According to the 2001 morbidity and mortality report issued by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), US Department of Health and Human Services, the firearms caused 30,708 deaths alone in the USA. According to the stats in the report out of these firearms death, murdered ones were 12,102, suicide tool was 17,424, accidental deaths were 366, and police could confirm that only 154 deaths were in self-defense (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)). These stats show the horrifying consequences of relaxed gun control laws. It is the need of time to regulate the gun ownership policies to the save the innocent lives. But before that, we must convey the exact meaning and purpose of gun control and why we are implementing it because most people in America think that it’s the violation of population’s constitutional rights. Gun control is the term coined for the efforts of the government to control the uprise in the street crimes by regulating the ownership rules of the firearms. The issue of gun control has divided the society into two groups, one in favor of gun control and says that the regulation process could reduce the crimes while other against the gun control law is of the opinion that this law is against their freedom rights.
People use the guns to murder, celebrate, or hunt. While security forces like police and military use the guns for drilling and practicing purpose. People must not use the guns to harm or kill others because the purpose of gun for the general population is to provide the self-defense toll for the safety of themselves and their valuables in case of attack from another criminal person. So people should not misuse these guns, and there must be a gun control law to enforce the prevention of misuse of guns.
There are various groups and associations which are against the gun control like National Rifle Association (NRA), and another one is the Gun Owners of America (GOA). The main purpose of the existence of NRA is to make sure the upholding of the second amendment of the constitution which says that it is the right of people to own and carry a firearm. The NRA has some influence on the government as it has many lobbyists and supporter in the government, who are making sure that the second amendment will maintain in the current shape. Some of the members of NRA are part of Congress while the two famous farmers US presidents George Bush and Ronald Reagan also have the membership of NRA. They issue some magazines like “American Hunter and American Rifleman” in which they say that The NRA, believes that every law-abiding citizen is entitled to the ownership and legal use of firearms (Control; NRA | About the NRA). The Gun Owners of America is another group which is totally against the law of gun control. This group published the books and video documentaries in which they highlight the gun issues and their effects on the people. To take the concentration of press and Congress, they conduct seminars about the second amendment issues and gun-related issues. The GOA strongly opposes the ban on the small handguns, ammunition, and semiautomatic arms (About Gun Owners of America | General | General).
There are many groups which are pro-gun control law like Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI), and Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV). Sarah Brady, the widow of James Brady who took a bullet in the result of the assassination attempt on President Reagan, heads the HCI. The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV), says that “We believe that all Americans have a right to live in communities free from gun violence” (“About Us (CSGV)”). These groups are struggling very hard to remove the household guns in America to stop the violence caused by the firearms.
Gun control is very important to stop the increasing violence in the society due to criminals and mentally ill people and create a friendly neighborhood. The Second Amendment was referred to gun holdings of militant, not the general population so government should stop the misuse of law (Why America Needs Stricter Gun Control Laws – Blog | Ultius).
References
About Gun Owners of America | General | General. https://gunowners.org/protect.htm. Accessed 21 Feb. 2018.
“About Us (CSGV).” The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, https://www.csgv.org/about-us/.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Surveillance for Fatal and Nonfatal Firearm-Related Injuries —United States, 1993–1998. CDC Surveillance Summaries, MMWR 2001; vol. 50 (No. SS-2), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, GA 30333, 13 Apr. 2001, p. 24.
Cottrol, Robert J. Gun Control and the Constitution: Sources and Explorations on the Second Amendment. Garland Publishing, Inc, 1994.
NRA | About the NRA. https://home.nra.org/about-the-nra/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2018.
Why America Needs Stricter Gun Control Laws – Blog | Ultius. https://www.ultius.com/ultius-blog/entry/why-america-needs-stricter-gun-control-laws.html. Accessed 21 Feb. 2018.
