Running Head: GUN LAWS REORM IN AMERICA
GUN LAWS REORM IN AMERICA
Gun Laws Reform in America
Karen Gonzales
English Comp
8/5/2021.
The question whether stricter gun laws will reduce the rate of mass shootings as currently witnessed in the United States has continued to raise more debate globally. For instance, the frequent cases of mass shootings in churches, schools, and mosques around the United States have led to a debate on the reforms to current gun laws. Different sides of the debate have taken tough stances on the approach that is to be made to reduce cases of gun violence. Conservative America has mostly defended rights to own firearms, including semi-automatic rifles. In contrast, the liberals have argued that access to automatic rifles should be restricted by the government and laws ensuring background checks are introduced. Whether stricter gun laws would reduce mass shootings has divided America further, especially by political parties giving the debate a political approach. However, stricter gun laws would greatly reduce the amount of gun violence witnessed across the United States.
The gun laws of the United States are mainly controlled by the federal law known as the 2nd amendment. The second amendment gives all eligible United States citizens the right to own and bear guns for their protection (Cornell & Cornell, 2018). The federal government has set the minimum age of owning a gun at 18; however, state governments can increase the minimum age of a firearm owner. With a gun ownership permit, anyone can purchase a gun from local dealers or on online platforms. The guns purchased are short rifles, silencers, firearm mufflers, and automatic weapons made before 1986. Laws to receive or possess guns are set at state levels, and, similarly, the state decides whether it is acceptable to carry guns in public or not. Gun dealers require a permit from the Bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives to sell guns to citizens. Fugitives and those with mental illnesses are not allowed to own or purchase firearms. The 1968 gun control act requires the federal firearm license to conduct a background check before issuing licenses to own firearms; the background checks are meant to identify and review the criminal background data on individuals. Gun laws allow the transfer of ownership of a gun to another individual without any government monitoring the process. Under this law, a parent can give guns to their underage children as a present without violating any law. According to James B Jacobs, a professor of law at New York University, the fact that there are over 300 million across united states guns in private hands making it nearly impossible to prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands. The federal government’s scheme is incomplete and falls too short. Whether an improvement can be made is an open question.
The debate on gun violence must include an analysis of some of the worst cases of gun violence in recent times and a review of statistics relating to guns. Mass shootings have become one of the common cases of death in America (Bauchner, Rivara & Bonow, 2017). Two hundred fifty-five mass shootings have occurred in America since 2009, leaving 1449 people dead and 961 people wounded. The Las Vegas strip massacre of 2017 and the Orlando nightclub massacre of 2016 stand in history as the worst mass shootings in American. The Las Vegas strip massacre occurred when a 64-year-old man opened fire on a crowd attending the harvest music festival from his hotel floor at Mandalay Bay. The massacre left 60 people dead, 411 with gunshot wounds, and over 8-00 people injured due to the resulting commotion. He fired a total of 1000round of ammunition, using what’s referred to a bump stock that allows firing at a rate similar to automatic weapons. It stands s as the wor4st case of mass shootings conducted by an individual. The Orlando gay night club massacre occurred when Omar Mateen opened fire, killing 49 people and wounding 53. The use of high-capacity magazines by the perpetrators ambled them to continue shooting for a longer period, leading to more casualties.
School shootings are some of the most disturbing consequences of gun violence in the United States. It is estimated that three million children are exposed to mass shootings in the United States per year. Since the tragic columbine school shooting, a total of 11 deadly mass shootings has occurred at schools. The statistics on gun violence and mass shootings in the United States invites a thorough discussion on gun laws in the United States. In addition, it should be considered what other countries have been doing such that they have lower instances of gun violence. Finally, the statistics on gun violence in the United States provide a rallying call to all citizens, especially lawmakers, to provide a solution to the surging cases. Most people agree that a solution should be found as fast as possible.
The high rate of gun violence in the United States indicates differences in factors involved in gun regulations compared to other countries. Switzerland provides a perfect case study for gun laws. Despite the country having a high number of guns per capita than the United States, the case of gun violence is considerably low. The country has developed strict gun laws that ensure that guns don’t end upon in the wrong hands. In addition, the country has mandatory military training that provides necessary information’s on handling guns to citizens.
In comparison to the United States laws, some states do not enforce and require training of firearm holders to ensure proper handling. The country also ensures thorough background searches are conducted on individuals with licenses to own firearms. In Canada, gun laws have often changed in response to t5he issues that come up. In Canada, it is fully illegal; to own an automatic firearm unless it was registered before 1978. And guns and semi-automatic weapons are highly restricted. The only type of unrestricted guns is short guns and rifles. Following a mass shooting at Quebec mosques, a law was put in place that responded to the incident. This was by increasing the detail of background checks before being allowed to own a gun. In Australia, the government began a campaign to buy back automatic weapons after declaring them illegal. In Israel, compulsory military training provides the citizens with indirect access to most types of firearms. However, the country has a strict gun laws. The minimum age for owning a gun for any Israeli citizen is 21 if they have military training or 27 if they don’t have military training. The United States gun laws are very different from the gun laws of the other parts of the world. The fact that mass shootings in other countries are lower and yet the countries have stricter4 gun laws is a clear indication that the problem we have in the United States is closely related to gun laws.
