Muhammad Hussnain

Possession of guns in U.S by civilians

Possessing a gun in America is something which is accepted by the law of the country. In
fact, it is included in the second amendment. According to the second amendment, a militia
which is well regulated and as a matter of security to a free state, the freedom of the citizens to
own guns is not supposed to be infringed. Some people have considered this to mean that despite
having in place the militia, the people of the United States indeed do have a constitutional
freedom to possess guns. As a result, the country has the largest number of guns which are
owned by civilians in the world. US citizens keep in possession close to four hundred million
guns in relation to three million guns which are under the hands of the military and another less
than one million guns possessed by the police (Wade, p. 1). People’s possession of guns has led
to many people dying. The numbers outweigh the deaths caused by motor vehicles in at least ten
US states. The ownership of guns amongst civilians should be banned in the U.S because it
decreases the rates of deaths caused by guns and leads the U.S to be a safer place to live in.

All handguns or gun ownership by citizens should be banned since they have
contributed so much to violent crimes. The high rate of gun ownership of guns by US citizens
has a direct correlation with the increased death rate caused by guns. According to an article,
“On average almost 100 people die each day in the United States from gun violence”
(Bauchner, p. 1). People die everyday from guns because of fewer concerns in enforcement
laws with firearms. Firearms in the U.S have been so easily accessible to adults, teenagers, and
even children and this has increased the dangers of gun violence against people who are
innocent. Those possessing the guns have even used the weapons to commit suicide as they
wished. According to an article, “Often forgotten is that 60.7% of the gun deaths in 2015 in the
United States were suicides” (Bauchner, p. 1). Instead of using guns for safety and protection
many people use them for suicides. Using guns as a way to die is way more effective and
unpreventable compared to using pills or cutting your wrist. People can easily get a gun in the
U.S which leads them to harm themselves and cause trauma to the people around them.

Moreover, owning guns by the public in America has placed fear of public shootings
happening every day. Public shootings take place in schools, churches, and in any open areas.
“In recent decades, these practices have become increasingly popular, particularly in public
schools. For instance, the share of public schools employing security professionals rose
considerably”(Warnick, p. 1). Cases have been reported whereby students who have felt angry
or unhappy as a result of being scolded by fellow students, have turned up in shooting the
general public in an attempt to get rid of their anger. As indicated by the video of CDC
director for Disease Control and Prevention, 7% of U.S children (five million) live in homes in
which at least one fire is stored, loaded and unlocked(CNN, 5:56). Additionally, placing guns
in the hands of civilians leads to numerous accidental injuries. It is logical that once the option
of owning a gun is put on the table, the chances of deaths occurring increases automatically.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is responsible for gathering data on the
accidental injuries caused by guns. There were close to 29 million unintentional injury
discharges from emergency rooms in 2014, of which 15,928 were caused by a
firearm(Corporation, p.1). By having a gun near your space people put themselves at great risk
of dying. People are not trained as police officers; they do not know how to handle a gun
properly which leads them to endanger themselves and people around them.

The state governments need to come up with very strict regulations as well as policies
governing who should be allowed to purchase as well as own the gun. In addition, those
policies would also be specific on the type of gun they are allowed to buy, its storage
requirements as well as the training which would be appropriate for gun owners. Additionally,
when a nationwide survey was done, the majority of the citizens acceded to applying gun
regulations into our country. A NPR/Isos poll states that 94% of the people believed that
background checks should be required for all gun buyers, and 82% believed that the legal age
to purchase a gun should be changed from 18 to 21(Ben, p.1). This poll displays that people are
conceding to the fact that we need some regulation policies on guns in order to make the
country a safer place. As a result, the lives of the people should be the ultimate priority of
anyone in the leadership position. Placing proper legislatives will effectively combat this issue
of increasing death rates caused by guns.

Mental illnesses have been on the rise in the US, and because guns are so easily
accessible in our country, people with mental illnesses may purchase guns and misuse them.
According to an article, “Droves of experts study high-profile massacres by so-called lone-wolf
assailants, usually driven by mental disorders, at schools, workplaces and other public spaces”
(Sharon, p. 4). This misusage can conduct a series of problematic events even resulting in
deaths for example, The very well known Parkland shooting in Florida accurately proves this
point. A 19-year old gunman who had symptoms of disturbing behavior and mental health
concerns, had killed seventeen high school students (Editors, p.1) . Another well known
shooting that falls under a mentally ill shooter is the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012 (Editors,
p.1). The reality of these situations are extremely problematic to the US because law
enforcement can not prohibit anyone from purchasing a gun even if it is obvious that they are
mentally ill or perform disturbing behavior. Under the federal law, only people who are
committed are banned from purchasing guns. This still leaves the doorway open for those who
are mentally ill and not committed. However, if we were to ban guns, any hypothetical scenario
would be avoided.

The control of the usage of guns in America has become a very critical issue. Some
individuals feel that firearms would be safe when properly utilized by citizens who are
responsible for guarding themselves. On the other hand, others have felt that guns have
become too dangerous to be stored in our homes and that they should not be allowed to be
owned by every person. The reason as to why some individuals have felt weapon possession
is such an issue is that huge numbers of individuals have lost their lives through attacks using
firearms every year. Firearms have led to a rise in crime, killings, as well as family unit
mishaps. Placing guns in the hands of civilians will only increase the situation of the US in
terms of accidental injuries, economic loss, death of children and innocent civilians, domestic
violence, and public shootings. By decreasing the accessibility of weapons and giving training
on firearm security would lead America a much safer place for children and adults, and
overall categorize under the best interest for the US.