Public Affairs Memo

Violence and crimes are growing in number and affecting American society. By reinforcing background checks we could reduce crimes and limit easy gun access to mentally ill people. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) is a database where the names of people that have committed a misdemeanor, are mentally ill or drug abusers is kept to prevent them from attaining guns. Most criminals buy guns from unlicensed sellers at gun shows that don’t do properly background checks through the NICS, making it easier from criminals to purchase firearms. Another problem is missing records or information that was not reported to the background check system. Better background checks could reduce crime and gun violence in America.

Once there has been an established group of gun right limitation supporters, there will be a stronger case to prove to the congress that this pending issue is an important one and affects everyone’s well-being. In efforts of trying to solve the major issue of gun violence, I plan on getting the message of the insufficiency of security when purchasing guns out by “call[ing] [...] representative[s] in Congress and demand[ing] action on measures like background checks at 202-224-3121” (Kaufman 3). The congress men and women will also understand for the same reasons the parents and adults will understand that tightening the gun security checks will decrease the chance of someone getting his or her hands on such a fatal weapon. With the group of supporters and the congress men and women understanding and relating to the need to be free from danger, the congress should realize that reevaluating the gun laws and updating the rules to have and purchase firearms is a step in the right direction of working toward solving gun

Many laws, regulations, and government programs directly impact the issue of gun control as well. The Federal Government is in charge of the gun control laws and pass the majority of them. However, sometimes the laws they create do not succeed as they expect them to. For example, gun buy-back programs were created to reduce the number of firearms owned by civilians and to provide a process where people can sell firearms without the risk of prosecution. Phillips et al. stated, “Cities in the USA continue to use the programme in response to high-profile incidents, such as the shooting in Newtown, CT, despite a lack of evidence that the programme will succeed in reducing violent crime”(249). As gun buy-backs were an important step to reducing the amount of firearms, many illegal weapons still

The Second Amendment to the Constitution gave United States citizens the right to bear arms. Although, the Second Amendment stated: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms. However, the framers could not foresee the type of violence we have in our cities today. Innocent citizens have and are being brutally killed due to this amendment. Stricter gun control laws must be enacted to receive these types of weapons.

Gun law reform remains a sensitive grey area for the United States. This is one of many reasons why gun law reform has been proposed but never makes much headway. It is difficult to protect citizens while also protecting such an important piece of history and heritage. For now, it appears there is no resolution in the near

“To ensure that all individuals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the national instant criminal background check system and require a background check for every firearm sale.” I am writing to you as a constituent member and citizen-voter, and I am urging you to support H.R.3411: Fix Gun Checks Act of 2015.

The key actors in this bill are quite numerous because of the controversy in the subject. Dianne Feinstein proposed this bill along with 24 Democratic Co-Sponsors. Senator Feinstein has been an outspoken supporter of gun control especially within California. Connecticut Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy have supported this bill along with the gun legislation passed at the State level in Connecticut. President Obama has openly endorsed the idea of banning “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines ever since he arrived in

Next, part of the reason gun control was so prominent in the 2016 presidential election and campaign. It seems that (former) President Barack Obama (in office 2008-2016) has suddenly shown his true colors as a gun control-supporting Democrat. Back in 2008, when he was campaigning for his first term in office as president, he blew off gun control, saying that his opinions on gun control were not “an excuse not to vote for me [Obama],” and he did not put much emphasis on them; the only notable thing that was said on the matter was a call for “common sense reforms” (1). These reforms are believed to mainly push background checks, as it is considered “common sense” to ensure that one’s criminal record and mental health are in order before he/she

medical history, or any type of records when buying or owning a gun. Checking records of any sort can prevent a massacre to occur. The proposal of the background checks was passed by congress in 2013. What are background checks and what do the check in the background you might ask. Backgrounds checks are known as “Universal Background Checks”, according to csgv.org, prevents felons or prohibit purchasers to buy guns by checking their medical history, checking their criminal records, or both. They believe that this proposal is will be more effective, because it will prevent any more massacres and still protect the rights of people who want to own

Nowadays purchasing firearms can be as easy as going to a gun show and buying a gun from there. Background checks are only required when making a purchase in a store. While this happens it makes

just ignore bans. The only two things passing a law of this nature would accomplish

In the year 2016 alone, there have been 145 mass shootings around the United States, while there have been only 173 days in the years so far. In order to prevent these atrocities from occurring so frequently gun ownership should be regulated by both the federal and state governments through a background check for all sales of firearms. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System has prevented more than two million convicted felons and other prohibited purchasers from buying guns. The law also has a deterrent effect since the prohibited purchasers are less likely to try to buy guns when they know comprehensive background check requirements are in place. However, currently the federal law requires criminal background checks only for guns sold through licensed firearm dealers, which counts for only sixty percent of the total gun sales. The U.S. Congress needs to regulate the obtainment of guns with a background check for all sales of firearms in order to protect the lives of citizens in this country while not violating the Second Amendment and the rights of the state.

The president of the United States, Barack Obama, is trying to add a stronger gun control law to the country to help prevent the amount of shootings around the world. This new law will establish a new direction on who is considered a licensed gun dealer. These dealers will have to conduct background checks on those that want to buy the guns. If more gun control laws were enacted, people would have a harder time trying to buy or obtain a gun which will result in a decrease in the amount of shootings around the world.

Background checks are another way to control the flow of guns in the United States. Background check can be harmful or helpful. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 mandates such checks. In November 1998, the FBI unveiled the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Using this electronic system, federally licensed gun dealers can perform and instant background check on anyone trying to purchase a firearm. The dealer completes a document called a Firearms Transaction Record. It includes Information about the buyer and the gun. The dealer submits this document to NICS, which informs the dealer of the buyer’s status within minutes. Since NICS began, it has stopped more than seven hundred thousand gun

The first of these new proposals is the requirement of universal background checks for anyone who wants to purchase a firearm. This will hopefully close some loopholes in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and prevent criminals and people with a history of mental illness from obtaining firearms (Remarks). As the background check system stands now, people who buy guns from gun shows and other unlicensed sellers do not have to complete a background check (Stopping). For the Columbine massacre on April 20th, 1999, the killers purchased their guns at a gun show from an unlicensed seller, so no background check was performed. On April 16th, 2007 was the shooting at Virginia Tech and this shooter obtained a gun from a licensed gun dealer which he should have been prohibited from buying. He was able to purchase this weapon because his records were never reported to the FBI’s gun background check system. Again in Tucson on January 8th, 2001, a killer acted with guns he should have been prohibited from buying because his records also were not in the database. These considerable loopholes in our current