THE REASON BEHIND VIOLENCE 1

The Reasons Behind Violence from Guns

Ryan Crosby
Montgomery College
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The Reason Behind Violence from Guns

The United States is the most developed country in the world with the highest death rate

due to firearms. American citizens have the right to bear arms as stated in the Second

Amendment in the constitution. However, the government can limit an Americans right to bear

arms. Gun control is a major controversy in the United States. Gun control laws limit what

people can do with guns. These laws range from certain age limits to buy guns to what type of

bullets are legal. Gun control laws vary by state; however, there are some federal gun control

laws. Both federal and state laws are put into place for the greater good of the nation. People

need to be protected. Access to guns are too easy, and people with bad intentions can purchase a

firearm. High powered firearms, such as automatic rifles, are still out on the market for civilians

to purchase. Furthermore, guns in the hands of mentally ill people can cause mass shootings. In

addition, people abuse the Second Amendment right to bear arms. The violent events that occur

from guns are a direct cause of the limited gun control in the United States.

There are only about eight major gun laws that have significant impacts on the gun

owning community since the Second Amendment was created. Some of these laws have even

been overturned or expired. The Second Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified in 1791

and states, "A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of

the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed" (U.S. Gun Laws, 2008). This gives

the right to the people to own firearms. This right cannot be taken away, but it can be limited.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is one of the biggest special interest groups that has a

large amount of power and money. Established in 1871, the NRA was formed by Col. William C.

Church and Gen. George Wingate, who were veterans of the Union Army (U.S. Gun Laws,
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2008). The NRA is a special interest group that advocates for gun rights. The NRA supports and

fights against laws in court that benefit their interest group. The first major gun control law,

passed in 1934, was the National Firearms Act (U.S. Gun Laws, 2008). The National Firearms

Act was passed during the prohibition period when the gangster community was at a high. This

act required a tax on the making and transfer of automatic firearms, shotguns, and rifles (U.S.

Gun Laws, 2008). Moving forward to 1939, the US Supreme Court banned sawed-off shotguns

because the Second Amendment only protects the ownership of military-type weapons

appropriate for use in an organized militia (U.S. Gun Laws, 2008). Additionally, in 1968,

Congress passed the Gun Control Act. This law regulated interstate commerce on firearms by

prohibiting interstate firearm transfers except among licensed manufacturers (U.S. Gun Laws,

2008). Regarding gun ownership, in 1976 the D.C. City Council banned residents from owning

handguns (U.S. Gun Laws, 2008). Following this D.C. handgun ban came the Firearm Owners

Protection Act passed in1986. The Firearm Owners Protection Act prohibits felons from owning

guns or ammunition (U.S. Gun Laws, 2008). During the same year, the Law Enforcement

Officers Protection Act was passed prohibiting the manufacturing, importing, and selling of

armor piercing bullets (U.S. Gun Laws, 2008). The purchasing of firearms used to be a quick

and easy process until The Brady Handgun Violence Act was passed. In 1993, this law

established the National Instant Criminal Background Check System that gun dealers are

required to use when selling firearms to a customer. This background check shows peoples

records and personal background and requires a waiting period to purchase a firearm. The law is

named after former White House Press Secretary James Brady, who was shot during an

assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan (U.S. Gun Laws, 2008). The Violent Crime

Control and Law Enforcement Act was passed in 1994 banning the manufacture, use, possession,
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and import of 19 different assault weapons. Many assault weapons are used in mass shootings so

this law was a big step for gun control; however, it expired in 2004 (U.S. Gun Laws, 2008).

Finally, in June of 2008, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the D.C. handgun ban was

unconstitutional and overturned the law (U.S. Gun Laws, 2008). These laws were created for a

specific purpose, which was to make it harder for certain people to obtain guns and possibly

commit horrible deeds. Yet, people still found ways around these laws and tragic events arise

every day.

Gun violence today is occurring more and more frequently. Mass shootings, homicides,

gang violence, and more gun related violence occur all across the nation. In 2014 alone, there

were 33,599 deaths resulting from firearms. Of those 33,599 deaths, 21,334 of the deaths were

suicides. Furthermore, in 2014 there were 586 unintentional gun deaths (Alpers, Rossetti, &

Salinas, 2016). Guns are life threatening devices that kill people every day. Whether the death is

a homicide, suicide, or accident, guns take lives. When mass shootings occur, the shootings

effect people nationwide and gives a bad reputation to the gun owning community. In the past

couple of years, tragic shootings have taken place causing people to fear guns. In June of 2015,

in Charleston, South Carolina, a hate-filled man went on a rampage and killed nine people in a

historic African American church (DeBrabander, 2015). The following month, in Lafayette,

Louisiana, a gunman fired off 20 rounds in a movie theatre full of innocent people, killing two

and injuring nine (DeBrabander, 2015). Earlier that month, in Waco, Texas, a gun fight broke out

among two biker gangs outside a shopping center full of civilians. Families took their children,

ran for cover, and in the end, the war zone left nine people dead and 18 injured (DeBrabander,

2015). Unfortunately, not only adults are being killed by guns, but children as well. Back in

2012, the Sandy Hooks Elementary School located in Newtown, Connecticut, had a shooting
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incident. A man armed with an assault rifle and a handgun shot and killed 20 first grade students

and teachers (DeBrabander, 2015). Not only did the community in Newtown fear sending their

children to school, but communities across the nation felt this same fear. The NRA suggested to

place armed guards in every school along with training and arming teachers with firearms. Many

school districts implemented the armed guards and teachers in their schools (DeBrander, 2015).

