English: Can gun control reduce or stop random shootings in America?
Alexander (1) writes that over the last few years, the government and the congress have strengthened strict gun laws and regulations due to the deemed necessity due to the rampant gun violence such as tragic school shootings. However, the government has to understand that the problem lies beyond the control of guns and their availability; hence, strict gun laws will have little impact on random shootings and killings. The ease to access and own guns do not translate to increased shootings, and unavailability of guns does not guarantee reduction in shootings. Debates have come up in the congress and the government, which are assumptive with misconceptions and factual errors due to laying focus on unrepresentative comparisons.
According to Kates and Gary (656), there are debates around the world raising concerns about the unique availability of guns to the United States residents, some of which have led to assumptions that it is the cause of increased rates of murder and shootings. The proponents of the laws have failed to reason beyond the real issues in causes of homicide where studies reveal a series of factors being responsible for the increased murder and shootings; hence, gun control laws have a little effect. This essay will provide reasons that nullify the assertion that gun control laws will reduce random shootings in America.
The New York City commission on crime states that there have been 27 mass shootings, where the commission defines mass shootings as where there are four or more victims, since the year 1984 to 2012. The commission clarifies that a consideration of the geographical distributions of the cases reveals that the most affected cities have stricter gun control laws such as Wisconsin and Illinois.
The proponents of strict gun laws claim that the criminals purchase the guns from states that have weak gun control laws, yet the mass shootings have prevalence in states with strict laws. Shootings that occur in states with weak gun control laws occur in places where guns are not allowed such as schools (Noble, 1).
In July, there were shootings in Toronto, Canada, which left two dead and another twenty injured, yet Canada in one of the areas in United States with strict gun control laws. Although control of guns may appear as the perfect solution in reduction of murder, it is significant to consider the real homicide rates in a state. A state can have a high gun violence and shootings rate because of the overall high rates of homicide but not because of weak gun control laws. High violence rates in a state will be the possible reason why people will own guns, which will be used a lot. The essence is that gun ownership is not the driving force to violence, but is just a consequence of high crime and violence rate in the state.
Most killings, such as the assassination of Gabrielle Gifford and the Dark Knight attack lead to consideration of other factors rather than just gun control. Psychological factors come to play since gun control laws will not deter a psychotic dedicated to achieving a goal from acquiring a gun and using it wherever they wish.
An example of the ineffectiveness of the gun control laws is a study on the gun violence and crime in Chicago, which has the most strict gun laws and regulations in the United States. There were well over 500 cases of gun violence in the year 2012, which was a 10 percent rise from the year 2005. This is a clear indication that gun control laws have failed to work.
Socioeconomic factors like segregation, poverty, and population density are some of the factors that have to be put under consideration rather than overemphasizing on gun control policies. There are so many guns in the hands of the populace to the extent that thinking of effective gun control policies is like thinking of democracy in a country like Iraq.
Despite the gun control regulations having good intentions, it does not guarantee that the good intentions will always yield the desired results. The gun regulations will only work by taking the guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens. Incidentally, the law-abiding citizens do not commit crime, which implies that the criminals will still be at large with guns in their hands. The law-abiding citizens remain at the mercies of the criminals due to the few options of self-defense; hence, gun control laws may result to more gun-related deaths than it is now (Krause, 1). Consequently, the thought that strict gun control laws will stop or reduce crime in the United States of America is absurd.
Collins (1) argues that there is obvious evidence for the appeal and passage of gun control laws, but politicians will always take advantage of the issue and enact federal regulations and control. They take advantage of the emotional appeals by citizens to push for aggressive laws that aim at protecting the interests of a few individuals.
in conclusion, the topic of gun control laws became a hot topic after the Connecticut shootings where school children were attacked. The advocates of gun control laws need to think of better ways of gaging security through intelligence studies, rather than thinking emotionally in order to come to amicably effective solutions. There should honest discussions on the causes of gun-related violence instead of coming up with kneejerk regulations only after a tragedy.
Work cited
Kates, Don, and Gary Mauser. "Would Banning Firearms Reduce Murder and Suicide?" Law 30.2 (2001): 654-696. Print.
Alexander, Rachel. "Gun Control Laws Wouldn't Stop Senseless Shootings â“ They Would Cause More." PolicyMic. Version 1. Mic Network Inc., 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. <http://www.policymic.com/articles/70105/gun-control-laws-wouldn-t-stop-senseless-shootings-they-would-cause-more>.
Krause, William. "Congressional Research Service." Gun Control Legislation. Version 1. The US Congress, 14 Dec. 2012. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. <http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32842
Noble, Andrea . "Law enforcement says gun restrictions are ineffective: Survey." Washington Times. Version 1. The Washington Times, 11 Apr. 2013. Web. 21 Dec. 2013. <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/apr/9/survey-law-enforcement-professionals-say-gun-restr/?page=all>.
Collins, Dan. "No Proof Gun Laws Reduce Violence." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 3 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Dec. 2013. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/no-proof-gun-laws-reduce-violence/>.
