In light of recent events, I would like to make a mildly opinionated post regarding the lack of gun control in the United States. This morning, at Umpqua Community College in southern Oregon, at least 13 civilians were killed and 20 were wounded.
Today in the White House Press Briefing Room, President Obama spoke out on the subject: "Each time this happens I’m going to bring this up. Each time this happens I am going to say we can actually do something about it. But we’re going to have to change our laws… I hope and pray I don’t have to come out again during my time as president to offer my condolences." However, time and time again, changes in legislature have been discussed and actions have not been taken. Obama also has said that "At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this kind of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries. It doesn't happen in other places with this kind of frequency. It is in our power to do something about it" (Smith-Spark). One of the advanced countries that Mr. Obama was referring to in the above quote was Australia, where Prime Minister John Howard announced a nationwide gun law reform. As a result of this advancement, the probability of dying by means of a gunshot was reduced by 50%, a statistic which should really drive home the fact that with the easy availability of guns, violence is inevitable.
The American people know that gun violence is an epidemic: "Ever since the shootings at Columbine High School, in a Denver suburb, in 1999, American schools have been preparing for gunmen" (Lepore). However, it should not be the public school system's responsibility to prepare for massacres. It should be the government's responsibility to remove potential gunmen's resources. According to The New Yorker, there are nearly 300,000,000 (yes, three hundred million) privately owned firearms, 106,000,000 handguns, 105,000,000 rifles, and 83,000,000 shotguns. These statistics put the United States in first place worldwide for the largest amount of privately owned guns, followed by Yemen, where the amount is half of America's.
To drive the message home, I would like to highlight the fact that there have been 142 school shootings since the tragic massacre at Sandy Hook. Those 142 times could have been prevented, had stronger gun laws been implemented in this country sooner. It is time for change.
I leave you with a couple of questions on the matter:
- What can America do to mirror Australia's methods of limiting gun accessibility?
- Should there be requirements for gun ownership? If so, what should they be?
14 comments:
I completely agree with you. One statistic in your article I found horrifying was the "300,000,000 privately owned firearms, 106,000,000 handguns, 105,000,000 rifles, and 83,000,000 shot guns," mostly because if this statistic is based on registered firearms, there are millions of more people who have unregistered guns purchased illegally. It's sickening to think more people have access than needed.
I completely agree that guns make violence almost inevitable. When people use guns to go hunting for food, or other practical ways, I understand the want to have a gun. However, I've never seen why people get so angry when background checks are brought up. If the person is not a danger to the public, nor has any criminal record, getting a gun should be easy. For any upstanding citizen that wants a gun, a background check and tighter regulations should not be hard to pass. Requirements should involve a criminal record, along with how many children are living in the household. Not to vilify the mentally ill, but someone with a severely dangerous mental illness should also not be allowed to purchase a gun.
Also, while it may be difficult for the U.S. to become like Australia in it's gun control laws, we need it. For example, "30 homicides by firearm occur annually in Australia, or 0.14 per 100,000 population" (Kreig). That's amazing, compared to America. On the Center for Disease Control website, the CDC lists off American injuries from guns like this: "In 2013 firearms (excluding BB and pellet guns) caused... 11,208 deaths by homicide (3.5 per 100,000), 21,175 by suicide with a firearm" (CDC).
These numbers are staggering and disgusting and something must be done. Countries have pushed for this regulation and gotten it. Even though America has it in the amendments, it would not be the first time an outdated amendment was overturned. Gun control laws must be strengthened if we want our country to be safer.
