The Pros And Cons Of Gun Control

The gun control debate has been raging in the open parlance for quite sometimes, at least everybody in America feels the need to be safe, and the only controversy is how to be safe; by allowing more guns to civilians or by withdrawing or limiting the number of guns held by civilians? The Second Amendment to the American Constitution, which came into force on 15th December 1791, has provisions protecting civilians’ rights of keeping and bearing firearms (Klukowski 195). However, debates on gun controls have majorly questioned the role of the government in ensuring that it provides security services to the citizens of the United States. This debate has culminated into what is currently referred to as the gun politics in the US and has pitted

Although it is difficult to state, statistically how many instances of mass shooting could have been prevented, the activists argue that there would have been a decrease in such instances, if more citizens bore firearms and the conceal and carry policy relaxed (Kleck 54). Citing an example of a driver for the Uber taxi company who shot a rogue gun holder firing at an unarmed crowd, gun activists argue that if many more people held guns, than such incidences would reduce since rogue shooters always act on the knowledge that their victims are not armed. John Lott, an economist who is pro-gun-rights, wrote a research paper citing a survey carried out in 1986; in the survey 56% of prisoners convicted of gun violence in 10 adult facilities in the US stated that they wouldn’t have shot at their victims if such victims were armed (Lott 16). In his book, “The Bias against Guns,” the economists also wrote that in states where conceal and carry policies adopted, the rate of gun violence and murder reduced. This, therefore, means that increasing gun ownership amongst the US citizens and also by relaxing conceal and carry policies, gun related deaths will

Citing a survey done by Quinnipiac University in September 2015 which involved asking the question of whether to have stricter laws and regulation on gun ownership; pro-gun activist groups, state that most Americans are opposed to the imposition of strict regulations on gun ownership than ever before (Spitzer 6). They argue that there has been a shift in paradigm on the gun debate in the US with most people showing a shift of perception that guns could possibly be the answer contrary to their earlier perception that guns were the problem in gun violence. A research by Pew Research Center in the year 2014 indicated that for the first time in a period running past two decades, more citizens of the country were in support of relaxed regulations on control and carry and also advocated for more gun rights than gun control (Spitzer 6). Pro-gun activists also argue that with then gun debate becoming dominant in the national politics and showing a contest between Republicans and Democrats, there is a general feeling that Americans should be allowed to own guns. They cite 2013 Senate vote which sought to enforce more background checks on gun ownership; the proposal flopped on the floor of the house. This, therefore, means that the move is skewed towards more liberalized gun ownership regulation than restrictions on gun rights (Kleck