The Gun Debate
There are subjects that are heavily debated, which many people avoid discussing. Examples of this are religion and issues surrounding politics. One issue that is considered highly contested is gun rights, which can be an emotional issue for those on either side of the debate. One end of the spectrum feels that all guns should be banned and the other end says there should be no gun regulations. These two sides are on opposite ends with two fair points, which would be that there is too much gun violence and it is a constitutional right for people to own guns. The purpose of this article is to explore both sides of this issue and to find common ground that would make both sides content.
The Gun Control Side
The first end of the spectrum in this debate are the people who want gun control, which means that they want guns banned. The first part of their argument is there are too many gun-related deaths in the United States, which is true. According to the CDC, in 2014 there were about 33,594 deaths caused by firearms in United States. That is a huge amount of lives lost due to guns and a solution needs to be made to decrease that number. In a ten-year span, there were 301,797 gun-related deaths from 2005-2015 (Qiu, 2015). Another example they may use is other countries with strict gun control that have less gun violence. There are about 50-60 gun-related deaths annually in the U.K. with a population of 56 million (Onyanga-Omara, 2016).
The U.S. has about a 321 million population so if the U.K. gun-related deaths were added up to match the U.S. population, it would be 360 deaths. That is significantly less gun-related deaths than the U.S. According to Onyanga-Omara (2016), the U.K. put “bans on assault rifles and handguns and tightened background checks for other types of firearms”. This has resulted in the U.K. having 6.5 guns per 100 people whereas the U.S. has 101 guns per 100 people (Onyanga-Omara, 2016). People that want more gun control would argue that the U.S. needs to implement similar laws as the U.K. or other countries with similar numbers to decrease gun violence. These are all fair arguments for tighter gun control but it may not be practical with gun rights being protected by the constitution.
The Pro-Gun Rights Side
The other end of this debate is the people who say that there should be no restrictions on guns because it is a right protected by the constitution. According to Cornell, the Second Amendment states “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed”. This does protect people’s right to own guns but some may say people would have to be a part of a militia. In 2008 the Supreme Court decided in the District of Columbia v. Heller case that the Second Amendment does allow people to own guns even if they are not a part of a militia. This makes it unconstitutional to ban guns entirely like other countries have done. The other argument they may make is that guns provide protection for people from violent crimes. This argument is hard to prove but it seems like it could be a fair point. Another point they may make is that more people owning guns will decrease crime, which is hard to prove but there are some statistics that could be useful.
The percentage of the state’s population that owns guns could be a useful statistic to look at. The top states are Alaska-61.7%, Arkansas-57.9%, Idaho-56.9%, West Virginia-54.2%, Wyoming-53.8%, Montana-52.3%, New Mexico-49.9%, Alabama-48.9%, North Dakota-47.9%, Louisiana-44.5%, South Carolina-44.4%, Mississippi-42.8%, and Kentucky-42.4% (Kiersz and LoGiurato, 2015). Looking at homicide rates could be useful in determining if more people owning guns decreases crime. The top 10 states for homicides included Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Alaska, and New Mexico which are also states with high gun concentrations (CDC). Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Delaware are also in the top 10 for homicides but the percentage of the population owning guns for those states is under 32% (CDC). This could mean that states with a high percentage of the population owning guns may have slightly more crime than states with a low percentage. What is more likely true is that there is no definitive correlation between the percentage of state’s population owning guns and crime.
Conclusion
The debate over guns has been around for a long time and it has two opposite sides that bring up some fair points. It is impractical to say that guns should be banned because it is protected by the constitution. It is equally impractical to have no regulations on guns because there are too many lives lost due to gun violence. A fair compromise could be universal background checks for the entire country that only checks for a history of mental illness and a history of violent crimes. It is fair to limit access to guns for people with a history of mental illness because they may be unstable, which means they are a danger to themselves and others. It is fair to do the same for people with a history of violent crimes because they are equally unstable while being a danger to others. Another possible compromise could be requiring an education course on gun safety and a certain number of hours practicing using guns similar to drivers ed. This would be fair because guns are deadly weapons and people should be properly educated on how to use them. This is a hot topic that creates passion on both sides but there needs to be compromises for both sides to be satisfied.
References
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/firearm_mortality/firearm.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/homicide_mortality/homicide.htm
Kiersz, A., LoGiurato, B. (2015, Jul. 3). Here's Where You're Most Likely to Own a Gun. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/gun-ownership-by-state-2015-7
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/second_amendment
Onyanga-Omara, J. (2016, June 16). Gun Violence Rare in U.K. Compared to U.S. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/06/16/gun-violence-united-kingdom-united-states/85994716/
Qiu, L. (2015, October 5). Fact-checking a Comparisons of Gun Deaths and Terrorism Deaths. Retrieved from http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/oct/05/viral-image/fact-checking-comparison-gun-deaths-and-terrorism-/