Gun control in America - Essay Example

The rate of homicide has been directly related to gun ownership according to research and case studies (Hepburn et al., 419). Over 60% of murders involve guns in the United States and are more common in urban areas (Hepburn et al., 419). Individually or as a part of juvenile-crime bill (ESPO), gun control laws have set a precedent for strict legislation against guns by the gun control advocates after each incident of public shooting. The 1999 Colorado school shooting resulted in strict gun control laws to be passed which were never considered likely to be passed before (Gimpel, 92).

The laws mainly restricted gun availability to the children and put the responsibility of gun’s use in crime on the owner to curtail usage by minors. The stigma created by the gun control often results in counter arguments and conspiracy theories. The gun control critics rebut claims of the relationship between guns and homicide with the fact that there is lesser gun violence in England and Wales where firearm availability is less as compared to the United States. The legislation to curb gun control is criticized as unconstitutional with the emphasis on controlling crime and not the guns (Bogart, 339).

1986 Gun Owners Protection Act was one of the successful movements to counter objectionable legislation against gun ownership (Tatalovich et al., 177). The for and against sides of gun control reflected in the government as well as the lawmakers, which makes it equally possible for both sides to get their way; the debate being carried on to lawmaking platforms. Furthermore, illegal arms markets and dealings have only endangered the point of view of the pro-gun activists. The illegal gun trade is generally to facilitate crime and stricter background checks and registration laws have been requested time and again to control such activity.

As such, where firearm registration would be a reasonable way to go, absolute abandonment of guns as proposed by the gun control activists is vehemently opposed by the pro-gun side. Destitute individuals being more likely to misuse guns have been pointed out in different researches; poverty and gun ownership is said to be a bad combination and a motivation for crime (Deborah et al., 92). Gun owners advocate that the law is for the law abiding; criminals will acquire guns illegally for illegal use and only the law abiding citizens would be affected by the gun control laws.

A series of ad hominems being thrown on have made the issue delicate and often a point in election campaigns. Firearm storage being a major problem when guns are not properly locked away and are kept loaded cause unfortunate incidents. Unintentional firearm injuries and deaths caused by this have called for further gun control laws (Miller et al., 37). This on the other hand is seen by the gun owners as a need to create awareness about gun safety. Societies like National Rifle Association have long worked on this to promote guns, yet create awareness about the right usage and storage.

NRA has been staunchly assisting gun owners and it holds annual gatherings to facilitate the gun rights and advocate the second amendment. According to another set of findings, only 25% of murders are committed using a gun (Street Crime in America, 1323). This means that the derivation of guns as a concept for crime and enforcing laws will have an effect on gun ownership, but not the crime which is the target