Closer Scrutiny Research Paper

There are many places that forbid people from carrying guns such as schools, publicly owned buildings, and businesses. According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, over 98% of mass shootings happened in a zone where guns were prohibited. Even though there are many restrictions on firearms sale and possession, there are extensive loopholes that make it possible for people who should not be able to own gun, to be able to purchase one. One of the most common used loopholes is buying from a small scale seller, or going to a gun show. These kinds of deals do not require that an extensive background check be performed. Another blurry loophole involves the mentally ill being able to get their hands on a gun. The current law that prevents mentally handicapped people from owning a gun requires that a person must be adjudicated as mentally defective in a court of law. A majority of mentally handicapped people are never adjudicated and can petition the court to overturn the ruling. The purpose of these laws and its likely effect is not the same thing. Gun control laws are usually more of a state decision than a federal decision. Many states gun laws differ, such as in Rhode Island, any person with a concealed weapons permit can enter a public school, but in a state over in Massachusetts, you must have extensive written permission from the school

“Guns don’t kill people, people do.” This is a well known statement that is oftentimes considered true. However, it is not completely true. Someone who is mentally ill may be unable to make logical decisions and the perception they receive of reality may be tainted by the illness. Gun laws pertaining to those suffering mental illnesses should be more restrictive. Weapons such as guns make committing an act of violence, especially when there are multiple victims, much easier. It is difficult to assess the probability of a person to commit a violent act that harms anyone including himself/herself. Therefore, gun laws need be monitored very closely and made more consistent throughout each state in order to prevent violence that could

Kopel, David. “Background Checks for Firearm Sales and Loans: Law, History, and Policy.”, vol. 53,

Since 1982, there have been over 85 mass shootings in the United States. Of those 85 shootings, three quarters of the weapons used were obtained legally. That means that our background check system has failed. If purchasers were required to undergo a mental health evaluation, numerous lives would be saved. Many mass shooters have shown previous signs of mental instability. Take Jared Loughner, the man who opened fire at a public constituent meeting in a Tucson, Arizona supermarket parking lot wounding 13 people and killing 6. Loughner had been showing signs of mental illness for years. He was even suspended from college for disrupting class and showing bizarre behavior. The college told him he needed to be cleared by a mental health professional before he could return. Instead, Loughner dropped out of school. In addition to his disruptions at school, he had many run ins with law enforcement. In fact, on the day of the shooting,

Dangerousness, not mental incompetence, limits gun rights. I know you opposed to this, but I think you should reconsider because, people who are mentally ill are a danger

People need to realize that people with mental health can be dangerous if we don't get them the help that they need. If we keep on selling people with mental health issues guns then there will be a lot more school shooting but we can decease that. If we make it so if we see a person with an intent of but a gun and they have a history of having mental health issues, then why are we selling them guns I know the its our second amendment witch is the right to bare arms but would you rather loose 17 children or take away that right for persons with a record of mental issues, I don't know, you pick

Even though federal law prohibits the sale of firearms to certain individuals with a history of mental illness, history has shown that it’s still too easy for dangerous people experiencing a mental health crisis to obtain firearms. Currently, laws are in place that require licensed dealers (but not unlicensed sellers) to conduct a background check prior to the transfer of a firearm to screen out these and other prohibited purchasers (smart gun laws 2017). I fill like everybody should have to take a test reguardless of there mental state so that government agensies go flag people that are mentally incompetent

Many things can be done differently in order to provide a safer, yet fair way to manage who can and cannot purchase firearms. One change that could be made is a mental evaluation directly before a person can legally purchase a gun. This would help because people who pose an immediate threat would not be able to purchase a gun or other firearm during that time, when they might be considered the most dangerous. However, some people would have no

In the 1980’s a “mental illness” was removes from the list of 26 identifiable mental illnesses. The American Psychiatric Association, the organization responsible for mental classification, is the apex of subjectivity. They are responsible for arbitrarily adding or subtracting a lifestyle from a list of mental illnesses. They are also the organization that will determine who is mentally capable of owning a gun. Through comparisons made between Switzerland and Chicago, more evidence points to the problem being the people and not the tool or gun they choose to use. (Vargas, 2014). Gun Control is not efficient as it has not shown to reduce the amount of gun-related crimes.