Sources:
http://mic.com/articles/123049/19-years-after-passing-strict-gun-control-laws-here-s-what-happened-in-australia
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm
I guess I will play the devil's advocate. Gun control is a complicated issue due to the fact that millions of Americans feel that it is a constitutional right to carry firearms and in under no circumstances that this should be changed. While I do agree that the huge amount of school shootings has been a dilemma, other actions than just simply removing guns from the hands of Americans. Removing guns from Americans could just mean removing guns from the hands of law-abiding Americans while keeping guns in the hands of potential criminals, who would have guns either way. Keeping guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens would not only allow for people to react in a shooter situation, but provide a preventative measure against criminals who worry about those guns. Instead of the removal of guns, the United States could focus their energies toward better mental health programs, gun safety programs, and gun education. Mental health problems have been in a plethora of the 142 shooting you have stated. This includes the infamous Sandy Hook shooting, in which Lanza was not able to receive help for his obvious mental issues due to cracks in the states programs. Overall, the removal of guns from American citizens will not be the sole saving grace for stopping school shootings.
In terms of limiting gun accessibility, I do believe something should be done to prevent people from obtaining deadly weapons so easily. However, the right to bear arms is written in our Constitution, it's the second amendment. I believe that it is too hard to try and repeal the second amendment, which in reality is the only way to solve the issue of gun control. In light of the second question, there are requirements for gun ownership. In fact, if you have any sort of a criminal record I believe you cannot obtain a weapon at all. There are also background checks when a person tries to buy a weapon. However, being so close to the Sandy Hook Shooting that took place close to home, I definitely agree that something must be done to ensure the safety of the public. I also agree with President Obama, who says that overtime a tragic shooting happens we say changes must be made but nothing actually gets done to change anything. This is a tough topic to argue, especially since it is described in the document we base our country off of.
I do not think one could fathom how strongly I feel towards this issue on gun control. The fact that 124 shootings have taken place since Sandy Hook is inhumane and immoral. To those who do not recognize the mass number of lives taken annually by gunmen, are in the greatest state of ignorance and I firmly believe the United States must take a counter active approach that no other country has taken in order for the shootings to end. I believe in protection, for military use, and to protect valuable people such as the president, or important persons of the country. However the second Amendment needs to be revised. As we have studied in this course, the Constitution was written to adapt to our country's needs and to provide for the greater well being of America. However, the Constitution was written 226 years ago, in a time in which owning a gun was certainly practical. Today, although guns are still bought for protection and for hunting, a gun can be placed in the hands of someone with the wrong intentions and we need to stop this process from reoccurring. In order for someone to purchase a gun in the United States our country needs to put into action a system in which every person who wishes to own a gun must go through a background check and must show realistic cause to own the weapon. I agree with Olivia's proposal completely, and if the person purchasing a gun is not willing to give their information to the government then they shouldn't own a gun. This to me is similar to owning a drivers license. When we obtain a drivers license we agree to taking a Blood Alcohol Level test if asked to by the police. This allows us to be trusted by the police and the government by allowing its citizens to drive. It baffles me how guns end up in the hands of killers more times than often, and how common shootings have become in our country. It is terrifying that I, along with millions of other Americans, live in fear of our own species, for the thought that they could harm our lives. Like I said before, the presence of guns most certainly have a proper use in our society, however we must take great initiative in ending the misuse of them in our country.
I strongly believe in gun control. Having weapons is extremely dangerous and puts you at more risk than if you don't have a gun. I feel it is completely unnecessary to have weapons in your home. It is so common to have an accidental shooting. A poll from 2015 shows there has been 1,390 accidental shootings. Of those accidental shootings, on average "62 children aged 14 and under die each year in the United States as the result of unintentional shootings". 61% of those accidental shootings occurred in the child's home and 57% of the shootings was with a handgun. I personally believe that number is far too high when that can easily be prevented by removing a weapon from your home. I get that some people feel the need to be protected. In that case I believe there are other methods of increasing your secruity, like being more alert, get a guard dog, and install security systems. I just think you are putting yourself at a higher risk if you own a weapon. In 2015, 9,944 people have died because of a gun, and 20,249 people were injured. This number can drastically decrease if there was stronger gun control.
