Although 11% of Americans support gun possession in the US, more than 55% of them support the adoption of stricter gun laws (Wallace, 2020).
Moreover, over 85% of US citizens support the adoption of a universal background check that uses a centralized database.
Over the years, over 40% of gun sales have been made without any background checks of the purchaser’s mental health and criminal record.
According to Wallace (2020), there were more than 40000 gun violence incidences in the US that culminated into over 10000 deaths. More than 3000 children were either killed or injured.
Although the availability of guns is not the only factor, the easy access to them explains why the rate of gun violence and murders remains high.
From January to October 2015, over 290 mass shootings were experienced, with over 40 of them occurring in schools. In the United Kingdom, the gun murder rate was 30 times lower compared to the US within the same year (Wallace, 2020).
The Second Amendment does not defend the ownership of guns. It states that a well-controlled Militia that remains necessary to state security and the right of citizens to bear arms shall not be infringed.
Concisely, the individual liberty to own guns is not a guarantee under the constitution and can hence be controlled. What the constitution permits are the ownership of weapons and the regulation of the people or militia who own them.
The Supreme Court has – on many occasions – ruled in favor of the Second Amendment. At the State level, many States continue to uphold restrictive gun laws that remain largely unchallenged.
However, recently in 2008 in the case DC v Heller and 2010 in McDonald v Chicago the court ruled that the individual; right to gun ownership within a household for purposes of self-defense cannot be infringed. It ruled that handguns comprise ‘arms’ but the vote was a 5-4 with the conservatives outnumbering the liberals.
It is conceivable to comprehend why the founding fathers included the Second Amendment. In 1790, the US lacked the police force and was under threat from Native American tribes as well as a possible re-invasion by Britain.
In such a society, it made sense to permit gun ownership. However, by now, the US is an established and thriving democracy with a police force, and permitting gun ownership without control makes no sense.
Therefore, although it might be a provision under the constitution, the right to gun ownership without control is an anachronistic idea.
Ultimately, the Second Amendment is not an unlimited right and the provided gun-control policies are reasonable and justified restrictions on this specific right. In any case, guns are more likely to hurt members of a household than afford protection against harm.
According to Strobe (2020), weapons make bad situations worse. The murder rate in the US is higher compared to other countries since guns are more readily available.
Although the state capital has tough gun laws, most crimes in Washington D.C. are committed using guns that are purchased in nearby states where gun laws are lenient.
In any case, the country already imposes tough, mandatory sentences for criminals convicted of crimes that involve guns. In the 1920s, Canada had similar gun laws to the US but gun control has since worked there.
Concisely, it now more evident than ever that guns are more lethal than they have ever been. According to Strobe (2020), a gunshot victim is five times more likely to die than a victim of any other type of weapon as a gun. In a thriving democracy like the US, it is vital to have stringent gun-control measures that do not only limit access to guns but also put tough restrictions on those who eventually own them.
Stroebe, Wolfgang, et al. "Do Canadian and US American handgun owners differ?" Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement (2020).
Wallace, Lacey Nicole. "Gun Ownership and Gun Purchasing: Before and After Mass Shootings." Handbook of Research on Mass Shootings and Multiple Victim Violence. IGI Global, 2020. 339-356.
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