The Correlation between Gun Control and Violence in America Compared to other Developed Nations
- Description of the Topic
Gun politics in the United States of America is defined by two leading opposing ideas related to gun ownership among civilians. Individuals advocating for gun control support increased regulations linked to gun ownership. People who call for gun rights back up reducing rules about gun ownership. These two groups have disagreed over-interpreting the court cases and laws linked to firearms alongside the impacts of regulating firearms on public safety and crime. The Second Amendment to the Constitution protects gun laws in the United States. The Second Amendment provides for the right of citizens to buy and keep arms. There has been a widespread debate concerning the availability of firearm and gun violence in America. These arguments have shed light on the roles of the government to serve citizen needs and prevent deaths and crimes. Those who support the regulation of firearms claim that unrestricted or indiscriminate gun right prevent the government from executing this responsibility as well as causing safety concerns. Those who support gun rights call for self-defence, sporting and hunting activities. The firearms regulation advocates claim that tracking and restricting access to guns will lead to safer communities. These are some of the debates that surround gun control and violence in the USA.
- Reasons to Study the Topic
I find the topic of gun control and violence in America very important because of the controversy surrounding guns and gun laws in the country. The US has high crimes and deaths linked to firearms yearly. It is therefore unexpected that the country’s laws would be stricter on issues of ownership and use of guns. This study is necessary because it will help me to compare and understand the gun laws in other developed nations and the way they compare to the United States. With more researchers having the same conclusions, it could be the final piece of the puzzle that persuades the lawmakers that time is right to change the laws. I find this topic equally crucial because of the dilemma it presents to both practice and policy. Criminals can access firearms as well despite the imposed legal restrictions on gun purchase and ownership. Besides, juveniles, convicts, and other high-risk groups also have access to guns quickly to commit crimes. The studies in gun markets have found some of the necessary interventions to reduce gun flow into the illicit markets. I find this study very important because by examining other developed nations, the US will have comparative data that it can use to control gun ownership and access.
- Assumption and biases about the topic
Before studying this topic in details, I always believed that gun control is about controlling people. Ausman & Faria (2019) find that gun laws are only made after mass shootings. It is very understandable for people to become angry after any shooting. However, policymakers emphasize on the restriction of purchases of firearms by people with minor histories of crime. These aspects also involve the monitoring or limitation of various investments of guns by the same people at a given time. I even knew that the US also emphasized on regulating the secondary transfer of firearms. Besides preventing and investigating minimization efforts of guns, which have the same potential. Another assumption I had about the topic of gun laws is that it was a public health issue. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claims that many Americans died due to gun violence, which averages 100 deaths daily in the US. There is no other developed nation that is close to those statistics. I found out new studies that have emphasized about preventing and reducing risk factors for gun violence. Jaffe (2018) argue that some of the examples have investigated the roles of parents in preventing injuries at home and the connection between gun violence and alcohol abuse.
- Issues involved in studying this topic
There are some issues involved in studying this topic that I believe must be corrected or understood clearly. These are mainly the rights-based arguments that define gun control laws. A significant issue is the role of the government in gun regulation. Before the ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller, there were debates concerning the individual right, and whether it is provided for in the Second Amendment. There was no kind of right. Before the Heller decision, the advocates of gun rights believed that the Second Amendment protected a person’s right to gun ownership. A significant issue to understand is the applicability of this law, and whether it was limited to the individual and not everyone in society. Another problem in gun law is the possibility of tyranny, especially when the government issues gun laws that seek to protect those in power. While studying this topic, the focus has been on comparing the gun laws in the United States and the way they compare with other countries such as Canada, Israel, and the United Kingdom. The idea is to have the right information that can be included in the policymaking initiatives that seek to restrict gun ownership and use in the United States. Both legal and illegal markets are analyzed in this study to provide a rough understanding of the way laws of gun control are being manipulated to achieve sinister motives.
- Key informants or subjects of the survey for the research
This is a sensitive topic owing to the deaths from gun control. To obtain information about the subject, I will consult websites that report about gun laws, and some of the requirements included in the Second Amendment that regulate the gun purchase and ownership. I will also carry out interviews with significant policymakers who are at the forefront of regulations in the US.
References
Ausman, J. I., & Faria, M. A. (2019). Is gun control really about people control?. Surgical neurology international, 10.
Jaffe, S. (2018). Gun violence research in the USA: the CDC’s impasse. The Lancet, 391(10139), 2487-2488.