Introduction
When Eli Whitney first mass manufactured guns in the 1790’s, his first contract called for production of 10,000 weapons (Eli Whitney Museum n.d.), in 2013 more than 10.8 million guns were produced in America alone, an 1080% increase from Eli Whitney’s original contract for 10,000 weapons (ATF 2015). With huge increases in manufacturing comes and equally large jump in gun ownership, one would think; “31.0% of households reported having a firearm in 2014, essentially tying with 2010 for the lowest level of gun ownership in the last 40-some years. This is a decline of about 17 percentage points from the peak ownership years in 1977-1980.” (University of Chicago 2015). Over the years the rate of ownership has drastically decreased, but the rate of crime associated with illegal guns has gone up, in a study by Phil Cook, Susan Parker, and Harold Pollack (2015) found that, “70 inmates who had possessed a firearm, only 2, or 2.9 percent or 98.1%, had bought it at a gun store. The report found that percentage was in line
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Nationwide; it said that guns that are obtained through numerous types of illegal channels, “39.6% of got a gun from a friend or family member, 39.2% on the street or from an illegal source, 0.7% purchased a gun at a gun show, 1% purchased a gun at a flea market, 3.8% purchased a gun from a pawn shop, and 8.3% bought their guns from retail outlets” (Harlow 2002). Those numbers only represent people who were in jail for violent felonies and how they purchased guns once they got out of jail, but these numbers represent a strong subset of the population. Nationwide most guns that are used in crimes are obtained through those channels, “ATF officials say that only about 8% of the nation's 124,000 retail gun dealers sell the majority of handguns that are used in crimes.” (Noyes
On average, there is a shooting throughout the country where the victim was left defenseless each day. even with strict gun control laws set in by the federal government, many Americans still have faith in our second amendment. Gun control is proven ineffective, According to Richard Epstein of the New york University of Law, “We can confidently predict that crime will go up unless and until there is a vast expansion of the public police force.” (Epstein 1). While gun control law are in place there are still too many guns for the federal government to keep track of within the country, Richard Epstein states that “upwards of 200 million firearms of all descriptions are available for general use in the United States.” (Epstein 2). With recent
A 2012 study found that there an estimated 310 million guns in the U.S. They are comprised of 114 million handguns, 110 million rifles, and 86 million shotguns. In a population of 314 million people, that equates to almost one gun per person. There are 8 million firearms produced globally each year, of which 4.5 million are purchased by Americans. Now while those statistics are staggering, it’s only fair to mention that only 20% of the population owns 65% of the U.S. firepower.
With the popular culture providing positive images of guns, the United States has a gun prevalence that is very rare in the modern world. While many people appreciate the “gun culture”, guns are heavily involved in violence in the United States. According to U.S. Department of Justice, since 1960, more than 750,000 Americans have died under firearms, including homicides, suicides, and unintentional injuries. The figure 1 provides a comprehensive survey of U.S. violent crimes for the period from 1993 to 2011.This figure illustrates that from 1993 to 2011, about 60% to 70% of homicides were associated with a firearm. Over the same period, between 6% and 9% of all nonfatal violence, with about 20% to 30% of robberies and 22% to 32% of aggravated assaults involving a firearm.
The United States is one of the few countries were the right to bear arms is protected by the constitution. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most violent with incidents involving guns this year reaching an estimated 36,212 and an approximate 9,050 deaths (“Gun Violence Archive”). There are an estimated 310 million firearms in households across American, these are only estimates because current gun laws do not require them to be registered or tracked. A more staggering estimate is that most of the guns owned by private citizens are semi-automatic guns, the same type of gun used in almost all mass shootings. While these privately owned guns are legally purchased, many times, they land in the hands of criminals, and owners never report them stolen. Mass shootings and gun crimes are not the only issues with gun violence the one never talked about is suicide, more guns available equals more suicides. The United States is one of the easiest countries to own a gun legally or illegally, stricter gun control laws are necessary.
