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Effects of gun control laws in diverse environmental

Paper Type: Free Essay Subject: Criminology
Wordcount: 2082 words Published: 1st Jan 2015

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This research is based on current information, data from previous years cited upon accessibility and availability and importance. Likewise information connected with the effects of gun control laws in diverse environmental areas represents random, demographically different areas which such information is available. For many people and especial lly the Americans, gun control or ownership creates a comforting feeling of security. The immense and greater numbers of Americans who own guns are the law abiding people of the nation who buy and keep their firearm in their homes for protection of them and their families from criminals. The issue of gun control is best measured and other times can be measured during surveys, although the accuracy of these types of surveys depend on the respondents who provide true and accurate answers to questions which are occasionally controversial and even almost incriminating. Therefore just truth uses such information decisively citing the finest-designed surveys we uncover and detail their personal works in our footnotes and also using the most alert credible interpretations of the results. Some general facts about firearms is that they are classified into three categories which include handguns, rifles and shotguns, shotguns and rifles are considered as long guns and a semi – automatic firearm fires a bullet every time one pulls the trigger. As for an automatic firearm, sometimes referred to as a machine gun, it continuously fires the bullets for as long as the trigger is pulled. In this research we are going to have a look at some sub topics to enable us venture deep into the gun control.

These days the use of fire arms like hand guns is being advocated in argument that it assists in the keeping away of criminals and juveniles on the crime prospect These high-risk persons are normally a threat to the social security and well being of other people in the society. However, guns which are in the wrong hands could turn turtle any calm and peaceful community and only federal measures can be taken to reduce the availability and define the use of these hand guns. The threat to our society from the jobless youth, drug addicts and mentally disturbed or challenged youths, adults and children is the main reason for the need to acquire and use hand guns in certain neighborhoods. Though there have been some policy changes which ushered in ban on the ownership and use of non-police guns, the registrations and ownerships were not declared exclusively.

Certainly with over 200 million guns and more firearms one can estimate the number the rather accident rate caused by the ownership of firearms. But the firearm accidental death rate has dropped 29 percent since 1992, policy makers may justly believe that though legal gun accidents are decreasing rapidly and that suicide rate has been relatively stable for the last two decades greater gun and firearm precautions will still help lower and prevent some of the gun suicides, deaths and accidents. As for serious firearm accidents, young men who are aged 15-24 are normally at a higher risk of nonfatal accidental firearm injuries, over one third of accidental firearm wounds are self inflicted and are mostly caused by guns, such injuries often occur during routine gun handling sessions , the loading, unloading and the clearing of the gun. Over the past few years there has been the reduction in the number of accidental gun death cases due to the high standards of living that is, injury rates are lower in higher income population areas and there has also been the improvement of emergency medical services, like the pre-hospital advanced life support and helicopter transport. Suburbanization has also increased in that fatality rates of accidental guns are twice as much in the rural areas than in the non-rural areas.

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Raging information from surveys of convicted felons to youth delinquency case study have revealed that criminals obtained these firearms through theft, straw purchase, illicit trade or loan mostly from other criminals or gang members, those criminals who use firearms prefer reliable and concealable, guns which are fit. When these criminals are asked why they use these firearms they mostly report that they have to defend themselves from other criminals, their victims and other armed citizens, understanding this in their perspective as their primary motivation of arming themselves. A small number of Americans are supportive of gun and firearm control in general and the handgun control to be more specific. While the subject has declined in overall public concern, it remains what politicians deem a “wedge subject” as many of the opponents of gun control are zealous about their right to unregulated gun ownership and may even make voting decisions on this subject alone. Gun control advocates make much less money as compared to gun control opponents.

Proven facts have showed that gun ownership increase the amount of crime committed and also the number of fatalities that result from those uses. With the numerous firearms in the United States and the dominance of firearms crime, it is no wonder people fail to differentiate between legal and illegal firearm or gun ownership. However, the social damage caused by the less frequent illegal use of firearms is a very serious issue that should be addressed, its essential to know that there is an exceptionally petit relationship between the legal and illegal gun worlds. Policies created to tackle firearms crimes and to negatively influence legal gun owners will meet very strong opposition specifically because individuals who own guns usually and mostly tend to live and work in areas where they suspect to witness a gun crime.

