Gun control has always been a conscientious and hotly debated topic in the United States of America. Either side of the debate are the gun control and the firearm rights activists, each giving their own interpretation of the law and asking the government to intervene in the matter. The right to bear arms is a constitutionally granted freedom to the citizens of the country and can be found in the second amendment to the constitution. The government is also responsible for the safety of the citizens and prevent them against crime. The cause for the debate stems from the numerous mass shooting incidents in the country and fatal shootings becoming common in road rage incidents, robbery and racially motivated attacks. People call for restrictions in firearm ownership as they think it will help in bringing down crime and firearm related death. The proponent however debate that they need less restrictions in gun ownership as this would enable them to buy firearms and protect themselves from the increasing threats in the country. The debate continues as there is an overwhelming support for lenient laws regarding gun control. Many advocate not a ban but stricter measures to ensure that the firearms sold are legal as well as registered. Many states have fewer restrictions or are liberal in granting license for concealed weapons and thus there is no end to the debate. Gun control in the country will remain as hotly debated topic for years to come as many support gun ownership and oppose a complete ban on owning firearms.
A meaningful debate on gun control is possible only when the culture, history and experience of the people are taken into consideration. Any solution to the firearms problem in the country could only be resolved through a pragmatic policy making process that involves the views and suggestions of people on either spectrum. Vicencio in his article, "The Gun Control Debate: Why Experience and Culture Matters" says that the “convergent role of both cultural worldviews and public opinion plays at the very heart of deliberation on gun debate (Vicencio 1).” America has had a long history of firearm possession and many people would not willingly give up their right to own a weapon. For any law on gun control to be effective, the lawmakers should take into account the concerns of not only the anti firearms lobby but also the pro firearm lobbies. Public opinion currently on gun laws favors the ownership of guns for private protection. Although many many shun the indiscriminate shooting they do not support a complete ban on firearms as they think this will hinder with their right to protect themselves in case of threat. The anti-gun lobby is not as powerful as the pro firearm lobby and it would be a difficult task to convince them to give away their right to gun ownership. Thus any policy should take into account public opinion as well as different worldviews. Since it is a constitutionally given right, laws prohibiting gun use cannot be implemented easily. The debate will continue and no solution will be reached unless both the parties sit together and discuss the pros and cons of gun ownership.
Public opinion about gun control in the country has for years supported limited gun control but has always shied away from a complete ban on firearm possession. “Recent opinion polls suggest that many Americans support limited gun control but draw the line at a total handgun ban. According to 14 opinion polls done between 1959 and 1996, 41% of American households owned guns in 1994, down from 48% in 1973 (Blendon et al 1719).” Although the ownership of shotguns and rifles have gone down over the years, the sale of revolvers and handguns have only risen. The southern states and the Rocky mountain states are the areas in which gun ownership is high. Although the Supreme court and the American bar association disagree over the fact that every American has the right to own a forearm, people still believe that they can carry a firearm for their personal use. When it comes to a debate on gun control most Americans feel that the sale of guns could be stopped to people with a criminal history. They also call for the compulsory registration of guns as well as support the Brady law. The people who support a limited ban on the sale and use of firearms want a ban on the sale of semi-automatic weapons but not a ban on handguns. The percentage of people who call for a complete ban is very low. The problem with a meaningful debate is that even people who do not own a gun believe that a strict gun control law in the country would lead to a complete ban on handguns. This is the reason that the debate on gun control continues. People want laws that would protect them and restrict sale of weapons to specific people and ban sale of specific weapons that can inflict a lot of damage but do not want a law that would ban all firearm possession. Instead of being concerned about the misuse of guns, they worry about the safety and buy more guns.
