Tighter Regulations for Buying Guns the Argument Essay

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Tighter Regulations for Buying Guns

The argument essay tighter regulations buying guns proposed. An requirements word file.

In the recent past, there have been mass shootings that have taken place in different states within the United States. These mass shootings have caused many innocent people to loose their lives, and this has led to the citizens and leaders pushing for stricter control for firearms. In 2012, there were three major shootings that prompted legislators to take action against gun control. The first was the Chardon High School shooting, where a student went on a rampage killing three students and injuring several other students. The second event was the Colorado Theater shooting. In this event, the shooter killed 12 people and injured 58 others. The final event took place in December 2012. The incident occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School where the shooter killed six adult staff and twenty children. The shooter had earlier killed his mother using her rifle. The shooter committed suicide shooting himself in the head. The shooters involved in these three incidents had both acquired the guns illegally or from their relatives. The restrictions currently in place to control access to guns had not helped to curb the situation in any way.

With this in mind it is clear that there is need for tighter regulations in the purchase of guns. These regulations would specify the kind of guns an individual can purchase, the requirements for gun purchase should also be federally controlled and not state controlled. This will ensure that people who purchase guns are well monitored, and background checks are performed fully. Currently, it is only federal purchases that require background checks, but purchases made from private transactions are not checked. The current policies for purchasing guns are quite lean as they are not mandatory. This has caused minors or other mentally challenged individuals to easily access guns. This has resulted in the serious incidents that have rocked the United States. If an individual wants to purchase a gun all they need is to visit the gun store and fill out form 4473. This form is always stored within the store, and it is not shared with other federal institutions. This means that the state has no way of knowing if a person has purchased a gun or not and this makes it hard to restrict criminals or others from accessing the gun.

Different states have enforced different requirements in regards to gun purchase, and this makes it hard to federally restrict the purchases. Some states will require the store owner to ask for personal information in others it is a requirement to have safes. Customer must pass a gun control test, undergoing a psych evaluation and asking if there will be any children who will access the weapon. These requirements should be enforced in all states and the records of all gun purchases should be sent to the federal government. The federal government has the facility and capability to identify prior criminals who might want to legally purchase a gun. This is because it has a central database which can be used for background checks. Requiring all gun sellers to submit the information to the federal government before a purchase is authorized, will ensure that guns are only sold to citizens who have not priors and are not likely to misuse the weapon. Individuals are also permitted to sell guns between themselves. These purchases are not monitored, and there is no requirement to have the transaction recorded in any state or federation. These purchases mostly result in illegal firearm use as there is no restriction. Minors, prior convicted felons, and mentally challenged people are able to acquire guns using this method.

The advocates for lesser gun purchase restrictions argue that guns are not the cause of increased crime rate. Crime is committed by criminals and mass shootings are committed by mentally ill individuals. This does not mean that having tighter gun regulation would result in the decline of such incidents. The opponents also say that instead of drafting more regulations, the government should enforce the current regulations as they are sufficient in controlling the purchase of guns. They continue to argue that enforcing stricter gun purchase regulations would lock out law abiding citizens, or make it harder for them to purchase guns. This would not result in a reduction in the crime rate, neither would it help in combating crime. In 2010, there were approximately 40-45% household that owned private firearms in the United States.

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This indicates that there are many guns currently in possession by citizens. The gun purchase restrictions being proposed would not eliminate the guns currently owned by citizens. According to the United Nations Scotland was labeled to be the most violent nation in the world in 2005. The report also stated that this violent crime rate was not caused by firearm ownership, which was 6% of the households. Switzerland on the other hand, had around 27% of the households owning firearms, but the crime rate was lower by 25% compared to Scotland.

Using such information, the people opposing stricter gun purchase regulations state it is not about the number of guns currently in the country, but rather the influences that people have to e the cause of increased crime rate. The statistics are quite different in the United States 66% of households that have firearms claim the firearms is only used for hunting, while 67% of households use them for protection. This shows that guns are not legally acquired for illegal purposes. The tighter the regulations are the higher the crime rate. This is mainly because there are no new regulations been effected, but rather the laws been enforced were written around 1968.

From such information, it is quite clear that there are many guns currently available within the United States and not all the guns have been registered. The kind of firearms been used should also be restricted. It is quite unclear why in an individual would require an assault weapon of military grade for their own personal protection. The number of shots a weapon can fire should also be regulated to ensure that in case of a massacre only few shots will be fired like 10. The regulations should also seal the loopholes in the current legislation that people have been using to acquire guns with detachable magazines. Background checks should also be required for people purchasing bullets and not just guns Rosenhall ()

. This way an individual will not illegally acquire a gun and legally purchase bullets for the gun.

It has been proven that gun trafficking in the United States is fuelled by the legal market. Individuals purchase guns legally and then sell the guns to the illegal market using private sale transactions. This way they are able to overcome the hurdles as they are not required by law to conduct any background checks and no records of the transactions are mandatory. Enforcing tighter regulations will mean that individuals who are supplying the illegal market with firearms will be monitored as they will be making more purchases over certain periods of time. The background checks would also pinpoint how many guns an individual has purchased, and the number they own. The reason for their purchases would also be noted, and in case they have made private sales they would be required to disclose the details of such a transaction.

According to Dockins ()

she states that a poll conducted by Quinnipiac University in February 2012 showed that a majority of Americans were in support of stricter gun purchase regulations, which require mandatory background checks to be conducted on all gun and bullet purchases. This poll drew sharp criticism from the NRA (National Rifle Association). This a lobby group that is trying to fight any further restrictions to guns. The lobby group is arguing that it is not new laws that are required but rather the enforcement of the current laws.

It is a well-known fact that a 1994 ban on assault weapons, which expired in 2004 resulted in reduced gun violence. The proponents of tighter regulations are using this measure to push for the legislation, but they want the new legislation to have no expiry date. This will ensure that there is a continued reduction in gun violence. The bill proposes the ban high capacity magazines and on assault weapons. The main problem with implementing these regulations comes from the vocal and powerful gun lobby. The gun lobby group has made significant inroads at the federal and state levels with the aim of increasing gun rights and reducing restrictions Steinhauer ()

. Many legislators are also opposed to the tighter regulations claiming that what is needed is more modest regulation.

It should be understood that no available data proves conclusively that stricter gun control measures or liberal gun control measures have had any significant effect in the fight against crime. This shows that enforcing tighter.....

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