Testing a Hypothesis on Guns, Education, and Race

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The United States Bill of Rights contains the second amendment that allows the citizens a right to bear arms. This is translated to the right of firearm ownership for private use. Some Americans take to owning a gun as a right of passage and a need within the society. In the United States 43 of the 50 states enacted in the State constitutions to affirm a right for their citizens to own firearms for personal use with out being a member of the state's militia (Winkler, 2007). While this is one freedom many American enjoy gun deaths is still one of the highest forms of fatality that occur in the United States. In 2011 alone there were 32,163 fire-arm related deaths in the United States, and include deaths due to suicide which were 19,776 (more than half of all suicides) and also were found to be the cause of death in 11,101 homicides (as cited by O'Brien, Forrest, Lynott, & Daly, 2013). Violent acts are committed with high frequency in the United States with firearms. School shootings have become more prolific in the news such as Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, and Columbine. Literature Review One question one might ask is what compels someone to own a firearm inside the home. Fear of crime has been found a factor in increased gun ownership. In an analysis of 16 studies from Hauser and Kleck (2013) found mixed results of fear of crime and gun ownership but most studies found a positive relationship between fear of crime and owning a firearm in the house. Owning a gun for self protection is often one of the most cited reasons by gun owners for possessing a firearm. Fear of victimization spurs buying firearms and a spike of sales can be observed when a national tragedy occurs due to clever marketing from gun manufactures. Personality fac... ... middle of paper ... ... Works Cited Refrences Celinska, K. (2007). Individualism and collectivism in america: The case of gun ownership and attitudes toward gun control. Sociological Perspectives, 50(2), 229-247. Frankfort-Nachmias and Leon-Guerrero: Social Statistics for a Diverse Society, Sixth Edition GSS Dataset. (n.d.). Retrieved from CSUF TITANIUM database. Kleck, G. , & Hauser, W. (2013). Guns and fear: A one-way street?. Crime & Delinquency, 59(2), 271-291. O’Brien, K., Forrest, W., Lynott, D., & Daly, M. (2013). Racism, Gun Ownership and Gun Control: Biased Attitudes in US Whites May Influence Policy Decisions. Plos ONE, 8(10), 1-10. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0077552 Winkler, A. (2011, July 24). The Secret History of Guns. The Atlantic. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/09/the-secret-history-of- guns/308608/?single_page=true

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