https://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2014/06/more-us-children-killed-accidental-shootings-you-might-think
http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/
I see both sides of the issue. While I certainly recognize the atrocities brought about by guns in the wrong hands, I also see the potential good they can do to protect people against violent crimes. In my opinion, citizens have a constitutional right to protect themselves in their own homes. Thus, I think the best solution is to minimize the damaging impacts of gun ownership while maximizing their defensive capability. First, assault weapons and excessively powerful firearms should be banned. Handguns, too, should probably be prohibited due to their easy concealment. This will hopefully significantly reduce the risk of all-out massacres in the similar to Sandy Hook. As for rifles used for personal home defense, citizens should be able to have guns in their home if they store it in a secure location and only use it for emergency purposes, not for sport.
President Obama has shown a desire to act now to reform gun control. In my opinion, creating a compromise between rights and restrictions is the key to making sure guns do more good than harm.
The idea that the constitution protects the right to bear arms is undisputed; however, the thought that by restricting gun control the government will be taking away guns from law abiding citizens is a misconception. The Australian system of gun control was implemented after the massacre caused in 1996 by Martin Bryant who killed thirty three people. Following the shooting, Australia radically increased the requirements for owning a firearm, such as being 18, having a license, having confirmed storage for the weapon, etc. These policies decreased the number of firearm related homicides by 7.5 percent the following year and the gun buyback system held by the government had 640,000 firearms turned in to authorities. Similarly, gun control in Europe is far tighter than that of the United States and their rates of firearm related accidents are also lower than those of the United States. When framing the constitution, the Founding Fathers were not aware of the advancements that would be made in weaponry. They were thinking of shooting rifles used to hunt and perhaps in case the militia was called or a wild bear attacked your cabin. America has moved passed that point; although many citizens still hunt, there is not the same necessity for hunting in order for sustenance or protection from the wild. Furthermore, guns are far more deadly than hunting rifles in the 18th century were and require more care and restrictions than such weapons. The shootings at 124 schools since Sandy Hook is not a "dilemma", it's a horrifying statistic. Some claim that guns are needed for citizens to protect themselves and feel safe. but honestly I feel far less safe knowing that a gun can be bought at a gun show without a license.
The government should implement more thorough background checks on those with guns, check the environment where the firearm will be kept, require a license (including at gun shows), and narrow the types of guns that can be bought. The aim is not to take away the second amendment from the constitution, but to modify the laws to better suit the technology and times we live in.
Every time a shooting like this happens the satire publication The Onion posts the same article with the title "‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens." Obviously, as satire, this is meant to be tongue-and-cheek, but it's seems almost too accurate to be satire. Each time awful acts are committed by a gun-wielding individual, regardless of the their intentions, new life is breathed into the hot-button issue, yet, no great changes occur. Laws have been passed in the wake of the mass-killings the country has seen in the last few years, but the shootings go on with disturbing regularity. Obviously, dramatic reform is necessary. Without making this post too opinionated, it's very apparent that James Madison, when he proposed the Bill of Rights to Congress, did not intend for citizens to have the extreme killing power that they have today. That right shouldn't be voided; not every gun needs to be confiscated for these mass shootings to be curbed, but perhaps strict regulations should be placed upon the number/power of the weapons made available to the public. Joe Smith doesn't need an AR-15 to shoot a deer, nor does he need five of them. It's beyond gratuitous. It would also be prudent to make mandatory psychological examinations part of the gun registration process. Whether they are state-provided or private practices, a doctor should sign off on it. However, few would be willing to give these examinations because they could be liable in the case that individual actually does go and murder someone. This issue is complex. Hopefully better political minds than mine are working on a compromise/resolution similar to Australia's that everyone might be content with.