The arguments by pro-gun advocates fail greatly when scrutinized for their validity. The conservatives in America have been at the forefront of fighting against gun laws reforms (Crummett & Swenson, 2019). The Republican Party has rejected several bills in congress and the senate that seeks to reform current gun laws in the United States.
One of the most common arguments that pro-gun advocates provide is that gun restrictions would violate the rights to own guns provided by the second amendment. The second amendment gives every United States citizen the right to own guns, but that does not mean that there could be violations of that right. Everyone has a right to free speech; however, there are restrictions to this right, i.e., one has no right to speak in manners that are insulting, or that might be perceived as hate speech. The other argument is that gun control would lead to a ban on guns. The argument fails when comparisons are made to several countries that have introduced gun reforms yet have not gone to the extent of banning guns, such as in the United Kingdom and Germany. The other argument is that gun control would restrict people’s right to self-defense; the argument fails for stricter gun laws would still allow eligible people to defend themselves.
The strongest argument for pro-gun advocates is that bad people would still get guns even if restrictions were implemented. It is a popular saying that the only person who can stop a bad guy with a gun is another guy with a gun. However, the argument fails to consider the fact that the possibility of an occurrence of crime does not invalidate the law. Some of the commonly abused drugs, like heroin and meth re, are used in medication processes. The drugs have been restricted, and laws govern their use despite other individuals’ widespread illegal use. Gun laws have worked in other countries, and they will probably work well if implemented nib United States. It should be undertood that the main purpose of gun reforms secures the right of citizens to own firearms; it does not seek to take guns away from citizens as has been propagated by the thought far-right groups of the United States.
In conclusion, the gun laws currently in place should be reformed to reduce the causes of gun violence in the United States. The arguments propagated by the pro-gun advocates fail to consider important aspects of the gun debate. The examples of other countries on reforming gun laws should act as a lesson for Americans on dealing with gun violence.
Reflections
In the paper, I have used rhetorical appeal in the second last paragraph to try appealing to the pro-gun advocates to rethink their stance on the debate based on gun violence statistics. Have also used rhetorical appeal in the third paragraph. It appeals to the reader’s emotion to regard some of the consequences of gun violence that have been experienced in the past decades. Some of the important feedbacks that would assist in the revision of the paper would be an analysis of the statistics used in supporting the arguments on whether they are adequate or not. The political opinions that the essay reflects could also be analyzed to ensure that they represent the real stances of the party. Finally, the analysis of the strength of the argument could be analyzed to ensure that they are convincing.
Annotated bibliography
Bauchner,, H., Rivara, F., & Bonow, R. (2017). Death by Gun Violence—A Public Health Crisis. Retrieved 5 August 2021, from
In the article the authors analyses the rate of gun violence in the United States based on statistics from the previous decades, they describe the shooting at Las Vegas strip in2017. The authors an give detailed statistics for the numbers of deaths caused by gun violence per day on the different parts of the united states.
Cornell, S., & Cornell, E. (2018). The Second Amendment and Firearms Regulation: A Venerable Tradition Regulating Liberty While Securing Public Safety. Retrieved 5 August 2021, from
The authors of the article surveys the history of gun laws in the United States from the 18 the century, to the current laws .They briefly talk on gun violence history of the United States. They focus on explaining the development of the second amendments and its interpretation throughout history.
Crummett, D., & Swenson, P. (2019). Gun Control, the Right to Self-Defense, and Reasonable Beneficence to All. Retrieved 5 August 2021, from
The article analyses the arguments played by pro gun advocates and discuses some of the failures of the argument. The article provides answers to the objections raised by pro gun advocates by scholarly arguments.
References
Bauchner,, H., Rivara, F., & Bonow, R. (2017). Death by Gun Violence—A Public Health Crisis. Retrieved 5 August 2021, from
Cornell, S., & Cornell, E. (2018). The Second Amendment and Firearms Regulation: A Venerable Tradition Regulating Liberty While Securing Public Safety. Retrieved 5 August 2021, from
Crummett, D., & Swenson, P. (2019). Gun Control, the Right to Self-Defense, and Reasonable Beneficence to All. Retrieved 5 August 2021, from
Touchstone 3.2 Rubric and Feedback
Rubric Category
Feedback
Score (acceptable, needs improvement etc.)
Argument Development and Support
The essay is developed with supporting details to support the argument, but please read my comments for ways to strengthen the argument.
30/40
Research
The essay contains credible sources, but a little more supporting evidence is needed in some areas. Please read my comments for feedback.
22/30
Organization
Includes the elements of an argumentative essay.
15/15
Style
Demonstrates effective style choices.
5/5
Conventions
Few to no errors.
4/5
Reflection
Demonstrates thoughtful reflection responses.
4/5
Overall Score and Feedback: 80/100
Karen,
This is a good start. Please read my comments for specific feedback. I look forward to reading the final draft.