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.

These people usually go to gun shows to sell firearms and many people refer to this as the gun show loophole. But these vendors don’t always have to go to gun shows, they can use classified ads or the internet to sell firearms without a background check. According to Watkins, “ Experts estimate that over six million guns a year - perhaps 40% of all sales – are made by unlicensed private dealers not subject to the law” (Watkins 5).

The major issue when talking about gun control lies in the process of acquiring a weapon and the wide variety of them, which range from handguns to rifles. It is rather shocking to find out that the process to buy a gun is to go to a retail outlet, give your information to the clerk, and have this information entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which usually takes a few minutes, and if it passed, voila! There is a newly registered weapon out in the streets. This, of course, is not the only way someone could acquire a gun. There are also private sales, which do not require background checks, gun trafficking and through the stealing of weapons. It has been recorded that the number one trafficking source, responsible for over 40,000 guns, are federally licensed dealers. ("Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence – Gun Law Information Experts," 2012) But it should also be noted that unless a person is “convicted of a felony, admitting to being addicted to a controlled substances, having been dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces, or being subject to a restraining order” that purchase will not be denied and in cases where it is only 2% of every background check is denied. (Jones, 2013, p.1) But is it that only things that can be seen are limiting factors and not those things underneath the surface, like mental

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

Loopholes in the gun control laws are allowing prohibited people to access of firearms easily. As the country with the largest stockpile of privately owned firearms, we aren’t doing much to prevent them from falling on the wrong hands. According to The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act convicted

Background checks are what they sound like--they check your past history for any red flags such as criminal history, credit history, and employment history. When that happens, the flagged person may not receive the desired job, or in this case--the gun. Legions of gun control supporters postulate that having a stricter background check will help solve a majority of this gun violence issue (Cooke). Little do they know, having a strict background check does not limit the issue, but only prolongs the time of crime if anything. The Orlando shooter, Omar Mateen, was “a licensed armed security guard and passed the required checks to buy his gun” according to Knox. Knox, a reporter for USA Today, believes that background checks are a filter allowing ordinary people to purchase guns while screening out those prohibited from possessing guns--the point of a background check--however; “straw sales” are oftentimes used in this case to bypass the check. Straw sales are where the intended buyer

Although the Second Amendment prevents the federal government from completely banning guns in America, limited restrictions are allowed on the distribution and possession of firearms. Certain groups of people such as criminals, the mentally unstable, and soldiers dishonorably discharged from the military are prohibited from possessing or interacting with firearms (Flynn). These restrictions are enforced by background checks in some states on both a state and federal level. However, gun laws vary from state to state and are often not thorough enough; the background checks are flawed due to lack of information and misinformation, and guns can easily end up in the hands of criminals and malevolent individuals. The ease of

Taking into account of the recent shooting sprees, the gun control debate has started again. However, people have contemplated: “Why does America need gun laws” and “Why are so many states disagreeing about the restrictions that need to be put in place for civilians looking to purchase firearms.” The reasoning for such contemplation is that the fluxuating strictness of gun laws have led to several incidences within states that have strict gun laws due to the fact that the perpetrators of these incidences have purchased their firearms either from black markets, or states where the severity of gun control is at minimal levels.

Around 10% of guns used in crime were either sold at a gun show or a flea market. Anybody of age can go to a gun show, purchase a gun from an unlicensed distributor and go about their day, no background check, no mental health check. Though, in recent events, Nikolas Cruz purchased his gun at the age of eighteen from someone who had their license to sell. He passed his background check easily because he had no criminal background but no one knew he was depressed, had ADHD, and autism, no one knew until after a horrendous incident that cost people their lives. I read in a Gun Control FAQ, the Gun Control Act of 1968 says anyone in the business of selling guns must be licensed by the government, but it doesn’t say anything about unlicensed men and women selling their guns from their personal collection is not “engaged in the business”, this means that they don’t have to perform background checks, anyone will do anything for some extra money. A simple loophole like this one can land a gun into the hands of a

Gun control debates of the past have led to the passage of some legislation, the most prominent measure being the Brady Bill, which required that background checks be run on potential customers before they were sold a gun. However, this national legislation concerning gun control only applies to licensed gun dealers. This has left a huge “gun control loophole,” the sale of firearms by unlicensed dealers and private collectors at gun shows, at the national level, which has recently become the center of intense debate. Those who support gun control (generally liberals) argue that it is necessary to regulate this area, while the other side of the debate (generally conservatives) contends that the enforcement of gun control

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 movement has called for two changes to the current gun law: universal background checks for buyers and ban on the sale of assault-type firearms and large-capacity ammunitions (Szekely, 2018). The system of background checks is meant to ensure that all gun owners have the right capacity to handle firearms. Past incidences have shown that the system was ineffective because the state governments did not submit relevant information to the central database. For example, in one of the recent shooting incidences, the shooter had a known history of mental problems but had been able to purchase an assault rifle and high capacity ammunition. The changes in the background system would make it easier for gun dealers to identify people who are not qualified to own a gun. The restrictions on the sale of assault weapons and ammunition are crucial steps in reducing the number of deaths and injuries in case of a shooting incident. The shooter would not be able to inflict a lot of harm because of inefficiencies of the weapon at disposal.

We have all heard of all the tragedies throughout the country regarding guns. According to the President (2013) "We know that we cannot stop every act of violence with guns, but what if we tried to stop even one?" Weapon controls in the U.S. is structured at a state level and each state has their own restrictions on gun control. In different parts of the nation, there is significantly more resistant to firearm laws. For instance, in Texas, the gun law permits individuals to carry handguns on their side like in the cowboy era. In Kansas, firearm owner is not required to have a permit to concealed weapon. In Missouri there is not required that a gun salesman to have a background check or a waiting period. However, there is a requirement to take a gun class, once you pass the class a buyer can purchase a gun then register it with the sheriff department. In California a person can petition the court to remove a firearm from a family member capable of violence.

Gun control has a history dating back to 1791, when the Second Amendment of the Constitution was ratified. However, more recently, the debate over gun control has escalated into a much more public issue to which many citizens can relate. After all, stories about incidents involving guns appear frequently today in newspapers and on television or the radio. One could say that the debate started with the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968, which banned ownership of guns by certain groups of people and regulated the sale of guns. Since then, two main groups have gradually appeared: people who oppose strict federal

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.