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...
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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
The topic of gun control became an element for discussion among Americans in the early 1930s when mob and gang crime was at an all-time high. The term “Gun Control” refers to a set of laws set in p...
Richman, Sheldon. "The Seen and Unseen in Gun Control." The Freeman 1 Oct 1998: 610-611
Valdez, Angela and John Ferguson Jr. Gun Control: Firearms Ownership, New York: Chelsea House, 2012. 58-60. Print.
The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms, but only in cases of self-defense and hunting for food. However, the use of guns has drastically changed since 1791 when the amendment was implemented. Today, guns are not solely used in their intended ways. Since 2010, over eighty-seven school shootings have occurred within American grade schools, high schools, and universities, resulting in approximately 107 injuries and 109 murders of innocent students. The two most deadly shootings in the world occurred in the United States: the Virginia Tech University Massacre which left thirty-two dead and Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting which left twenty-eight dead. Each new shooting prompts a debate about gun control laws and leaves citizens wondering about the accessibility of guns; any United States citizen over the age of twenty-one that does not have any previous felonies is able to easily receive a gun license. Forty-nine out of the sixty-one school shootings that occurred between 1982 and 2012 legally obtained firearms. The statistics become even more outstanding: seventy nine percent of all shooters have been diagnosed with a mental illness or disability, including the Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook shooters, Seung-Hui Cho and Adam Lanza. Cho and Lanza were diagnosed with mental illnesses and disabilities, depression and autism, respectively. Even so, they were still able to acquire the guns they needed because extensive mental health background checks did not and still do not exist; Cho purchased his own weapon and Lanza stole his mother’s guns. Although the case studies of Lanza and Cho are only two out of the many school shootings, they should be considered prime examples to illustrate the necessity to add stri...
Gun Violence Opposing View Points. Ed. James D. Torr. Greenhaven Presss.Inc., San Diego, California: Daniel Leone, 2002, Print
More than 20,000 children and youth under the age of 20 years old are injured or killed by guns in the U.S. The easy accesses kids have to getting their hands on guns are a major reason why firearms are the second leading cause of death among the youth. The majority of deaths by guns in the youth are homicides. About one-third of them are suicides. Seven percent are unintentional. People living in urban areas such as, older teens, males, African American youth, and Hispanic youth are more likely to be involved in gun homicides. People in rural areas like males and Caucasian youth are more likely to commit suicide. There were 2,711 infant, child, and teen firearm deaths. That’s seven deaths a day.
Moorhouse, John C., and Brent Wanner. "Does Gun Control Reduce Crime or Does Crime Increase Gun Control?" CATO Journal 26.1 (2006): 103-24. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 15 June 2015.
Guns are not the trouble, people are. The United States is #1 in world gun ownership, and yet is only 28th in the world in gun murders per 100,000 people. The number of unintentional fatalities due to firearms declined by 58 percent between 1991 and 2011 Based on these facts, one can see the guns not the causes of gun violence. moreover, civilians who get permits take gun safety courses and have criminal background...
Aroung the time of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the controversial and widely argued issue of gun control sparked and set fire across America. In the past decade however, it has become one of the hottest topics in the nation. Due to many recent shootings, including the well known Sandy Hook Elementary school, Columbine High School, Aurora movie theater, and Virginia Tech, together totaling 87 deaths, many people are beginning to push for nationwide gun control. An article published in the Chicago Tribune by Illinois State Senator Jacqueline Collins, entitled “Gun Control is Long Overdue” voiced the opinion that in order for America to remain the land of the free, we must take action in the form of stricter gun laws. On the contrary, Kathleen Parker, a member of the Washington Post Writers Group whose articles have appeared in the Weekly Standard, Time, Town & Country, Cosmopolitan, and Fortune Small Business, gives a different opinion on the subject. Her article in The Oregonian “Gun Control Conversation Keeps Repeating” urges Americans to look at the cultural factors that create ...
Ring, Ray. “Guns R Us.” High Country News (Paonia, Co) Vol. 39, No. 14 Aug. 6 2007:10-17. Sirs Issues Researcher. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.
Today in the United States many people argue over the fact of guns being legal or illegal. There are people using guns for personal safety and there are others who use them for crimes, as well as for other situations. Firearm deaths in the United States have slowly been decreasing from year to year with all these bills getting passed to promote a safer country than ever before. Guns are the main weapon for youth suicide, school shootings, and for committing murder. In 2010 there were 2,711 infants, child, and teenage firearm deaths. As in school shootings and in committing murder, studies show shooters often had multiple, non-automatic guns, shootings were planned, most youth tell before shooting, shooters have a history of being bullied or threatened, shooters have mental issues, and shooters have done suicidal gestures before (Gun Control with School Shootings). Although there are people who use guns for murdering, there are also those who oppose guns being used without the proper requirements. 85% of all respondents to the survey supporting requiring states to report people to national background-checks systems who are prohibited from owning gu...
Rauch, Jonathan. “The Right Kind of Gun Rights.” National Journal Vol. 40 Issue 11. Academic Search Complete. 15 Mar. 2013. Web. 6 June 2015.
Carter, Gregg. Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Print.
Crime and guns. The two seem to go hand in hand with one another. But are the two really associated? Do guns necessarily lead to crime? And if so do laws placing restrictions on firearm ownership and use stop the crime or protect the citizens? These are the questions many citizens and lawmakers are asking themselves when setting about to create gun control laws. The debate over gun control, however, is nothing new. In 1924, Presidential Candidate, Robert La Follete said, “our choice is not merely to support or oppose gun control but to decide who can own which guns under what conditions.” Clearly this debate still goes on today and is the very reason for the formation of gun control laws.
Lott, Jr. John R. More Gun Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. Print.