Gun Control and Opposing Sides: Possible Solutions

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Gun Control and Opposing Sides: Possible Solutions

Gun control laws have elicited heated debates in different quarters. While the debate about gun control in the judicial system is based along the constitutional lines, the public’s opinions are mostly expressed along the lines of public policy. The debate for or against gun laws attempts to answer questions arising from the amendments of gun control laws like; is there a relationship between violent crime and gun ownership? Are guns necessary for self defense? Does limiting gun ownership help in reducing murder case hence saving more lives? These among other questions are the frequently asked questions regarding the gun control laws. This debate has majorly been prompted by the various amendments to the existent gun control laws. One of the popular amendments to gun laws is United States’ Second Amendment Gun Control Act of 1968. This amendment in part states that; “a well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed” (Valdez, 2003).

The enactment of this amendment presented a window of opportunity for public debate resulting from mass shootings and killings in the same year. The most notable high profile killing was the 1968 cold blooded murder of Martin Luther King in Memphis as well as Robert F. Kennedy, both of which were linked to the possession of firearms by those who committed the murders. According to Valdez (2003), such shootings among others caused by firearms prompted the demand for increased campaigns against the gun control act with some politicians using their position regarding the subject to gain political mileage. The current U. S. gun control legislations attempt to reduce crime as well as violence by burning civilians from owning certain forms of weapons like machine guns and semi automatic rifles as well as prohibiting some groups from gun ownership. These include children, mentally handicapped and people previously convicted of crime among others.

The most popular argument regarding gun control is the argument as to whether more lives would be saved if it was made difficult for civilians to own guns. This argument can be justified by the fact that if there are strict regulations regarding the acquisition of firearms, there would be less deaths resulting from misuse of the firearms. On the other side, statistics indicate that about a half of U.S. households own at least one gun which is used for sport, hunting or self defense (Valdez, 2003). Prohibiting the majority law abiding citizens from accessing a gun for self defense and recreation would amount to denying them their rights. However, since this position is likely to be exploited by criminals, there is need to separate those believed to be criminals from the law abiding citizens and accord due rights to the law abiding citizens. This can be by way of prohibiting gun ownership to those with a history of crime and allowing only licensed users to own guns (Squires, 2000). It is also advisable to conduct regular background checks on licensed firearms. Further to this, firearm manufacturers should provide a serial number for every firearm purchased so as to identify the offenders incase a firearm is used in crime or killing.

The use of firearms for personal protection from criminal attacks is a common phenomenon. There is also another belief that with the introduction of strict gun control laws, the rate of crime is likely to have gone down. Acordingb to Squires (2000), those owning firearms are likely to use them in unlawful practices like homicide or even suicide. This leads to the question of whether the people kill because they have the guns or because they have a motive to kill. While owning a gun is likely to lead someone into committing more deadly crime than if they did not have one, motive is more likely to drive one into committing crime than mere ownership of a gun. Since both sides can be justified on their arguments, it is prudent to put every side on board in the interpretation of cases arising from the implementation of the gun control laws.

References

Squires, P. (2000). Gun Culture or Gun Control?: Firearms, Violence and Society. Newyork: Routledge

Valdez, A. (2003). Gun Control. Newyork: Infobase Publishing.