I also feel very strongly about this issue, and agree that the government MUST do more to ensure that proper gun control regulations is in place. That being said, i do not think it is possible, nor beneficial, to eliminate the use of arms completely from American life. 32,000 Americans die annually by use of firearms, which i believe is unacceptable. I really liked what was said about our school systems being held responsible for implementing lockdowns in fear of gunmen INSTEAD OF the government being held responsible for making sure people with the intention to harm others do not gain access to firearms. For this reason i think that even more thorough background checks should be implemented before people can obtain weapons, and maybe even training. People are not able to operate cars without testing and valid licenses, the same practices should be true for firearms. The type of gun available to the public should also be limited. Police forces and the military, for example, should be able to use more advanced weapons in comparison to those keeping weapons in their homes for self defense or other purposes. In summation, gun control needs to be tightened significantly in order for arms to be considered safe and accepted by society, instead of them being such a controversial issue.
I feel that it is extremely important for America to increase regulations on gun control immediately. This issue has been pushed off for many years, which is unacceptable considering that, as previously said, if one looks back to the time of Sandy Hook, over 140 shootings have occurred. If the country dealt with the gun control controversy right then and there, so many lives could've been spared. That being said, it is a controversy for a reason; that reason is the second amendment, which gives Americans the right to bear arms. The fact that this argument is still supported, however, baffles me considering how many lives have been lost due to guns. Many people oppose stricter gun control because they believe it will take away their rights completely, which is a misconception. As shown in Australia since their tragic shooting, a government can make more rigid laws and requirements for obtaining and keeping fire arms without completely taking away the rights of the people. Since lack of gun control has proven to be a worsening issue in America, it is time for a change- a change that has been modeled very well by the Australian government in recent years. Some additional requirements that should definitely be instated are detailed background checks, minimum age requirement, consideration of family and home life, and security of weapon storage (as seen in the Australian reform). Another restriction should be the caliber of gun allowed to be owned by everyday citizens. Nobody should be able to own very powerful guns because there is no reason that they should be necessary, so it should not be out there at all. If gun control is dealt with immediately and made more strict, America could save so many lives from violent, unnecessary deaths.
Most issues have both pros and cons to them, but there are certain issues where it is easy to clearly take a side. Gun control is not one of those issues. I see many other people commenting heavily on the idea that gun control is 100% a good idea and should be implemented. I'm not saying its a bad idea, but will it be the best and will it work? One problem with firearms, is that they are like drugs. They are illegally traded all the time. Smuggled into the country and sold through arms dealers, many people do have the weapons without licenses. Would gun control stop that or help the business? Look what happened with prohibition. Illegal sale of alcohol made people a fortune. It could end up the same way. It is also written in the second amendment that people have the right to bear arms. The founding fathers wanted to allow the common man to be able to protect himself in times of danger. Now I don't feel that law is infallible, because weapons can fall into the wrong hands, but it is a matter of losing rights given to the people of this country, something that seems to be a problem these days. I am all for preventing deaths by shootings across the nation and gun control could help with that. But the kind of people who would commit these shootings are probably the same kind of people who could find ways around the law to get more guns. It's all a matter of how it would work out, and at this point, I'm not sure if it would be good or bad.
I am a strong supporter of gun control because the Second Amendment was written in a context dramatically different from the world we live in today. The Second Amendment is listed in the Bill of Rights because at the time that the Constitution was written, the United States was still very weak militarily and was greatly dependent upon militiamen and "minutemen" to defend the general population from threats like Native Americans. Most of North America was still frontier and wilderness back then, and citizens needed weapons to defend themselves, especially if they settled in the West. Thus, the Second Amendment is wildly irrelevant in today's society, since we live in a highly industrialized country with well-established laws, not a weak nation with poor defenses against internal and external threats. Although I have a profound respect for the Constitution, I believe that the Second Amendment has simply become a scourge on the tranquility of our nation, and this plague of violence is very clearly being perpetuated by the expansion of gun rights. When right-leaning politicians attempt to create more gun rights for "law-abiding citizens," they are doing so with the assumption that a "good guy with a gun" is always going to save the day, but that is almost never the case. Expanding gun rights doesn't lead to more vigilantes who are going to save the day; it leads to more opportunities for people like the Oregon shooter to get the weapons they need to kill innocent people. As a result, politicians who want to expand concealed carry laws and allow guns on school campuses are only facilitating the issue of gun violence, making it easier for horrible people to commit these kinds of atrocities.
