Should More Gun Control Laws be Enacted?

Are you truly safe in the United States? Should we feel protected by the gun control laws that are enforced in our country? There have been several incidents that have caused the deaths of innocent people including young children. In some cases, the control of guns were placed into the wrong hands in our society. As citizens, if we continue to ignore these issues, there will be a decline in our country for generations to come.

Although citizens want to exercise their right to carry, we have to take into account the lives that we have lost due to senseless gun violence. Where some may argue guns protect society, but they also decrease the rational state of an individual mind. About 72% of US adults have fired a gun, according to a June 2017 Pew Research Center survey that reached nearly 4,000 respondents. This means most of America is familiar with the experience- including the mental and emotional head-rush that often come with it. Also, guns can trigger a fight-or-flight response, which can cause heart race, palms sweat, and sometimes nausea. Your brain goes into full overdrive when shooting a gun and can even cause an increase in blood pressure. Even though someone may find shooting a gun as a stress reliever, but we must recognize the possibilities for a person’s mind being full of aggression.

Not only does weapons affect a person’s mind, but it affects the innocent lives around them. We don’t take in consideration of the consequences of poorly using a firearm especially if it results in death. With more than 25% of children witnessing an act of violence in their homes, schools, or community over the past year, and more than 5% witnessing a shooting, it becomes not just an issue of gun regulation, but also of addressing the impact on those who have been traumatized by such violence. For years, people have been injured and killed in atrocities such as Sandy Hook and Virginia Tech shootings that have caused a decline in our country. These horrific tragedies have been publicized for the world to see and has caused an increase in the amount of grieving families who lost their loved ones to senseless gun violence.

“An examination of the legal background reveals that, while absolute bans on all kinds of firearms are not an option, there is much that can be done to reduce the risk and frequency of gunshot injuries and deaths.”

Senseless gun violence can happen not only in public, but in the privacy of our own homes. 89% of unintentional shooting deaths of children occur in the home—and most of these deaths occur when children are playing with a loaded gun in their parents’ absence. There is an estimated amount of 300 million firearms owned by Americans. That is a total of 90 guns for every 100 people in the United States. Having weapons present in homes can cause its residents to feel unsafe in their communities. In addition, it can be unsafe for a child who lives with their parents if there's a gun present in the homes. On average, there has been several incidents to happen in homes with weapons that have caused the deaths of innocent children. Unfortunately, those parents are burdened with the grief of losing their children to something that could have been prevented. If we enforce the safety features for gun control, it can reduce the number of accidental gun deaths in the United States.

Studies show that countries with restrictive gun laws have lower gun homicide and suicide rates than the United States. Countries such as Norway, Finland, Germany, France and Denmark all have heavy gun ownership but unlike the United States, they have a history of low murder rates. According to a 2014 United Nations report, Germany's murder rate of 0.8 killings per 100,000 inhabitants was identical to Luxembourg, where the law prohibits civilian ownership of handguns and gun ownership is rare. Countries outside of U.S tend to take gun control seriously because not all people need to have a weapon in their possession. Some may abuse their rights to harm themselves or others. Abusing that right to bare arms can be caused due to mental health issues and other suicidal thoughts. The only way to know those particular things about a person is to conduct background checks and other tests to insure that a person is not harm to oneself and others. If the United States adopts the same process that other countries use for obtaining guns, then there could be a potential decrease in gun violence and suicidal deaths.

On the other hand, we are not unified in the United States like other countries. Many will defend their Second Amendment right to bare arms in a country that doesn’t seem to make its citizens feel safe. For example, when a person is feeling threatened or fearing for their life the first person they call are the police who carry guns. Most families today feel it is necessary to own a gun to protect themselves from the dangers of the outside world. Without weapons, people tend to fear the worst possibilities that could happen if the police don't come to their rescue in time to protect them from robbers, kidnappers, or killers. If they weren’t owners of guns the outcome may be devastating for those who can't defend themselves without that type of protection in possession. Some may feel as if they have to take the law into their own hands in order to truly be protected in the United States. In this divided country, the law enforcement is viewed in public mostly in a negative aspect because of the injustices and police brutalities that have occurred in our society.

In understanding the society we live in it is unrealistic to say some people don’t feel the need to want a gun. However it’s not preventable to control the process in purchasing guns. Limiting the amounts of mass shootings, it is possible to have a background check before purchasing, getting a mental evaluation, and providing concrete reason as to why having a gun is needed. There should be an age limit on purchasing a gun and each year the owner of the gun must restart the process to prove that the reasoning and mental health hasn’t changed. With placing this act in to play it’s believed to have major results. Having this process based off price, and the state of mind a person is in will change results. When reflecting back on the amount of shootings that have occurred over the years each mass shooting has claimed the lives of innocent people as well as the shooter or shooters. As a society we have to understand that it isn’t the guns that claims the lives of innocent people, it's the people who own the guns that do.

In conclusion, the right to bare is just a right but controlling that right is a must. First, it should be mandatory for U.S. citizens to complete background checks in order to insure the safety of all people. As a country, we need to be aware of the mental state of people in all different aspects. Next, it is important that we keep all people safe including our children in school. Lastly, enacting more gun control can help people feel protected in a not so unified country. We must understand that weapons don’t harm people, some people who may carry firearms are capable of harming people.