Considering the present times of war, violence and terrorism, gun control vs gun rights is not limited to leisurely discussions and high school debates but has emerged as one that has deep-rooted effects on culture, geography and lifestyle in general. It is no more a fueled debate on “Guns are cool vs Guns are dangerous”. Here are a few instances on how people like to present their views on Gun control as well as Gun Rights.
More restrictive laws regarding Guns and similar weapons
Society and human nature are constantly evolving. In a place where human interaction is masked by racial, social and political differences, the rift grows wider and the inability to understand each other increases. Today, the American society is an amalgamation of a multitude of cultures, religions and ethnicities, and this has further aggravated the differences in opinions and arguments. Naturally, humans fear what they cannot understand, and sometimes arguments are born out of nothing. What starts as a mild confrontation can eventually lead to murder. Firearms in such a society must be dealt with utmost caution and care. Guns or similar weapons make a man feel powerful and with such power comes abuse. It is the need of the hour to strengthen laws and legislature regarding the sale and purchase of firearms.
Increasing crime rates involving guns
9mm pistols, rifles with silencers or long-range guns of any type are standard weapons of murder that are taken into police custody every day from crime scenes. This is the reason enough to monitor and curtail the ownership of guns. Why? It is because gun ownership is in direct correlation with the climb in violence. This is perhaps the strongest argument that is made in favor of gun control because inevitably, guns are means to kill and sometimes for no apparent reason at all. The numbers and statistics further prove this point. In the years from 1988 -1997, a study was conducted by American Journal for public Health on 233,251 homicide victims in US alone. It was found out that over 68% of these killings were done by guns, although mostly handguns.
Almost an outlandish number of guns in America
At the moment, more than 38% Americans own guns. By 2005, an alarming 290 million guns were estimated to be in circulation and out of these, almost 40% were handguns. To add to this number, there is now an additional 3-5 million guns, which change hands on the black market as part of illegal deals. As a result, smuggled and contraband firearms are rampant on the market and their sale and purchase goes unregulated for the most part. This is a golden opportunity for convicts, mafia and other criminal-minded people to get their hands on such weapons.
On the other hand, there are people who declare it unconstitutional for gun ownership to be outlawed. There is much debate over the empowerment of US citizens against governmental oppression. Whether the power shall be transferred to individuals or given to collective groups is something that needs to be determined.
