The Controversy and History of American Gun Ownership

Gun control

The history of firearm dates back to as early as the 10th century AD, right after the Chinese invented black powder. It wasn’t until the 14th century AD that they were brought to Europe and the Middle East. Since then, these weapons have been used for many reasons: to put food on the table, for personal protection, to enforce or defy the law, to defend or acquire territory, and to liberate or to enslave. They have also been used for entertainment purposes, like competitive shootings, or simply for the pure enjoyment of gun collection. Today, Americans own about 265 million guns, and almost half of these weapons are in the hands of just 3% of the population (Jervis, 2016). Gun ownership has become a very controversial topic across the US, especially after the multiple mass shootings that have happened over the past year. The question then arises: should guns be banned? I think

According the Gun Violence Archive, there has been more than 46,000 gun related deaths in 2016, which do not take into consideration the 22,000 people who killed themselves using a firearm (2016). The implication is that, establishing strict gun regulations would limit the public’s access to guns, which in turn would reduce the rate of mortality by firearm. That is because, if criminals and mass shooters have no access to any type of gun, they will have to resort to other types of weapons, like knives, for example. It is a lot harder to cause important damages with a knife than with a gun: guns can kill dozens of people in the matter of seconds, they can be used from a relatively far distance, and it is not easy to escape a bullet, whereas knives cause little damage, the attacker needs to be in proximity of the victim, and it can only hurt one person at a time. Also, taking away guns from citizens would reduce suicides around the US, as suicide by gun is the most common and the most lethal form of