Localizing gun control and firearm restriction could be a solution to the gun control debate in the country. In continuing with the call for a partial ban on sale and possession of firearms, Blocher in his article speaks about firearm localism, the long standing American tradition. He argues that, “Second Amendment doctrine and state preemption laws can and should incorporate these longstanding and sensible differences between urban and rural gun use and regulation. Doing so would present new possibilities for the stalled debate on gun control, protect rural gun culture while permitting cities to address urban gun violence, and preserve the longstanding American tradition of firearm localism (Blocher 82) .” Blocher and other supporters of a partial ban and better laws regarding gun control argue that there is a difference in gun use in the rural areas and the urban areas. While gun ownership is more in the rural areas, the shootings are much higher in the urban areas. The use of firearms in the rural areas are completely different from that of the use of forearms in the urban areas. Firearms are largely used for hunting and other recreational purposes in the rural areas which is absent in the cities. Gun laws have always been stricter in the cities when compared to the rural areas. Blocher calls for localizing gun laws as it would make more sense. The SAndy hook mass shooting evoked mixed response from the public. The National Rifle Association called for teachers to be armed in order to protect themselves and the kids while the mayor argued that letting people own and buy forearms would lead to more shooting in the future. The fear factor does not lead to a concerted or a singular opinion and the public remains divided. The states also allowed the law on banning automatic weapons to expire and no new law has been enacted since. Enacting restrictions and gun laws depending on the local traditions could be the only way to solve the gun debate and bring about a sensible gun control law.
Studies conducted on the effectiveness of gun control laws have shown that strict firearm rules and laws has not led to a decrease in firearm related deaths. Kwon et al conducted a statistical and empirical study on the number of states that had restricted gun use and states that had no restrictions and found that stricter laws had no correlation to the number of shooting deaths. They however point out that there are other factors such as high unemployment, poverty and alcohol consumption that are at play that drive these shootings. In effect, shooting related deaths could be brought down not by stricter gun control but by changing the socio-economic patterns in the country. High employability and a better standard of living might lead to fewer shooting and lesser gun control than strict laws than ban guns completely.
Even though many people call for a partial control of firearms or stricter laws regarding the sale and use of firearms, there are also people who call for a complete ban. They also worry about the increasing requests for concealed permits for guns. About eight million Americans had concealed-carry permits as of last year, the Government Accountability Office said in what it called a conservative estimate.“Some leaders in law enforcement call the increasing requests for concealed-carry permits unwelcome, citing safety concerns. Thomas Dart, sheriff of Illinois's Cook County, which encompasses Chicago, said that although the effect on crime is disputed, more people carrying guns "makes our job more difficult (Nicas and Jones, 2013).” States like Florida, Ohio, Tennessee, Oklahoma , Wyoming and Nebraska all show increased requests for carrying concealed firearms in public places including schools and churches. Allowing this to happen will only increase fatal shootings. When they have a license to shoot, even small threats that can be solved by talking or a fist fight would escalate to a shooting. Anti gun lobby people argue that there should be a total ban on the sale of firearms as well as the permits for carrying weapons concealed in public.
Mass shootings have increased in the country but there have been no complete ban on the use and sale of firearms. This is largely due to the ongoing debate on gun control. For every single person that wants a ban there are two more than do not want a ban or ask for a partial ban. A meaningful debate on gun control would bring people from opposing sides to argue their points. However pro gun lobbyists argue that it is under their constitutional rights to own a gun and that the country has had a long history of gun ownership which is dependant on the geographical location. The debate on gun control thus will continue and be a hotly debated subject as the two lobbies will never see eye to eye. The gun lobby also is quite powerful and would thwart any governmental measures to bring about a complete ban on the same and use of firearms.
Works Cited
Nicas, Jack and Jones , Ashby. Permits Soar to Allow More Concealed Guns. The Wall Street Journal. 4 July 2013. Web. 8 Apr 2016.
Blanco, Dennis Vicencio. The Gun Control Debate: Why Experience and Culture Matters. International Journal of Public Administration.(2015): 1-15.
Blendon, Robert J., Hemenway, David and Young, John. The American Public and the Gun Control Debate. The Journal of the American Medical Association 275.22 (1996): 1719-1722.
Joseph Blocher. Firearm Localism. 123 Yale Law Journal. (2013): 82-146.
Kwon, Ik-Whan G., Bradley Scott, Scott R. Safranski, and Muen Bae. The Effectiveness of Gun Control Laws. American Journal of Economics and Sociology. 56.1 (2010): 41-50.
