The US has increased its use of guns over the years because the bill of rights allows different people to possess guns. The gun policies in the US are so lax into hat one can own a pistol, machine gun, or a rifle unlike the UK where acquiring any form of firearms is very strict (Menaker & Dick 61). One of the things that have caused an alarming ownership of firearms in the US is the hunting culture where there is a deer harvesting period. This form of culture has initiated people to owning firearms (Schmidt 56). In addition, in the US people can own and possess firearms for sports. It is crucial to note that rifles are the only firearms that are acceptable for deer hunting. However, in the US one can purchase a pistol or handgun by using deer hunting as an excuse (Menaker & Dick 62). This shows how the US gun laws are lax in that many people can purchase firearms by using hunting or sporting as an excuse. In addition, in the US some states do not have to do a background check. This is not the case in the UK. In the UK one has to present documentations to show that they are licensed to shoot deers (Kevin 115). Only a rifle can be used as a sporting firearm but the pistols and handguns were banned in 2006 by an amendment that was created by the British parliament. In addition a background check has to be prior to one getting a license.
It is crucial to understands that firearms and ammunitions became significantly common during the post-revolutionary years because of the number of conflicts that arose between various communities (Kleck & Gary 269). As a result, the government at that time enacted the second amendment that gives Americans rights to own firearms for protective measures (Kevin 54). This indicates that people in various states can use the second amendment to justify their firearm ownership. As a result of this freedom among individuals, there have been high crime rates in the US. Some of the most astounding headline of the country was when a man opened fire in a school and killed innocent children in the process (Schmidt 86). This shows how the second amendment can be abused and that increased ownership of firearms in the US, will result to a high mortality rate in the future if gun control measures are not taken. The second amendments grants one the right to own a firearm for self-defense (Squires 121).
Unlike the US, one cannot easily own firearms in the United Kingdom (UK) because there are a number of legislative steps one has to go through to acquire a gun. The UK is considered one of the strictest places to acquire a firearm around the globe (Kleck & Gary 266). The UK has imposed and implemented legislative measures that require people to have certificate to own firearms. For example, the firearm certificate is needed in order for one to purchase a rifle whereas a shotgun certificate is needed to purchase a shotgun or another form of ammunition (Falso 76). For one to acquire these certificates one has to go through a number of legal process and that the certificates are mainly given by the police force in the country (Menaker & Dick 284). The police giving the certificate has to access and ratify that the person getting the certificate is amicable to be permitted to attain a firearm and that they do not show danger to the greater public.
The UK implemented a law in the Firearms Amendment in 1997 that made firearm ownership illegal to all people (Kleck & Gary270). This law banned all firearms in the country as a way of restricting people not to acquire weapons without going through the proper channels in that one had to be certified and licensed to carry a gun (Kevin 115).Gun control by the UK government has been effective over the years in that there have been legislations that have made acquiring firearms more difficult given, the comprehensive and extensive process to ratify one to possess firearms (Menaker & Dick 87). Given that this law has not been challenged by the judicial system over the years, the law has ensured safety of the greater society in the country. It is crucial to know that in the US 88% of the total population possesses firearms unlike in the UK where there is only 34% of the total population that has fire arms (Kleck & Gary 275).
On the contrary, the US has a different constitutional laws in that there are about ten amendments of the constitution that preside over both the federal and state laws. This explains why the congress has not collectively challenged the gun control method in that US in that owning a firearm happens to fall in the US Bill of Rights (Rollef 53). According to the US constitution, the Bill of Rights cannot be breached because there are fundamental rights given to the American people by the constitution. As a result, most Americans enjoy the freedom of owning their firearms in that the courts also believe that lawful Americans should have the rights to own firearms (Rollef 56). Given the recent abuse to this constitutional right, some of the state government has implemented a stricter form of patrol on ownership of guns by conducting an extensive background research on a person before licensing their firearm (Squires 125). In addition, some of the states have banned any assault weapons. For example, the District of Columbia banned the ownership of handguns unless the handgun was to be used for lawful measures (Murray 82).
The US has lax gun control compared to the UK because the congress was advocating for teachers to be certified to carry firearms based on the saga that happened in one of the schools. Innocent lives were claimed as a result of lax control in the US (Kevin 95). It is evident that gun control in the UK is better than in the US. This is because there are lower homicide cases in UK relative to the US. Given that UK has purported strict laws towards one possessing firearms and ammunitions, there are lower rates of homicide cases. The US on the other hand uses the second amendment as a justification for one to own firearms and ammunitions. Though various state governments have enacted laws that restrict the ownership of firearms because of the recent gunmen incidents that claims innocent lives, there is an alarming high rate of mortality caused by gun violence (Menaker & Dick 287). Gun control is important in every country by ensuring there are strict laws that prohibit certain people from possessing firearms so that they cannot endanger the lives of the greater society.
Lobbying is another key element that has promoted lax gun control in the US. Many people have lobbied such that firearms cannot be banned in the US. Given that one can be allowed to enter with their firearms in some public place. This indicates that the laws do not prohibit people from carrying their firearms regardless of putting the public in danger. It is also important to note that in the US, there are no laws that the police can revoke the fundamental rights to carry a gun for self-defense, unlike in the UK (Kleck & Gary 288). In the UK, the police can revokes one’s gun license when one is found incompetent to possess a firearm. This indicates that the UK has strict laws that may be used to limit gun ownership by the public.
Works Cited
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Kleck, Gary, and E. Britt Patterson. "The Impact Of Gun Control And Gun Ownership Levels On Violence Rates." Journal of Quantitative Criminology 9.3 (1993): 249-287. Print.
Menaker, Dick, and Harry L. Hogan. Firearm control: licensing and registration. Washington: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 1999. Print.
Murray, Douglas R.. "Handguns, Gun Control Laws And Firearm Violence." Social Problems 23.1 (1975): 81-93. Print.
Roleff, Tamara L.. Gun control. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Print.
Schmidt, Maegan. The US Constitution and Bill of Rights. Minneapolis, Minn.: ABDO Publishing, 2013. Print.
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