Gun Rights vs Gun Laws 1

Gun Rights vs Gun Laws, How Our Decisions Define Us

Kate M. Farr

Salt Lake Community College

CJ 1010
Gun Rights vs Gun Laws 2

Gun Rights vs Gun Laws, How Our Decisions Define Us

Within recent years the debate on gun rights vs gun control has become a hot button issue

as every person has a different personal opinion on the matter. As stated by West (2018) the gun

industry is a lucrative one, especially in politics as gun rights interests have given about ​$42

million​ to candidates, parties and outside spending groups since 1989, causing what seems like a

monopoly like situation within our government. However, Pew Research (2013) brings about the

statement ​that ​gun control laws give too much power to the government and may result in

government tyranny and the government taking away all guns from citizens, this notion is not far

from the truth as countless Americans feel as though their guaranteed rights are being violated in

one way or another.​ Yet this brings about the question of where do we draw the line? Is it truly

the act of a corrupt government taking away its citizens feeling of safety? Or rather is this a

matter of human life outweighing people’s self-imposed rights? This essay will highlight both

the pro’s and con’s of gun control in America, and what other reasons people support or are

against control.

Method

The History of Those Involved

Gun control laws have existed in the United States and the world for years. The first

federal gun control law in the U.S. was enacted in 1927, stated in a 1927 law prohibiting the sale

of handguns to private individuals through the mail. This was one a series of federal laws dealing

with vice by protecting the integrity of the U.S. mails. Longley (2018) However, it wasn’t until

the 1930’s that the crackdown on gun ownership began when notorious gangsters had easy

access to guns. Later in 1934, legislation passed to impose new criminal penalties, taxes, and
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regulations to those that owned sawed-off shotguns and machine guns in part because of

criminals such as Al Capone. Mantel (2013) Four years later, Congress passed the 1938 Federal

Firearms Act that required gun dealers to register and maintain a record of transactions, however,

it wasn’t until the unfortunate assassination of John F. Kennedy and other high-profile deaths

occurred that led to the signing of the 1968 Gun Control Act, which regulates firearms owners as

well as the firearms industry. Mantel (2013) Congress then went on to pass several more laws in

the 1980’s and 1990’s with the most notable being the assault weapons ban, which was part of

the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Miron, Jacobs (2010) Keeping

assault weapons away from the public became the new aim for the American government, this

was mostly in part due to the increased level of gang violence experienced in the 1980’s and

1990’s, which would later result into the gun restriction laws that we have today.

Understanding Gun Control Laws

Gun control, even with its heavy connotation today, is simply is a broad term that covers

any sort of restriction on what kinds of firearms can be sold and bought, who can possess or sell

them, where and how they can be stored or carried. Perez-Pena (2015) ​The United States

government believes people have the right to bear arms as seen in the Second Amendment,

however, little to no regulation of guns has led to numerous incidents of gun violence and

casualties that continue to provoke action from Congress. From the deaths of important political

leaders to horrific school shootings, gun violence is at the heart of the gun control debate within

the United States. Miron, Jacobs (2010) For someone to understand gun control, it is important to

examine the reason for gun control aside from high-profile shootings. Within recent years the

state of gun control has been stated as federal law prohibiting certain people from owning
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firearms: those with certain kinds of criminal records or mental illness; drug addicts; immigrants

without legal status; veterans who left the military with a dishonorable discharge; or anyone with

a permanent restraining order keeping them from a partner or a partner’s children. Perez-Pena

(2015) If Congress aims to prevent accidental shootings, this would most likely be the main

reason for gun control aside from assassinations and mass shootings, this brings about the

notions that a lack of gun control could pose a risk not just for select people, but for every

American citizen.

Pro-Gun Control.​ Many of the people that support gun control do so because they fear

what a lack of gun control could lead to, and they’re not entirely wrong, The United States leads

the world in gun violence and ownership, meaning that in short, there is a direct correlation. This

is perhaps the most obvious argument made in the gun control debate, with the main point being

that guns kill people, most of the time for pointless reasons. A study conducted by The American

Journal for Public Health found that of the 233,251 people who were homicide victims in the

United States between 1988 and 1997, 68% were killed with guns, the majority of which were

handguns. Ladd (2017) It should be noted that when presented with concrete proposals to

regulate guns, a great majority of Americans almost always favor them. That support is so

universal that it spreads across differing lines, bringing home the fact that more than 90% of gun

owners support universal background checks, as well as a majority of Republicans, support a

national gun registry. Ladd (2018)

