Description: In this assignment, you will revise the introduction and literature review that you wrote for the Unit IV assignment. Revisions must be substantive and should be made in accordance with t

GUN OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL 1

Gun Ownership and Control

Raymond Beck

Columbia Southern University

Literature Review

Americans’ Safety – Gun Control in the United States of America

Introduction

The topic of the arms' control in the US is a critical one that needs to be discussed to help in instilling knowledge in the citizens of the country so that they become more sensitive to the established policies on gun control. Gun control is any legal measure to prevent or restrict the possession or use of guns in a country particularly firearms. The rate of crime in the United States of America is greatly affected by the policies made in the safety department concerning the control of firearms within the country. It is the right of every American citizen to have guns which are believed to be a good idea as it has helped individuals to practice self-defense. Moreover, there has been a sharp decrease in crime rate after each individual had the right to own a gun since arm-selling was no longer prohibited unlike in the other countries. However, this approach had disadvantages too that will be discussed in the body part of the literature review.

It is so contradictory that proponents of the increased gun control suggest that limiting access to guns will help in saving many lives and reduce crimes. However, the opponents keep insisting that the restrictions will do the opposite because the law-abiding citizens will be prevented from defending themselves against the armed criminals existing in the country. In the United States, most murders of a large group of people are committed with guns. There are several examples of mass murders including the murder of 49 people in an Orlando nightclub back in 2016 and also the massacre of twenty children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown back in 2012 which marks sad events in America. Eventually, some Americans decided to amend the constitutional right regarding the ownership of guns and two years later, the court held in (McDonald v. Chicago) acted on interpreting the amendment against state and local gun-control laws and also against the federal statutes. All individuals in Americans ought to be keen to know the trending legal policies concerning guns and firearms to prevent them from breaking the laws unknowingly.

The Benefits of Gun Ownership in America

There are rewards acquired as a result of owning a gun, knowing how to shoot effectively as well as maintaining gun responsibility. In addition to the rewards, the act of shooting acts as leisure among some people and it is also good for their health (Hemenway, 2017). Other benefits of gun ownership include personal responsibility, physical discipline, and confidence among others that will be discussed.

Personal Responsibility

Owning a gun acts as an exercise of always being present and also accountable. Any individual owning a gun ought to know where his weapon is stored, how it is locked up and the individuals that can access it too. Besides, the individual should know how to transport it and the type of license or rather a local permit that must be maintained (Hemenway, 2017). Owning a gun provides an opportunity to join a group of responsible people who fully support national liberty and security.

Physical Discipline

A responsible gun owner who is committed to his work takes ample time to learn the physicality of the sport (Hemenway, 2017). The physical disciplines are learned during the shooting lessons and sport. Focusing on one-eye coordination while shooting increases an individual's learning capacity and can provide a positive outlet for activity.

Confidence

Shooting is a hard task and the first shooting experience in an individual can be scary and challenging as well. It is therefore important to ensure that the first experience in the shooting is fun to help in creating a positive attitude that encourages one to repeat the event (Hemenway, 2017). Spending time in the range while learning to shoot and completing progressively on firearms training courses helps in boosting an individual's level of confidence.

Stress Relief

Shooting promotes good health because it helps in relieving stress by releasing adrenaline in an individual's body system. The adrenaline produced triggers the liver to break down and utilize glycogen which leads to the feeling of the body muscles (Hemenway, 2017). Moreover, the physical and mental discipline needed when shooting demands an individual to be calm thus can offset the most stressful days experienced by a person.

Taking Pride in Gun Ownership

The current ownership of a gun is not only for protection but also for recreational purposes such as hunting and competing in the shooting. An individual feel proud of owning a gun because he can save his life or lives of others someday (Hemenway, 2017). Moreover, gun owners take pride in the great responsibility of not skipping the proper steps of safety while using guns.

What do you think are the disadvantages of gun ownership?

Homes with guns stored in them tend to have many cases of violent incidents. The violence can lead to injuries or even death thus having guns at home is not a good idea. Additionally, the right to own guns makes it difficult to discriminate between criminals and innocent bystanders since the occurrences of unintentional shootings are four times as common as shootings with intentions of home defense situations (Hemenway, 2017). There is a higher probability of becoming a victim of a firearm-related homicide or suicide in a home if one has a gun in the house. Homes with guns experience the event of children's mishandling of guns that cause their death.

Gun- Control: Increasing Safety

Easy access to guns increases violent crimes hence advisable to make it difficult for people to access firearms because it will play a significant role in reducing violent crimes. More gun control reduces suicides since not many people are allowed to have guns in their houses. Additionally, gun-control helps in ensuring that the ownership of guns is not given to the wrong people who take advantage by using the guns at their gains through engaging in illegal activities (Jones & Stone, 2019). The restrictive gun control laws will help in reducing homicide rates in the United States as they have done in the United Kingdom.

However, gun control will create room for establishing an illegal business of creating a black market where guns are traded illegally to the criminals in the United States. The gun control laws do not necessarily prevent criminals from accessing guns and using them to commit violent crimes because, despite the existence of these laws in Mexico, 11309 homicides were recorded which involved the use of guns (The Lancet, 2017). The banning of citizens from legally purchasing guns makes the government too powerful hence the government feels the pride of ruling its people with tyranny. This is the reason as to why the second amendment was introduced in the constitution to help people not to live under the tyrannical government by giving them an ordinary chance to stop a tyrant government. Gun- control will prevent the law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves from criminals thus increasing violent crimes.

Conclusion

The paper has discussed the pros and cons of gun ownership in the United States of America. It has also discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the implementation of gun-control laws in America. According to me, I would suggest the American government to implement the gun-control laws to help in reducing homicides in the country like the United Kingdom.

References

Hemenway, D. (2017). Risks and Benefits of Gun Ownership. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 282(2), 135-a-136. Doi: 10.1001/jama.282.2.135-a

Jones, M., & Stone, G. (2019). The U.S. Gun-Control Paradox: Gun Buyer Response to Congressional Gun- Control Initiatives. Journal of Business & Economics Research (JBER), 13(4), 167. Doi: 10.19030/jber.v13i4.9449

The Lancet. (2017). Gun deaths and the gun control debate in the USA. The Lancet, 390(10105), 1812. Doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(17)32710-1