The issue of gun control is a very intriguing and complex one, as the question regarding how to address the Second Amendment of the United States divides many Americans along political and ideological backgrounds. There is a stark divide between the facts collected on gun control and people’s opinions on whether those statistics are accurate, and if they reflect their own experiences and beliefs on gun usage in this country. The National Institute of Justice cites 467,321 victims of gun-related crimes in 2011, with guns used in 68% of murders and 21% of aggravated assaults across the nation (NIJ, 2011). The Bureau of Justice Statistics notes that gun violence has been decreasing since the 1980s to levels not seen since the late 1960s, with a rate of 4.8 homicides per 100,000 people in 2010 (DOJ, 2016). People of color, however, are disproportionately affected by gun violence, with 6,217 black homicide victims in the United States in 2013 alone (VPC, 2016).
Despite these statistics, the proper approach for addressing this issue seems to be controversial. One Pew Research poll sees a sharp increase in advocacy for gun rights as gun control sentiment has fallen, as compared to the 1990s and early 2000s when gun control was more sharply favored in public opinion (Pew Research Center, 2016). Furthermore, one Gallup poll notes that the number of people who feel that gun control laws should be stricter has decreased steadily since 2005 (Gallup, 2013). Columnists like The Nation’s Gary Younge (2016) argue that gun control arguments have been failing due to a political inability to reach out to low-income communities of color. These communities are affected the most by gun violence, but have been ignored for so long that they feel hopeless in the face of gun violence and that no gun control measures will stop gun violence. To that end, the divide between the realities of gun violence and the indifference/opposition towards gun control remains a stark problem that must be addressed.
References
Gallup, Inc. (Feb. 13, 2013). Sourcebook of criminal justice statistics. SOURCEBOOK.
Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/pdf/t2632012.pdf
National Institute of Justice. (2016). Gun violence. NIJ. Retrieved from
https://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/gun-violence/Pages/welcome.aspx.
Pew Research Center. (Aug. 26, 2016). Gun rights vs. gun control. Pew Research Center.
Retrieved from http://www.people-press.org/2016/08/26/gun-rights-vs-gun-control/#total.
Violence Policy Center. (March 2016). Black homicide victimization in the United States.
Violence Policy Center.
Younge, G. (November 7, 2016). Why the gun control movement fails. The Nation: 13-15.
