The Pros And Cons Of Gun Control

In the current year, many things have changed in the political world with some of them being welcomed by all and others not as much. While this paper is not specifically about the people holding political offices, I feel as though it is important to view their influence in these issues. The policy that I am going to discuss in this paper is gun control as I feel it is a hotly debated issue in the country today, especially after the incidents we have had throughout the recent years.

“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

Mental Health is the root to numerous problems in America, how your brain deals with certain situations determines how sick or healthy our minds are. Based on a Washington Post-ABC News Poll of 808 adults, 57% agreed that the mass shootings were due to mental health issues whereas 28% said that it was due to inadequate gun control laws (SHEN). Almost 30% additional people thought that it was a mental health issue instead of a gun control issue. Since a larger portion of adults believe that mental health is the root to mass shootings a mental health test need to be complete on anyone who wants to carry or purchase a weapon.

After recent tragic events, such as the mass shooting that took place at a musical festival in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 1st, 2017, which left over 50 people dead, and over 500 others injured (Bui, Zapotosky and Barrett), the topic of stricter gun controls in America has become a controversial topic for many people in our society. Those in favor of stricter gun controls believe that by implementing laws that would make it more difficult for the average person to purchase and own guns, the result would be a decreased number of mass shootings and other gun deaths in our country. Typically, with these proposed laws, it is suggested that potential gun owners should be required to undergo mental health screening, in addition to regular background checks to see if the person has a history of any mental illnesses or past crimes. However, reducing the number of mass shootings and other gun deaths in America is not as simple as just implementing new laws.

The main complication is that America’s corrupted mental health system is a liability to the safety of regular American citizens because mentally ill people do not get the proper help they need and are easily able to gain access to guns. A majority of people with mental illness show signs of having a mental illness and are often not given a proper diagnosis or any diagnosis at all. Only one-third of the people with mental illness who have committed mass shootings in the U.S. since 1900 had sought or received mental health care prior to their attacks. This information suggests that most shooters do not seek or receive care that they need (Duwe 1). If a person with a mental illness is left untreated they could end up hurting themselves or others. Sandy hook mass shooter Adam Lanza presented clear signs of schizophrenia but was not issued the proper care he needed. (Turndoff 5). Another instance where the mental health system has failed is in a case where an individual with mental illness may be diagnosed, but their case is not taken seriously and left untreated. For instance, the notorious Charleston Church shooter Dylann Roof was diagnosed with a host of multiple disorders by a

In their article, Carolyn Reinach Wolf and Jamie A. Rosen propose that, “Individuals suffering from a mental illness need increased access to and funding for AOT, outpatient treatment programs, residential treatment programs, psychiatric case management, and appropriate psychiatric housing, among others” (870). Anyone with mental illness should have access to the health care they need, whether they’re an upper class citizen, in the criminal justice system, or even homeless. Having access to proper mental health care can drastically change a person’s mood and outlook on life; it allows them a way to coup with mental illness. Proper mental health care provides surveillance, and the red flag behaviors can be identified and treated before people lash out. Also, to prevent shootings, school systems and workplaces should have a system in place to connect information that indicates a serious issue. Along with this, these facilities should have stronger connections with mental health facilities and law enforcement to keep everyone safe. Communication is key in any society, and if we can communicate with each other, we are more likely to

But mentally ill individuals are usually unsafe if we make them one. Mental illness does not always lead to violence. In cases where violence occurs, the incident normally results from the same reasons as with a regular person; thus, feeling threatened, excessive use of alcohol and/or drugs, etc. However, some offenses that the mentally ill commits leave the government no option but to incarcerate them. These crimes also draw some people’s attention to the wrong side, making them agree with the government plan to imprison them. One of the cases that I believe contributes to this is Tarasoff v. The Regiments of the University of California’s case. Tarasoff v. The Regiments of the University of California is the case that flickered communities to look more into finding ways to protect the community (imprisoning the ill). This case consists of the premeditated murder of Tatiana Tarasoff by Prosenjit Poddar, who detailed to his therapist that he would commit the murder. Unfortunately, after all the assistance through therapy, Poddar still committed the crime. Situations like these made some people lose hope with psychiatric centers. Instead, they see mentally ill as criminals who are using their illness to their

Of the 130 studied incidents, only one had evidence the shooter was barred by federal law from owning weapons due to severe mental illness. In 15 other incidents, there were concerns about the mental health of the shooter and had been brought to the attention of a medical practitioner, school official, or legal authority prior to the shooting. Otherwise every shooter had a clean bill of

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.

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

“Overall, mass shootings by people with serious mental illness represent 1 percent of all gun homicides each year”(Qui, Linda, et al 2). Other things like banning assault weapons and not allowing violent convicted criminals to buy guns can also be a measure that may improve gun violence. There are also red flag laws that can put a temporary gun restraining order on person’s weapon if there are reports of violent and dangerous behavior. These laws are a way for law enforcement and families to intervene before mass tragedies

Senator Creigh Deeds story is just one of many that end in tragedy because of a mental health system that has failed. While the major proportion of people living with mental illness are not violent, they can become a victim of violence. According to the latest statistics from the American Psychological Association one in five adults has a diagnosable mental disorder, one in twenty-four has a serious mental disorder (SMI), and people with mental illness are no more likely to be violent that people without mental illness (Association, American Psychiatric, 2016). Untreated mental health care is characteristic of the violent crimes that we see happening today. Some of the reasons behind these untreated individuals are the unmet needs of people not having a financial means to pay for services, lack of insurance, knowledge about how to access care, embarrassment about having the need for services, and those that needed care but experienced delays in accessing care (Jones et al., 2014).

The first argument is that having more gun control would not stop the criminals because they would just find a way around it as usual. Applying this logic, why have any at all laws? Based off of their reasoning, any law that doesn’t prevent every tragedy are worthless. This type of reasoning is really just a prescription for chaos.

For many years, people have been pushing the American government to implement new laws that deal with gun control. Supporters of the argument claim that increased gun control will drastically reduce the crime rate in America. Nevertheless, a majority of gun control arguments are formed from strict control of data and emotional appeal. The mainstream media picks up these stories and broadcasts them to viewers without providing any context to them. While gun control activists assert that gun control is necessary, the American government should not ban guns because of the following reasons: potential vulnerability of innocent people being shot at by criminals and the inability for people to defend themselves against their own government.