Utilitarianism and Gun Control
Introduction
Currently, most black Americans consider owning a gun. This is due to an increase in insecurity in the United States. The blacks are targeted by both the civilians and the police. Owning a gun is not something that most blacks have ever wanted. Most blacks prefer owning a gun and getting some training to arm themselves (The New York Times, 2020). This marks the first time that most of the blacks see the need of buying firearms to protect themselves. In recent days, almost half of black Americans feel that they cannot trust the police due to increased attack and discrimination of the group. This makes compel most of them to exercise their Second Amendment Right.
Recently, in St. Louis, a couple pointed guns at ‘Black Lives Matter’ protesters. The incident happened when the protestors made their way to the home of Mayor Lyda Krewson demanding her resignation. Hundreds of protestors put their lives into risk as the homeowners were ready to use force to protect their private property. The increase in police brutality and violence against Black Americans has promoted the emergence of the Black Lives Matter, a movement that protests against civil disobedience. In recent days there is an increased incidence of racial injustice. There are biases in the killing of unnamed blacks by the police. The police killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police raised concern across the United States on the police brutality against Black Americans.
Utilitarianism
Ethics is seen to challenge and dissect several diverse ideologies, therefore posing a challenge of a provision of profound explanations about a multitude of ideologies, more so in the current modern age compared to before. One of the ideologies is utilitarianism. In normative ethics, utilitarianism can be defined as a doctrine that conduct is considered right so long as it enhances happiness, and that the guiding principle of action is the greatest happiness of the highest number. According to John Stuart Mill, utilitarianism is a moral framework based on the greatest happiness principle, also known as the utility (Gold, Jeffrey, Michael, 10). Under this basis, conduct is considered ethically right when they tend to enhance happiness and regarded wrong when they tend to bring out the reverse of happiness, not only to the performer of the act but also to every other individual affected by the action. Furthermore, John Mill defines happiness as purposeful pleasure and lack of the feeling of pain, the reverse of it being a pain, the privation of pleasure, and unhappiness. However, the concept of pleasure and pain, and the extent to which it is included in the principle are hard to establish. Despite so, it is commended that freedom from pain, and pleasure are the only aspects that are desirable as ends.
Ultimately, these desirable aspects have value, because they are regarded as a device to negate pain and increase utility, and within themselves, they are pleasing. The ideology defers from the theory of egoism, the perception that an individual should seek his self-interest, even though it is at the expense of other people. It also contradicts an ethical theory that considers certain actions as wrong or right independently of their consequences. Utilitarianism also contradicts ideologies that make an action’s wrongness or rightness dependent on the agent’s motive, as the following utilitarianism, it is possible for the right action to be done with a wrong motive (Gold, Jeffery, Michael, 12). However, the ideology distinguishes the appropriateness of blaming or praising an agent based on whether the action was right. As people hold on the utilitarian values, it impossible to neglect the current issue on gun control in the United States, mainly attributed to the increase of gun-related incidents. For example, with the ongoing increase in racially motivated violence, the African-Americans feel the need to own guns for self-preservation.
Evaluation of the Argument Based on Utilitarianism
The doctrine of utilitarianism has proven its relevance in modern times controversies, most especially when applying principles of utilitarianism such as utilitarian take of John Stuart Mill and Greatness Happiness principle. The idea of gun control in the United States is a modern time argument that has a connection with utilitarianism. Given the versatility of utilitarianism, it is just to look into the arguments from both perceptive of pro-gun control and anti-gun control. The existence of the opposing perceptive begs the question of which argument better incorporates the utilitarian values (Madden, Angela, 2). To start with, the ideas of pro-gun control have gained the support of utilitarianism. It can be explained using the Harm Principle whereby the liberty of the action of a person can not be violated by a governing body or an individual for reasons other than preventing the harm of other people. By using gun control to impede on the rights to bear firearms, the promotion of the pleasure and happiness of others improves. The perception is that laws of gun control reduce the occurrence of individuals gaining possession of arms irresponsibly. It can further limit the frequency of gun-related incidents occurring.
There is a possibility that utilitarianism does not support the control of gun ownership. There is a need for the control of gun irrespective of who benefit from its possession. According to the Nation Ripple Association, guns can be utilized by people to deter crime and self-defense. However, this purpose will not serve those who have not morals or are not mature enough to own one. Most of the gun-related crimes and violence occurs due to the lack of morals and the responsibility of protecting other individuals. To prevent such incidents, utilitarianism requires that irresponsible individuals should be prevented from gun ownership (Prunty, Kyle Scott, 2019). As a result, regulations and policies should be in place to prevent felonies, drug addicts, and domestic abusers from accessing firearms. Unfortunately, individuals with clean records slip through the crack of regulation to purchase guns for malicious purposes. Utilitarianism does not advocate for measures that will hurt the population or group such as African Americans. Guns should be controlled for the interest of all Americans because the action must benefit the majority. The system should track the number of people who own firearms to ensure that the interests of the majority are secured. Additionally, regulations should be established to prevent ownership of guns by only a minority of the population.
Moral Argument
Utilitarianism is a moral framework that ensures the greatest good for the greatest number of people. The actions established concerning gun control should come with the greatest good or happiness. Anyone who supports the value of utilitarianism will be a concern with the issue of gun control in the United States. The increase in gun ownership has resulted in rising in gun-related crimes and violence across the country. A significant population of the white population in the United States owns Guns, which resulted in increased violence against blacks. Additionally, the ownership of guns has increased suicide cases among the population. Therefore, the control of guns will have the greatest benefit for the majority. Gun control in the United States cooperates with the utilitarian ideology.
Work Cited
Gold, Jeffrey, and Michael DeValve. “Utilitarian and Deontological Approaches to Criminal Justice Ethics.” Justice, Crime, and Ethics, 2019, pp. 10-20.
Madden, Angela D. “Guns and Crime.” The Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment, 2015, pp. 1-4.
Prunty, Kyle Scott. “Applying Mill’s Utilitarian Ethic and Tyranny of Public Opinion to the Modern Gun Control Debate.” (2019).
The New York Times. (2020, July 1). I’m a Black American. I need a gun to feel safe in this country. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/opinion/black-gun-ownership.html?searchResultPosition=7