Definition of terms
Assault rifles- This a rapid-fire and a magazine-fed automatic rifle that is designed for infantry use
Lower social economic- this is a party of society that is up people from all communities who have the lowest status in terms of economic strengths and social status.
Introduction
The United States of American is one of the less restrictive countries in the world with regards to regulation of accessibility of guns. The link between accessibility of guns and proliferation of violence is subject to debate. However, what is clearly a question of fact is that regulation of guns and their availability for purposes of committing crimes are two related and connected phenomenon. The accessibility of guns to African American has always been an issue for a long time. Earlier laws got enacted with a single objective of averting the African American people and immigrants the legal power to own guns. In the recent past, however, African American males in urban areas are accessing assault rifles with ease. The impact of such access to those with limited social and economic is the purpose of this study. This paper will grapple with the subject matter and draw discussions from the vast amount of literature available about the issue at hand. Observable phenomenon shall also come in handy as the author canvases the cognitive content of this critical subject.
Background of problem
The African American community account to approximately 13 per centum of the whole American population. However, despite having a small population they account for more than half of homicide victims. The figures at the bureau of statistic indicate that 279,384 African American have been victims of murder from 1976 to 2011. It is worthy to note that more than 90% of these cases, the murderer another African American. Such statistics have incited scholars and researchers of observable phenomenon including criminologist to attempt to find out the causes of such crimes. These crimes are prevalent in urban areas. Several theories have been put forward to explain the causes of violence. Access to gun, especially assault rifles has been on a steady rise in recent years. Gun stores are now not only found in major cities, but also small towns. Proponents of gun control and regulation argue that such accessibility especially to urban African American of low social economic status is a gamble with the security of the citizenry. They use the high rate of lethal violence figures available from researches to argue that regulation is strict regulation is a necessity. However, studies indicate that most of crimes and violence committed by use of assault rifles are those acquired through illegal means.
Problem statement
Statistics indicate that a significant number of crimes and violence committed by African American occurs in urban areas and is committed by the male gender. Therefore, this research sought to prove or disprove whether the access of assault rifles to urban African American has any effect on crime and violence levels. It is also critical to note their social and economic status in the community in which they live.
Purpose of study
The cardinal aim is to canvas any relationship that exists between accessibility of assault rifles to urban African American of low social economic status and its impact. The author seeks to find out whether there is any connection and if there is a connection whether it’s a positive one or a negative one. Data analysis and interpretation is essential to determine nature and exact extent of such a link.
Research question
The research question for this paper is as follows.
What is the impact of accessibility of assault rifles on lower social Economic Urban African American Males?
Hypothesis
The study sets out to prove or disprove the following two hypothesizes.
- Easy access to assault rifles by lower social economic urban African American males leads to more crimes and violence.
- African American males of lower social status buy guns with intention of committing a crime with it.
Theory
This paper seeks to explain that the African American males are engaging more in property crimes in order to survive. High poverty levels among the blacks’ community and the huge inequality gap between them and the whites act as catalysts. The lack of equal opportunities, inter alia, between whites and blacks lead to the blacks searching for other means to acquire property in order to achieve the American dream.
Limitation and assumption of study
The study will focus mainly on the African American males. It will only focus on access of assault rifles to them and the resultant effects of such access. Therefore, the research is limited to a small sample. The research also assumes there are consequences whether positive or negative in the relationship between accesses to assault rifles and lower social economical African American males.
Literature review
The literature review on the subject is extension and so is the number of previous researches too. Sampson and Wilson argue that the rate of death is high in areas inhabited mainly by African American. These deaths they argue are of male adults between the ages of 18 and 30. The rates of violent crimes leading to death have been high in black neighborhoods since earlier 1950s. Young African American males join gangs at a tender age. These gangs maintain a bitter rivalry with other gangs. Assault rifles come in handy when a gang wants to ‘teach a lesson’ a rivalry gang. Drug wars have also ameliorate the proliferation of assault rifles. This is because the sellers and buyers of such products want to protect themselves. The resulting impact is that assault rifles have been a means used for attack and retaliation. The law has also made it easy for a person to access them. American citizens have easy access to lethal weapons than any other country in the world by legal means. Restrictive policies of accessibility to guns are for the sole aim of averting access of these lethal weapons to criminals. Therefore, criminals or persons with criminal history, persons with unsound mind and drug abusers are prevented by law from accessing guns. There are suggestions that access to guns should be allowed for a significant purpose and not merely as a constitutional right. However, this would require an amendment of the constitution. Due to the nature of these weapons, they have been used as an ideal for robbery with violence. Criminals use them to intimidate and assault any person trying to avert them in such missions. However, others argue that every American citizen should be entitle town a gun as long as they meet the constitutional threshold. They argue that guns inclusive of assault guns are the most efficient, effective and safest way for a person to defend himself and his property. Approximately 2.5 million Americans use them to protect themselves, their property and their families. It is argued that for every life lost, 65 lives are protected. The presence of assault lives gives a direct impact in the increase of levels of crimes in poor urban areas. In areas where the majority of the population is of African American descent, these assault rifles are owned and possessed by the male gender. It is only in rare cases would find and African American woman who owns a can. These weapons are bought with the intention of protecting oneself. However, because of economic hardships and social stratification, young adult males get incited by fellow peers and gang leaders to use them to exploit the perceived wealthy folks.
Conclusion
The patterns and prevalence of criminal activities using assault rifles and other guns informed the theme of this study. The researches sought to find out direct and indirect consequences of lower social economical African American having access to assault rifles. Huge volumes of literature review analyzed indicate that there is a negative impact of ease access to guns by low class African American males. This is because of their lack of the requisite knowledge on the intent of the law to allow such access. The resulting effect is increasing levels of insecurity and property crimes. It is vital for the government in conjunction with all the requisite stakeholders to ensure that such areas are regularly policed.
References
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