According to the 2001 morbidity and mortality report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the US Department of Health and Human Services, firearms caused 30,708 deaths alone in the USA. According to the stats in the report out of these firearms deaths, 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 necessary to regulate gun ownership policies to save 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 a violation of the population’s constitutional rights. Gun control is the term coined for the efforts of the government to control the uprise in street crimes by regulating the ownership rules of firearms. The issue of gun control has divided society into two groups: one in favor of gun control and says that the regulation process could reduce crimes while the other is 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 guns for drilling and practicing purposes. People must not use guns to harm or kill others because the purpose of guns for the general population is to provide self-defense tools 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.
Some various groups and associations are against gun control like the National Rifle Association (NRA), and another the Gun Owners of America (GOA). The main purpose of the existence of NRA is to ensure 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 supporters in the government, who are making sure that the Second Amendment will remain in its 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 that is totally against the law of gun control. This group published books and video documentaries highlighting gun issues and their effects on people. They conduct seminars about the Second Amendment and gun-related issues to take the concentration of the press and Congress. The GOA strongly opposes the ban on small handguns, ammunition, and semiautomatic arms (About Gun Owners of America | General | General).
Many groups are pro-gun control laws like Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI), and Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV). Sarah Brady, the widow of James Brady who took a bullet as a 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 firearms.
Gun control is very important to stop the increasing violence in society due to criminals and mentally ill people and create a friendly neighborhood. The Second Amendment referred to gun holdings of militants, not the general population so the government should stop the misuse of the 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.
