
Lu, Y., & Temple, J. (2019). Dangerous weapons or dangerous people? The temporal
associations between gun violence and mental health. Preventive Medicine, 1-6.
Woodward, A. (2019, August 6). Gun control really works. Science has shown time and again
that it can prevent mass shootings and save lives. Retrieved from Business Insider:
https://www.businessinsider.com/gun-control-research-how-policies-can-reduce-
deaths-2019-8

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Stricter Gun Laws in the United States of America

through stricter gun laws.

the American Constitution is a misunderstanding of what that particular constitutional provision

firearms in the United States.

because human life remains to be the greatest value there is.

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