Guns and weaponry have always been a major part of the cultures of the world since the beginning of time. For the United States of America, gun use can be traced back to the colonial days, our revolutionary roots. They have helped the United States turn the table specifically in times of dire need such as the Revolutionary War. Not only have advances in weaponry influenced the U.S., they have also helped to shape events across the globe. In 1791, this was understood by the Founding Fathers while writing the Constitution, which can be seen in the Second Amendment: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”[1]. With the advancement of guns specifically, there has been a rise in mass shootings, casualties, crime and controversy that has begun to split the United States. All a person has to do is turn on the television to a news channel, and at any given time, heartache, most often linked to guns, can be found. Some cry for a need for better gun regulation or sometimes complete abolishment for recreational use, while others cling to their weapons with claim of self-defense and economic profit. Violent crimes have been on the rise years; there has been an estimated 1.2 billion crimes of violence that occurred in the United States alone [2]. One thing is certain: gun trade and regulation boosts the economy. Last year, 301,
The controversy over assault rifles is one of the most problematic issues related to the contributions of gangs, drug traffickers, and most criminal activity. More often than not, criminals have access to the weapons of their choice more easily than it should be. Getting them from licensed dealers, black markets, and family members’ homes, the availability of these militia weapons has become to effortless to obtain. The rise of criminal activity is part of the reason more than one-third of high school students have easy access to a weapon or gun. “Four out of five guns brought to school are actually brought from their own homes” (Page par 2). This is one of the biggest problems when faced with where criminals get their
Only 2 percent of the guns that criminals have used are obtained through purchase from the gun show according to the Department of Justice of U.S. These ones were purchased by persons legally who went through the background checks successfully (Spitzer 47).
In the United States of America the right to bear arms gave birth to a phenomenon called the “gun culture,” the term coined in 1970 by a historian Richard Hofstadter, which describes America’s heritage and affection for weapons(1). Not only did gun culture become an inseparable part of American democracy, but also it is considered to be synonymous with independence and freedom, the most important values for American society. Even though the crime rate and murder rate in the U.S. is higher than in any other developed country, U.S. citizens oppose every attempt made to pass gun control legislation(2). However, it may sound like a paradox, but the crime level in the most liberal states, when it comes to gun ownership, is the lowest in the
It is estimated that there are as many guns as there are people (approximately 310.000.000 guns” in the US, which are held by civilians, gun shop owners,
One may attribute the increased rate of violence in the U.S. to guns, and while this may hold some truth, the fact remains that the mere presence of guns does not cause violence. Gun ownership is at about twenty five percent per capita in Switzerland, yet the homicide rate was about point five per hundred thousand residents, according to the Swiss Federal Government. Violence rates in the U.S. are not just because of the presence of guns; guns and peace can coincide. In addition to this, tighter legal regulations do not necessarily reduce violence, as about seventy nine percent of gun crimes are caused by illegal gun owners, according to a study conducted by Pittsburg’s Graduate School of Public Health and the Bureau of Police. Why would one with the desire to commit a crime bother obtaining a gun legally when the same gun could be purchased
Should the mere fact that criminals committing crimes with the use of guns infringe the national right of the innocent to possess guns. This is a question that arouses everywhere and no matter which way it is viewed the controversy will always go on. "A gun is a mere tool that can be used for good or evil. Our country is based on the belief that man is good until he or she is proven to be otherwise."(Harris p.2) This means that only a few people are committing crimes with uses of guns and why completely remove them from society. Therefore, we should strenuously protect the rights of free men and likewise prosecute and punish the criminals who abuse the rights of others. The problem with gun violence is associated with the
According to the Institutes of Medicine, it was found on June 2013, that criminally acquired firearms are often stolen from civilians whom obtained them through legal transactions. It was found that from the year of 2005 to 2010, 1.4 million guns were stolen from American homes during property crimes such as house burglary and car theft. Many Americans believe in the usage of guns for protection and self-defense. However, criminals are taking advantage of this belief that citizens have and are using it to commit crimes that the citizens seek to protect themselves from. In order to put a stop to this, the laws must be more strictly enforced in not just certain locations, but the entire nation.
Enforcing laws on prohibited gun buyers, is one of the meaningful actions the US-congress should take to reduce future mass shooting. Under current federal law, it is illegal for many categories of people to own guns. Among those owner are: Anyone who is under a constrain order of harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner, and anyone who is a runaway from justice. The duty imposed on others not to sell firearms to prohibited people is weak and easily evaded. In addition, most gun dealers wish to sell lawful owners, most-but not all. In 1995, a researcher analyzed government tracing data and discovered that 1% of gun dealers sold 57% of the weapons found at crime scenes. Moreover, the US-congress should stop gun dealers from selling
A group of researchers analyzed gun trace data to study the paths by which certain guns move from their original purchase to crime scenes in Boston. They found that more than half of the guns used in assaults and twenty eight percent of the rest of the guns were purchased from a licenced dealer. This has become a major issue. With the weak gun control that is currently issued in certain states, more and more people have access to guns. And when people have better access to guns, crime rates skyrocket.
Further, despite the fact that gun ownership in the U.S. increased enormously during the 1990’s, there was a consistent, dramatic reduction of criminal violence. In fact, homicide and violent crime have plunged over the last 15 years. Considering that 18 of 25 countries surveyed had an increase of violent crime, America’s large decline is impressive. Moreover, Norway, Finland, Germany, France, and Denmark also have a high rate of private gun ownership, and the murder rates in these countries are as low as or lower than developed nations with less gun ownership (Kates & Mauser, 2007).