Gun laws

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GUN LAWS
Introduction
In the United States of America there are laws that regulate possession, use and sale of guns and ammunition. These laws include; Washington, D.C laws, State laws and federal laws. Most of the laws are independent and thus not necessarily falling between the scopes of firearms laws of the federal state. About forty four states in America have a provision in their constitutions which permits individuals to own firearms. Only a few states have not allowed individuals to own firearms and they include; New York, Iowa, Minnesota, California and New Jersey (Branas, et al, 2009).
Gun laws in America stipulate that all private citizens owning firearms subscribe themselves to the state laws and not necessarily to the state where they live. Before owning a firearm there are regulations that one must meet before being issued a permit to carry and use any firearm appropriately (Cook & Jens, 2013).The concealed carry permit is issued on the basis of the laws of the state. For instance, the state of Idaho recognizes a gun permit from Oregon but surprisingly the state of Oregon does not accept gun permit from Idaho State. As a matter of fact, state laws on guns are not strict as compared to the federal laws dealing with firearms. However, this does not mean that there is a lapse when it comes to apprehending those who misuse their guns. It is from this perspective that I will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of gun control laws (Baker & McPhedran, 2006).

Advantages of Gun Control Laws
Since most of the Americans are in possession of firearms courtesy of their laws, it is prudent that laws to control the use of these guns to be place and adhered to. Although most of these firearm owners do not like gun control rules in general they support some of the specific rules guiding the use of firearms (Jackson, 2005).Laws like thorough background check on the people intending to buy firearms should be made mandatory to ensure that only legible individual who is proved to be sound mind are approved to purchase and own guns. Reasons why one wants to buy guns should also be stated clearly and be identified as genuine and necessary.
Laws dealing with gun control should be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they are effective. The reason for reviewing them regularly should be based on the fact that homicide cases in America are on the increase. In 1990’s there was improvement regarding the use of guns in the United States but off late things seem to have worsened when compared to other developed countries where guns are also used by private citizens. According to the survey carried out in 2010 the rate of homicides associated with firearms had increased fifteen times compared to Germany, six times compared to Canada and thirty times compared to the United Kingdom (Karp, 2006).
Crimes associated with guns have provoked politicians to think otherwise and suggest laws to help in controlling firearms utilization within different states. For instance, there was a ban on high capacity magazines initiated by Congressmen from Colorado State. The ban was effected immediately after the attack on a movie theatre in Colorado in 2012. Another incidence that necessitated thorough background checks on people applying to own firearms was the 2012 shooting that took place at Sandy Hook School. Generally, those politicians advocating for control of guns have made tremendous policies have impacted positively in different states (Kleck & Patterson, 1993).
Gun ownership being the in thing in the America Society has contributed greatly to sale of guns. Dealers of firearms rake in a lot of cash from gun sales especially where incidents of crime occur thus provoking people to buy their own firearms for security purposes. For instance, there was an increase of 32 percent gun ownership per household due to the mass shootings that were witnessed recently (Rodriquez & Hempstead,2004).The implication is that people are buying many guns and even others purchasing more guns to add on what they already have. Therefore, this calls for stiff gun control laws to avoid different States from becoming lawless.
Indiscriminate shootings by those having firearms is another reason why gun laws should be revised and strict ones established. An example of this is the attack in San Bernardino which was based on race and if not carefully handled could likely cause retaliatory attacks on the basis of race. It is evident from statics that black people are vulnerable to be victims of gun-related crimes in the United States of America (Karp, 2006). To avoid possible wars emerging on the basis of race, stringent measures should be put in place to check on gun ownership and use within the federal State. According to the survey carried out in 2010 it was discovered that chances of black people being killed in gun homicide were seven times more than the whites.
Lack of laws on gun ownership provides an opportunity for the wrong people to possess them. Some people in the society are not supposed to own because of their bad intentions. These people include; terrorists and criminals who are likely to cause several casualties using firearms. Therefore only a few people should be allowed to own guns and if only possible government authorized personnel (Branas, et al, 2009).Most of the crimes being committed in the United States are organized and executed by these kind people who access guns from the State without due diligence being carried out on them.
Disadvantages of Gun Control Laws
Strict gun control laws will make it very difficult for ordinary citizens to own firearms to use for defending themselves. Guns owned by individuals deter those people with criminal intentions. Therefore without guns in their possession the disadvantaged groups in the society will be more vulnerable to attacks with those having guns (Cook, Philip & Jens, 2013).
Criminals or those people with ill motives will find a way to acquire firearms in an illegal manner. It is not possible to control guns fully and thus the need not to have laws. Even with gun laws, individuals are able to procure them using bootleggers on the black market (Jackson, 2005).The strict gun laws will simply provide an avenue where guns will be sold haphazardly causing the community to have many illicit firearms.
Violent crimes decrease in a society where everyone has a right to own a firearm. Since those with ill intentions don’t know if the another person they plan to rob is harmed or not thus deterring them from committing a crime. It is from this point of view that laws controlling guns should be abolished (Karp, 2006).
Conclusion
Guns are good weapons for security but at the same if misused turn out to be very harmful. It is from this perspective that gun control is necessary for any progressive State or nation. Most of the crimes witnessed all over the world are done using firearms and thus the need to put control measures in place. There are minimal criminal activities associated with guns in countries where the laws on guns are strict like Germany, United Kingdom and Canada. On the contrary, more criminal activities are witnessed in countries where the laws on guns are flexible like the America. Therefore from the statement, it is prudent to adopt tough gun control measures and ensure that they are observed throughout.
Works Cited
Baker, Jackson & McPhedran, Seth. Gun Laws and Sudden Death: Did the Australian Firearms
Legislation of 199 make a difference. British Journal of Criminology. 47 (3) 2006: 455-
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Branas, Collins”Investigating the Link between Gun Possession and Gun Assault”.
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Cook, Philip J & Jens Ludwig. ‘The Limited Impact of the Brady Act – No Evidence of
Reduction in Deaths.’ Reducing Gun Violence in America: Informing Policy with
Evidence and Analysis. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013. Print
Jackson, Thomas. ‘Global Gun Deaths.’ NISAT Firearm Mortality Database 2005.Oslo:
Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers, 2005.Print
Karp, Aaron. ‘Trickle and Torrent: State stockpiles.’ Small Arms Survey 2006: Unfinished
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Kleck, Gibson & Patterson, Edgar. (1993). “The impact of gun control and gun ownership levels
on violence rates”. Journal of Quantitative Criminology. 9 (3)1993: 249–287.Print
Rodríguez Andrés &Hempstead, Katherine. “Gun control and suicide: The impact of
State firearm regulations in the United States, 1995–2004”. Health Policy. 101 (1)
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