Race To Incarcerate Marc Mauer Summary

First and foremost, a gun owner must know how to use a gun safely. If one does not know how to use a gun properly, they are putting themselves and others in danger. There are three critical rules to follow in order to maintain a safe environment while shooting a gun. Rule one is always to keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. Whether this be pointed downrange or straight up, a safe direction is the direction where there is no chance of injury if the gun were to unintentionally go off. This rule keeps people safe and prevents unnecessary disasters from occurring. The second rule is when operating a gun, one must make sure that their finger is not physically on the trigger until ready to fire the gun. This prevents accidentally firing the

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.

Studies have demonstrated, repeatedly, that homes with a firearm are no safer than those without guns. In fact, the sight of a gun during an intrusion is cause for action, deterring thought, which could make all the difference between life and unnecessary death. Besides which, most gun murders at home aren 't perpetrated by an intruder, but rather by a family member or an acquaintance.

Policymakers are constantly saying they need to lower crime rates in America. When looking at the numbers America doesn't have a significantly higher rate of crime compared to other developed countries. In fact, Canada has a 94% higher total crime rate per capita then America.”” There is not more crime in America, the crime is just much more lethal. When looking at violent crime due to guns America has a 288% higher violent crime rate then Canada.”” The main reason for the higher violent crime rate is the leisurely process of obtaining a firearm in America. In America, there is an average of 88.2 guns per 100 people, making it very easy to obtain a firearm. “”

Gun violence has been on the rise for many years and there seems to be no solution. People feel more protected with guns in their home, but actually this increases their risk to be in harm’s way of being hurt or killed because of the gun. The majority of gun ownership is owned by civilians “75 percent of the world’s 875 million guns are civilian controlled”(Gun Violence). People also feel more protected when they carry a gun on their person but this also increases their risk of being harmed “Philadelphia study found that the odds of an assault victim being shot were 4.5 times greater if he carried a gun" and that "his odds of being killed were 4.2 times greater when armed”(Gun Violence). If people knew that it increases their risk of being killed then not very many people will carry a gun around.

Dr. Jeffrey A. Roth states that “research has shown that a gun kept in the home is 43 times more likely to kill a member of the household, or friend, than an intruder. The use of a firearm to resist a violent assault actually increases the victim's risk of injury and death.”

Mass incarceration is a barrier effecting many minorities and communities. The growth in incarceration rates in the United States over the past 40 years is historically reoccurring. According to statistics the war on drugs is the number one drive into our prisons. It took a toll on how diligently police enforcement do their jobs, communities, citizens and our 14th amendment rights which addresses equal protection under the law to all citizens, the amendment also addresses what is called "due process", which prevents citizens from being illegally deprived of life, liberty, or property. Marijuana and Narcotics are the most common drug when it comes to distributing and possession. Drug use and abuse is an expensive problem in the United States, both financially and socially. Another factor that contribute to mass incarnation rates

Gun Control in America is seen as ineffective, citizens believe gun control laws in place are not protecting lives, but taking them away. In order to solve this problem, many think more laws should be put in place. By doing so, they believe guns would no longer be in the hands of criminals and lives would not be ended before their time. In Christine Watkins’s article, “Stronger Gun Control Will Save Lives” She explains that if guns were objects that truly kept us safe, America would be the safest country in the world. She also states that a gun in any home is more likely to be mistreated, causing an accidental shooting. She also hints that more common sense laws would greatly benefit gun owners (Stronger Gun Control). One of her points is

Last of all, children’s safety from gun is very important. Parents cannot guarantee their children could keep away from it. Children are unaware of the danger to them, which they may harm themselves and others. Parents are responsible to keep gun away from children incase of causing serious consequences. For example, a 5-year old boy accidently shot his mother when he found the gun in the kitchen drawer and thought it was a toy. Based on the research data, heart disease takes up 37% of the U.S mortality rate and gun violence take up to

This country must normalize safe gun storage practices. There 1.69 million children and youth in the United States greater than eighteen years old are living with loaded and unlocked household firearms. Unintentional injuries, suicide, and homicide among youth may happen because young persons are able to access an improperly stored household firearm. Approximately 90% of fatal firearm incidents involving children occur within the home. Twice as many firearm

     Guns in America are a problem as bad as the drug problem: 43% of households that have children have handguns in them; 10 children die every day from handguns, approximately one every 2 ½ hours. That is the same of a classroom of children every two days. Parents do not realize that children get the physical capacity to reach and discharge a firearm long before the ability to understand the potential consequences of these actions. Parents who insist on keeping guns in the home should be urged strongly to store their firearms unloaded and locked in a secure place. Actions like these will reduce the probability of children being killed by a firearm. The presence of handguns

Even though guns are used for good every day, they are also used for situations that are not good for our safety or the safety of others. Gun violence continues to rise in places where handguns are illegal. In the United Kingdom, where hand guns are illegal there are more violent crimes than here in the United States where handguns are legal. Even though we have less violent crimes, we still have a major problem with violence. The article “Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence” states, “On average, thirty-two Americans are murdered with guns every day and one hundred-forty are treated for a gun assault in an emergency room” (“Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence”). So it shows violent crimes are still a big problem in this country. One of the biggest problems is how much it affects the children of our country. The author also says, “Youth children which live in the most rural U.S. counties are as likely to die from a gunshot as those living in the most urban counties. Rural children die of more gun suicides and unintentional shooting deaths. Urban children die more often of gun homicides” (“Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence”). Reading this fact is very alarming as children should not be around guns as they are very dangerous to them. Overall, guns can cause a lot of deaths, but it shows where they are legal there is less violent crimes.

The United States has been a world leader in homicide for centuries. Indeed, “since the early 19th century ...[America has been] the most homicidal country in the Western world” and holds that title today (Kelley, 2009). In a 2007-2008 list of 31 nations, only two nations, Mexico and Chile, had higher homicide rates (Comparison, 2010). Nations with higher populations, such as India and China have fewer homicides (Comparison, 2010). Further, a nation such as Japan, which has a lower population but a higher population density then the United States, has one of the world’s lowest homicide rates (Comparison, 2010). Population size and density, therefore, cannot be the chief reasons for this nation’s higher homicide rates.

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).

Owning a gun of any type puts more citizens in danger than keeping safe. Accidental shootings happen in dramatic and regretful situations. There has been many occasions of accidental shootings that happen to family members. A case here where two boys were playing around, “Police say a 3-year-old was fatally shot in the head by his 6-year-old brother while they were playing "cops and robbers." According to authorities, the older brother found their father 's loaded revolver on top of the refrigerator and shot his little brother” (Miller). The father was arrested. That firearm tore a family apart forever. The mother lost