Keep in mind, too, that the guns that were used back in America's early days were typically single-shot muskets that were very inaccurate, not highly-precise killing machines that can fire hundreds of rounds (and kill hundreds of people) in a single minute. The Founding Fathers could in no way have been aware of the degree of technological advancement that would take place in the field of weaponry, and they wrote the Second Amendment in a time when citizens really did need their one-round-per-minute muskets.
Thus, the United States should absolutely enact laws similar to Australia's, although at this point I am simply preaching to the choir; After all these tragedies nothing has been done, and the future does not seem to hold the potential for much change. Nonetheless, I believe we should still push for a universal ban on automatic weapons, since civilians should in no way, shape, or form possess a firearm of that kind. People who purchase automatic weapons do one of two things with them: 1) Bring them to a firing range, or 2) use them to kill people (no one uses an assault rifle to go hunting for deer). A weapon with the potential to cause such a massacre should not be sold to civilians who simply want to have a good time at a shooting range; it is a weapon, not a toy. And for those who want to protect their families with a weapon, they do not need an assault rifle to defend their homes. In fact, in many cases these people would be better at protecting their family if they had not bought a gun in the first place, given the large number of accidents involving young children who happened to find their parents' guns. However, I do believe that the Constitution should be upheld, and that compromise is necessary in this issue if anything is to get done, so non-automatic weapons should be allowed. More extensive background checks should be implemented, though, for those looking to purchase semi-automatic rifles and pistols, especially at places like gun shows. Of course, it is extremely unlikely that any of this will ever be enacted, especially as organizations like the NRA continue to lobby the federal government and deny that our country has a very severe gun crisis.
This issue is one of the most complex and controversial in our country today. I personally believe that while the second amendment should not and cannot be completely abolished, it is time for some serious limitations and i improvements to gun laws. There is no reason anyone in this country needs to own an automatic or semi automatic rifle. These guns are designed to kill and unfortunately thats what they have been used for. These guns need to be banned and confiscated by the government immediately. In addition i believe that the requirements to buy a gun are far to relaxed. Not only does there need to be extensive background checks, the mental health of the customer needs to be evaluated on a far deeper level than it is being today. Although banning guns would certainly be ideal it is not feasible and likely will never happen. The divide it would cause in this country would be too great and it could never work. I personally believe that americans should still have the right to handguns in this case, only after extensive background checks and safety precautions. This would be a compromise with pro gun supporters and would also make anti gun advocates a bit happier. If you believe there is nothing wrong with the gun laws in america today i honestly believe you have a screw loose. There have been enough innocent lives lost in this country and it needs to stop. People want to talk about fighting ISIS, the real terrorists are our own citizens, and they need to be stopped.
This issue is one of the most complex and controversial in our country today. I personally believe that while the second amendment should not and cannot be completely abolished, it is time for some serious limitations and i improvements to gun laws. There is no reason anyone in this country needs to own an automatic or semi automatic rifle. These guns are designed to kill and unfortunately thats what they have been used for. These guns need to be banned and confiscated by the government immediately. In addition i believe that the requirements to buy a gun are far to relaxed. Not only does there need to be extensive background checks, the mental health of the customer needs to be evaluated on a far deeper level than it is being today. Although banning guns would certainly be ideal it is not feasible and likely will never happen. The divide it would cause in this country would be too great and it could never work. I personally believe that americans should still have the right to handguns in this case, only after extensive background checks and safety precautions. This would be a compromise with pro gun supporters and would also make anti gun advocates a bit happier. If you believe there is nothing wrong with the gun laws in america today i honestly believe you have a screw loose. There have been enough innocent lives lost in this country and it needs to stop. People want to talk about fighting ISIS, the real terrorists are our own citizens, and they need to be stopped.
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