While the citizens of the United States of America should be allowed to own and make use of their firearms, in the case of protecting themselves against harm, there should be a better system in place to ensure that a person does not have a mental illness that could endanger another person if they have access to firearms. This is also the same in the case of a person having a criminal record, such as having a prior conviction as a result of illegally owning a firearm or

In the Constitution, Americans are given the right to bear arms, just because its a given right does not mean there are some restrictions. For example, if you have committed a felony then you have lost your right to bear arms as part of your punishment. Nowadays, there are too many shootings going on, some people may blame it the gun control laws and that they aren 't strict enough, others may disagree. This year alone there have been shootings that could have been prevented with more strict gun laws. Gun control laws need to be tightened to make America feel more safe; you can’t even go to the movies, or church feeling safe nowadays. Recently there was a shooting live broadcasted on television when a mentally disturbed man shot and killed two people. Mentally ill persons are getting their hands on guns and hurting innocent people by having doctors report threats to the state it should minimize the amount of crazy people who get their hands on guns to hurt others. However, even though they are mentally ill, doctors can’t report that to the state due to doctor patient confidentiality.

With approximately 30,000 men, women and children dying each year at the barrel of a gun in elementary schools, movie theaters, workplaces, houses of worship and on live television, the United States faces a public health crisis of gun violence. With stricter gun rights we can put a stop to terrorism and shootings. If the government puts the guns in the hands of people with mental illnesses, then they are allowing the violence to continue. Also it is undoubtedly true that people who are a danger to self and/or others because of mental illness should be prohibited from owning firearms. It is less clear, however, how to tailor new policies to better protect the American civilization while at the same time avoiding the stigmatization of Americans with mental illness. People that have mental issues cannot control themselves, it is undeniable if that person has shown violent tendencies they shouldn't have access to weapons that could be used to harm themselves or others. Mental illness is one of the main reasons that can cause gun violence. Massive shootings by people with mental illnesses represents the most significant relationship between gun violence and mental issues. Gun laws focusing on people with illness or a psychiatric diagnosis are reasonable, even if they add to the stigma already associated with mental illness. “Mass shootings by people with serious mental illness represent less than 1% of all yearly gun-related homicides. In contrast, deaths by suicide using firearms account for the majority of yearly gun-related deaths” (James, L.Knoll). People that have serious mental illness issues should be considered dangerous and should not be allowed to hold a gun. There should be stricter legislation on gun rights. The 2nd Amendment rights means “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and

President Obama has proposed the use of Social Security during background checks (Zarembo). This could be an effective method, but with the current classifications it may prevent those persons with the mental capacity from owning a firearm. In their article, "Challenging The Political Assumption That 'Guns Don’T Kill People, Crazy People Kill People!”, authors Heath J. Hodges and Mario J. Scalora challenges the guns dont kill people, crazy people kill people theory by providing information that shows there is not a direct correlation between those deemed not mentally sane and gun violence (Hodges and Scalora). With changes to certain classifications using Social Security during background checks will make it more simple for all states to better identify persons across the country and evaluate there mental capacity. In their article, "Substance Use, Mental Illness And Violence: The Co-

In the article, “The ban on mentally ill people buying guns wasn't ever based on evidence”, Jeffery Swanson states that “the mentally ill are no more dangerous to others” when they have equal access to guns. Also according to public behavioral health system, the severe mentally ill were no more likely to harm others (about 213 vs. 217 gun crimes per 100,000 people per year) This means that 213 normal people use a gun to harm others while 217 mentally ill used a gun to harm another. This shows that there is no point of restricting guns from the mentally ill if the mentally ill are no more dangerous than normal people. If the U.S. want to reduce the number of innocent killings, then guns should be restricted from

Gun owners are not of one race, religion or cultural background therefore, not one person can say who should have gun rights and where there should be gun control. Gun control should be a world-wide issue looked at from different perspectives. Who is to say what race or religion should own a gun and what race or religion shouldn’t have gun rights because even the people that have clear background checks and no prior issues with the laws, but with a flip of a switch something can trigger rage within them and they can go out and harm innocent people. We will never understand why this happens or what sets them off. Mental illness is most likely a start of why people lose control, but mental illness is easy to hide while purchasing a gun. There is no screening for mental illness prior to allowing a person to purchase a gun. There is, however a background check, but most of those are to make sure that the person doesn’t have any prior issues with the law that would stop them from being able to purchase a gun.