​ ith any hot-button issue, there is always going to be two

Against Gun Control. W

different sides, bringing about the fact that those who believe firmly in the Second Amendment

have continued to support gun rights and oppose stricter gun control policy. The biggest
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supporter of gun rights is the NRA or the National Rifle Association, they have fought for years

to keep gun ownership for American citizens. Since their revival in the early 1970’s the NRA

does not want Congress to continue restricting availability and access to guns and there are

indeed several reasons for such a mentality. The first main reason is similar to those that are

pro-gun control, this reason being fear, this comes from people wanting to have the means to

protect themselves from a criminal or suspicious person should they feel threatened. Elving

(2017) That powerful desire to feel safe is what keeps people fighting for their access to guns

and assault rifles. The second main reason is that laws do not deter criminals and terrorists, and

those against gun control feel that laws do not reduce gun violence, in most cases, they think that

the availability of illegal guns makes it easy to commit crimes regardless access to legal guns.

This leads to the third reason, supporters of gun rights believe gun ownership deters crimes, they

believe if someone has access to a gun legally, for example, those that plan to rob a store, will

not for fear of being shot by the store owner. Moyer (2017) These are just some reasons people

are against gun control. It is also important to look at countries that fully support gun control,

resulting in the extremely limited availability of guns to the public.

Results

When it comes to how gun control works we can look at the examples provided in other

countries where gun-restriction is a well-known normalcy. Japan is one of several countries that

has a low tolerance for gun ownership, dating back to the 1940’s Japan began taking a stance

towards removing access to guns, by first banning gun possession all together and then later

regulating gun ownership, now Japan has one of the lowest crime rates and low rates of gun

crime. Fisher (2012) Australia is another example of a country that limits citizens access to guns,
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this came because the mass shooting that happened over twenty years ago which resulted in the

deaths of 35 people. Following the tragic event the country’s then prime minister, John Howard,

proceeded to set up gun reforms that restricted gun ownership, and amazingly reduced the

occurrence of mass shootings to zero. It is important to note that both Australia and Japan have

not banned gun ownership outright but have made it difficult to access and own a gun. Oremus

(2017) In a similar fashion, the UK has its gun owners go through background checks, pay

certificate fees, renewal fees, and must be assessed by their local authority in order to legally

have a gun, gun owners must also safely secure their guns. Such measures have helped turn a

once violent country into a safe country in relation to gun crime. Lopez (2018)

Discussion

From mass shootings to high-profile murders, the constant and easy access to guns has

made gun violence a main issue for Congress and the American public, with the vast majority of

people finding that gun control, remains ineffective and demanding change. With stores like

Walmart having maintained assault rifles on its shelves up until recently, there is little in terms of

restriction see in United States law. In conclusion, although the United States believes in the

right to bear arms, the American public needs to realize that continued reform is truly necessary

when it comes to gun control. With daunting statistics showing that America holds almost half of

the world’s total number of civilian guns, the United States needs to assess the gun violence and

increase gun control if it wants to truly continue as a world power and grow for the better

alongside the rest of the world.

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References

Elving, R. (2017, October 10). The NRA Wasn't Always Against Gun Restrictions. Retrieved

from

https://www.npr.org/2017/10/10/556578593/the-nra-wasnt-always-against-gun-restriction

Fisher, M. (2015, December 03). How Japan Has Virtually Eliminated Shooting Deaths.

Retrieved from

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/a-land-without-guns-how-japa

n-has-virtually-eliminated-shooting-deaths/260189/

Gun Control. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2013030800

L. (2018, March 14). How gun control works in America, compared with 4 other rich countries.

Retrieved from

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2015/12/4/9850572/gun-control-us-japan-switz

erland-uk-canada

Ladd, C. (2017, October 09). Ten Lies Distort The Gun Control Debate. Retrieved from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisladd/2017/10/06/ten-lies-distort-the-gun-control-debat

e/#66285d1e1fad

Longley, R. (n.d.). See a Timeline of Gun Control in the U.S. from 1791 to the Present.

Retrieved from ​https://www.thoughtco.com/us-gun-control-timeline-3963620

Miron, J. A. (2010, July 06). Can Gun Control Work? | Jeffrey A. Miron, James B. Jacobs.

Retrieved from ​https://fee.org/articles/can-gun-control-work/

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Moyer, M. W. (2017, October 01). More Guns Do Not Stop More Crimes, Evidence Shows.

Retrieved from

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/more-guns-do-not-stop-more-crimes-evidenc

e-shows/

Oremus, W. (2017, October 02). In 1996, Australia Enacted Strict Gun Laws. It Hasn't Had a

Mass Shooting Since. Retrieved from

http://www.slate.com/blogs/crime/2012/12/16/gun_control_after_connecticut_shooting_c

ould_australia_s_laws_provide_a.html

Perez-pena, R. (2015, October 07). Gun Control Explained. Retrieved from

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/07/us/gun-control-explained.html