The Pros And Cons Of Gun Control

In 1980, a terrifying 9,524 teenagers lost their lives in vehicle crash accidents. Today, due to better safety features, education and laws, that number has dropped to 2,524 (IIHS). Even as more and more drivers became licensed each year, the number of fatalities went down. There was never a need to ban or restrict the types of vehicles teenagers could drive. In another attempt to save lives, the federal government enacted the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act to reduce the volume and lethality of gun violence by putting heavy restrictions on the types of weapons people could purchase and the accessories they could use. While well intentioned, what resulted from the law was a series bans on weapons and accessories that

There are many people who think that the assault weapons and the rifles being banned by many laws are the same types of weapons being used in gun homicides. This is in contrary to reality. In fact, FBI statistics showed that rifles were, “used in only about 3% of homicides each year.” What this means is that they cannot expect to reduce gun violence if they are targeting the wrong types of firearms. Furthermore, the weapons most commonly banned are the clones of military rifles. Unlike their military counterpart, these rifles have no automatic capabilities. However, because of their intimidating appearances, many rifles are banned because of their alleged destructive capabilities. Furthermore, ban on firearms is not practical or feasible in America. According to CESOP, about 2,000 weapons enter Mexico every day from America illegally. These weapons are hard if not impossible to track down and if the demand for firearms cannot be met with a legal supply, it is not hard to predict that it will easily be met with an illegal one. Criminals are criminals because they break the law and it is hard to believe that a law breaker would abide to the law and suddenly give away their weapons. Instead, it will incentivize the selling weapons on the street because they become rarer and thus more valuable. Because of these reasons, the flawed logic of banning firearms will not and

A high number of gun violence can be attributed to gang or other crime related topics or mental instability. African American males living in poverty are the most likely to be affected by gun violence (Guerra). She further states that certain developmental factors may have an impact on the way these youths may see gun violence. Some people may see no other career choice but to partake in crime as a result of the culture created by those around them. Instead of simply dealing with the effect of the true issue, it may be better to solve the issue at its roots by educating or reaching a youth before they may be led into a deeper gun culture. Better outreach and guidance for disadvantaged teens during crucial moments might otherwise make more dangerous decisions in life. Furthermore, it more likely that people who show early onset aggression will be affected by gun violence at some point in their lives (Guerra). Although not all people who display early onset aggression may reflect it in their record or maintain the same behavior into adulthood according to Guerra, because of there is a higher chance that they may become involved in violent behavior these people should not have access to firearms at any time. Better background screenings and better checks into the mental health of anyone who wishes to own a firearm, like those taken in Australia and Canada, might better ensure that firearms