Based upon surveys, the following are estimates of private firearm ownership in the U.S. as of 2010:

 

 Households With a Gun

 Adults Owning a Gun

 Adults Owning a Handgun

Percentage

 40-45%

 30-34%

 17-19%

Number

 47-53 million

 70-80 million

 40-45 million

Having firearms in the homes has actually proven to harm the inhabitants of a household than to actually protect them, this was proven through a survey, homicides that have a gun in the case are most likely to appear three times or more in the site of a fatal shooting and five times more liable to experience a suicide than those homes that do not have these firearms. Law enforcement effort on this issue is mostly concerned on keeping the firearm away from the mentally ill, from children, and from individuals who might use the guns to harm themselves and others.

The affirmation of constitutional barriers, important and relevant social costs and more comprehensive policies are sure to allow the law enforcers to keep a tag on the ownership and illegal firearm ownership transfer of both individual and bulk this will assist in the deep check of people and institutions that operate against the welfare of a peaceful existence. It is important that we help to give power to federal policies that focus on keeping firearms and hand guns out of the hands of criminals. The opposite would only endanger the security of the general public at large. Washington DC is believed to have the strictest gun laws in the country. Shotguns and handgun ownership are not heavily regulated and the few who are permitted to have them should keep them disassembled. Despite this, murder and crime rate by gun remain high in the nation.

The effective gun control measures are advantageous to law-abiding citizens, moreover, there are many advocates with the thought that the widespread of gun ownership is a way to keep gun crime at bay, it’s important to understand that it is not the gun that is being questioned; it’s the hand that pulls the trigger. The threat of potential oppression, gangs or any persons, is being addressed even though dealing with the situation of guns being accessible by children, disturbed adults and the mentally ill individuals is not the solution. The answer lies with effectively upholding the law and helping the law makers to curb illegal procurement of arms.

The crime and mortality information is mostly calculated and mentioned or quoted whenever the cons of gun control are being discussed. The number of victims that could have been prevented in the presence of a gun or firearm has increased. The federal government regulations has made it difficult for the common man in crime driven areas, societies or neighborhoods to buy a gun, on the other hand the thug, under any attire continues to obtain these hand guns and firearms illegally. While a section of the law guarantees individuals the right to own hand guns, another amendment makes owning a gun difficult and illegal and so many people feel that they are being deprived off their constitutional rights. It’s also observed that if the law-abiding citizens have handguns, they are better prepared to handle situations where they may find themselves face to face with criminals, hence lowering the crime rate. The gun rights advocates think the founders wrote the second amendments to help ease the dread of the government take over by allowing the general public to own guns and keep them, they also define the phrase “the people” as used in the second clause of the amendment, they argue it does not refer to the states’ rights, this point of view is referred to as personal rights arguments or simply an individual rights. The top gun advocate, Eugene Volokh associated which are stated in the first, forth and ninth amendments to the rights of the people to bear handguns, he noted that all the four were referred to the “right of the people.” He told the senators “they protect the rights of the people by protecting the rights of each individual.” According to his line of thought, citizens offer the protection and safety to the society and the general public. An oppressive federal government might have some thoughts of trying to oppress citizens who are ready to fight and those that are armed, these armed citizens make up a well regulated militia, says Volokh. Akhil R. Amar is a bill of rights professor and a Law professor in the university of Yale believes that the authors of the second amendment were keeping in mind the good patriots of America when writing the provision, according to him the amendment grants a small group of people the right to defend their homes from criminals. Moreover the proponents of gun control argue that the frames of the U.S constitution recognized a government ruled by its people. The safeguards put into the constitution itself assured that the people could go a head and alter the unpopular government or even overthrow it by peaceful and diplomatic means without having to resort to the use hand guns or other firearms.

In politics, gun control, gun politics addresses security issues and ideologies associated to hand guns and firearms through non criminal and criminal use. Gun politics deals with the set of laws and regulations. Throughout the presidential campaign, Obama announced that he is in favor with the measures that respect the Second Amendment rights and at the same time keeping guns far away from children, criminals and the mentally ill persons. On February 25, 2009, the Attorney General Mr. Eric Holder announced that the Obama administration would search for a new assault weapons ban across the United States, claiming that it would have an optimistic or rather positive impact on the drug-related violent behavior in Mexico. After having said that the report drew criticism from the NRA and to some House Democrats, the Administration allegedly ordered the Justice Department to finish the public discussion of the issue. President Obama has signed into law two bills which contain amendments reducing the limitations on gun owners, one which permits the guns to be transported in checked baggage on the Amtrak trains and another bill which allows carrying of loaded firearms in general in the national parks located in states allowing the concealed carry. In a political perspective, gun control is very important because it influences some voters, we shall identify individual contests and some of the states in the presidential elections that probably turned on the subject of gun control.

 

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