Firearms also referred to as guns are the second most major cause of death in the US, with two-thirds of all homicides being a result of firearms. Such statistics have initiated a very serious debate on the issue of gun control in the US. Gun laws lead to the violent crimes and should be changed so that Americans can purchase and carry guns as concealed weapons to safeguard themselves.
The truth is that for the most of us, whatever knowledge we have of guns comes from the movies that we have watched or from the news stories that we have read. So our knowledge of guns is based on how they are represented in the media which tends to sensationalize and exaggerate the news to sell it to the people. In a recent incident largely covered by the media, a Dallas man was reported to be involved in a shooting using a licensed gun only to be later revealed that this man was badly beaten and threatened for his life before he forcefully fired from his gun (Fallows). Another incident which shows how media manipulates the news and does not tell us the full story is that of Louisiana where a Japanese student was shot at a Halloween party, showing how keeping guns for defense can be dangerous although it is reported that even the police “accidentally” ends approximately 330 lives each year.
Like it is said, “guns don’t kill people, people do.” It is very easy to blame the gun for murders and deaths just like it is easy to blame sugar for diabetes. However, it is upon us whether we take high amounts of sugar and become diabetic or control our sugar intake to stay healthy similarly it is upon us what use we make of the guns. When a person dies because of the gunshot it is not because of the gun, but it is because of the person who picks up the gun to shoot. And why a person would shoot anyone is a matter of investigation and cannot be concluded right away. Therefore, if at any point in time, Government of any state finds it necessary to limit the use of guns, the more reasonable option than to simply ban the guns would be to educate people about its right usage. It is therefore vital to train the people about handling the gun and not just banning the guns altogether.
Guns are not only used by the criminals or the civilians but they are also used by the security officials, the police, and the defense forces. Thus banning guns once and for all is quite impossible. Even if guns are made unavailable to the general public, the trade of guns in a country altogether cannot be banned. Since they cannot be banned, people still may find illegal ways to trade guns with the citizens and since that way, the government may not even be able to keep basic records of the buyer it might get difficult to trace the person in case they turn out to be involved in some threatening criminal activities.
Even if as a result of all the gun control laws it becomes possible to remove all the guns will it then be possible to end all the criminal activities? Will it put homicide and suicide to an end? Those who believe so need to realize that guns are only recently invented but such crimes have existed since the beginning of the development of human societies. Guns can easily be replaced by other lethal weapons such as knives (Jacobs). The research has shown that while attacking people may use any object that they find to be the closest, but since any other object may not prove to be lethal and may only result in a few injuries, the statistics do not show other weapons to be as dangerous.
Gun control is not really a solution to stop the crime once and for all neither will it help to prevent it. Guns do not fire themselves; it is the people who aim it at others and it is the people who pull the trigger and fire. Those who favor gun control are only emotionally driven to do so and lack the rationale to defend their argument.
