The debate on gun control in the USA has been highly controversial attracting two significant groups of subscribers. The Republicans attach value to guns as an emblem of their struggle against the British colonialists. To them, arms are necessary for personal security and as a symbol of national supremacy. On the other hand, the Democrats, who represent a majority of the modern society, view guns as unnecessary in contemporary society. In the debate, Republicans and Democrats do not explicitly delineate the political divides but rather the ideological differences between the two groups. The significant question, however, remains on whether legalization of firearms in America makes the country safer. Legalization of guns and loose control policies have led to an increase in crime index, thus making the country unsafe.
In the USA, gun-related crimes are higher than countries with stricter gun control policies. A study by Grinshteyn and Hemenway (269) shows that people in the USA are time times likely to be killed using guns that people in other high-income countries. The study also indicated that gun-related crimes in the USA are twenty –fives time higher than the UK. While other confounding factors might affect the statistics, a triangulated study by Monuteaux (211) shows that the free possession of guns in the USA Is the primary cause of the high crime index.
Additionally, Monuteaux (210) argues the free acquisition of firearms by the civilians shifts the security responsibility from the government organs to the civilians. The mentality of civilian security increases the use of guns in a perceived personal and properties protection. The data collected by Monuteaux (211) shows that issuance of guns does not translate to a secure society and instead increases crime index. Out of all the gun-related crimes in the USA, 67% of them occur with registered guns although not specifically with the owners. It is rational to argue that without the licensed firearms in the USA, the crime index would be slightly lower. Moreover, due to lack of training, a majority of the people who possess the guns do not use them effectively to increase security, hence leading to unnecessary logistics and lengthy processes when investigating gun-related crimes.
It is also logical to disregard the issuance of guns of guns following the inevitable gun saturation in the end. Subsequent the loose government policies on gun control, the majority of the civilians will own guns in the end. When the gun index reaches saturation, the privilege enjoyed by the people with guns will cancel out leaving them vulnerable to attacks. The government will respond by creating another channel to ensure personal security. Due to the inevitability of this trend, it is advisable for the government to adopt another method before saturating the society with guns.
On some occasions, licensed guns increase civilian’s security. However, multi-disciplinary studies analyzed shows that loose gun policies have led to an increase in gun-related crimes in the USA. Currently, USA leads in gun-related crimes when compared to other high-income countries such as UK and Canada. These countries compare fairly in other crime index and general security matrix. It is arguably true that, with the current gun policies, the crime index will increase in proportionality with guns issued. It is thus prudent for the government to come up with alternative methods to ensure social safety.
- Grinshteyn, Erin, and David Hemenway. “Violent Death Rates: The US Compared with Other High-Income OECD Countries, 2010.” The American Journal of Medicine 129.3 (2016): 66-273.
- Monuteaux, Michael C., et al. “Firearm Ownership and Violent Crime in the US: An Ecologic Study.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 49.2 (2015): 207-214.