In addition, after the shooting in 2007 at Virginia Tech where 32 people were killed, a gun rights

movement was passed and persuaded legislators in nine states to allow students and faculty to

carry firearms on campus with a proper permit. (DeBrabander, 2015). One of the largest

shootings in US history occurred on June 12 of 2016 at a nightclub in Orlando. Fifty people were

shot and killed and 53 were injured making this the worst mass shooting in US history (Caplan &

Hayden, 2016). The violence and the shootings that happen in the modern day and age are

correlated to limited gun control.

Gun control laws are made to prevent violent acts from happening. The gun control laws

implemented right now are not good enough because there are shootings happening all the time.

Different states have different gun control laws, and typically states with weak gun control laws

have a higher rate of death while states with stronger gun control laws have a lower rate of death.

States with less gun laws will have higher rates of gun ownership causing more guns to be put

into the hands of people with bad intentions. One cause of the violence from guns is the gun

hole loop. When purchasing a gun, the dealer is required to go through several steps. Dealers

must perform universal criminal background checks on firearm purchasers, maintain records of

all gun sales, allow the records to be available to law enforcement, and report the theft or loss of

a firearm from their inventory (Universal Background Checks). This is to ensure that a criminal

is not trying to obtain a gun. In addition, if a crime was committed, there would be records of the
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buyer. The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence states, The most dangerous gap in federal

firearms laws today is the private sale loophole (Universal Background Checks). Federal law

requires licensed firearm dealers to perform background checks; however, federal law does not

require unlicensed dealers to perform background checks. This means that not only can people

buy guns without any record from private dealers and gun shows, but criminals, who are legally

not allowed to own guns, can purchase firearms as well. Federal law does not require unlicensed

sellers to go through the steps to sell a gun, yet the Gun Control Act of 1968 states that people

involved in the business of firearms must be licensed. Unfortunately, private dealers are

classified as exercising a hobby, not as a business, and do not need to follow these procedures

(Universal Background Checks). Around 40 percent of all firearms transferred in the U.S. are

transferred by unlicensed individuals (Universal Background Checks). When private dealers do

not run background checks or record purchases, the government cannot trace the gun back to a

specific owner. If a crime were to occur and there was a firearm left behind, the police would be

unable to track down the suspect because there would be no record of the purchase. Licensed

dealers should also do a background check on medical records because many people who are

responsible for mass shootings are mentally unstable and should not be allowed to own a firearm

(Universal Background Checks). Another cause to the violent events from guns is the expiration

of The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act passed in 1994 banning assault rifles

(Universal Background Checks). The mass shootings that have taken the lives of so many

innocent people in the past few years have involved assault rifles. An assault rifle is defined as a

magazine-fed rifle that can rapidly shoot multiple bullets. The magazines typically hold 30 or

more rounds (Caplan & Hayden, 2016). Shooters who use assault rifles can empty a 30-round

magazine onto a crowd of people in just a few seconds causing many deaths. This is an example
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of people abusing the Second Amendment right to bear arms. There is no reason why a person

would need an assault rifle for defending themselves, hunting, entertainment, or anything else.

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act should be reinstated banning the

manufacturing, importing, and selling of assault rifles. In addition, the 1976 D.C. handgun ban

was overturned in 2008 allowing residents to own handguns. This just puts more guns out onto

the street and into the hands of more people who can do more harm than good. The gun loophole,

the automatic rifles, and the overturning of previous gun laws all contribute to the violent acts

caused by guns.

On the contrary, people believe that limited gun control is the way to go and does not

cause the violent acts that occur. The gun right movements solution to gun violence is more guns.

The supporters of gun rights believe that more people should be well armed to ensure that the

bad guys with guns can be stopped. Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president and chief

executive officer of the NRA says, we must expand the number of public venues where guns

can be legally carried (DeBrabander, 2015). Nine states allow teachers and students on their

school campuses to carry guns, and the state of Georgia passed a law allowing residents to carry

firearms into bars, restaurants, airports, and government buildings (DeBrabander, 2015).

Concealed carrying is dangerous because authorities and other citizens cannot see if someone is

carrying a gun so this makes essentially everyone a threat. The law requires a person to be 18

years of age to own a rifle and 21 years of age to own a handgun because handguns are

concealable and more dangerous. Additionally, people claim they need guns for self-defense.

According to the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, crime victims who

use guns in self-defense have consistently lower injury rates than victims who use other

strategies to protect themselves (Flock, 2013). If stronger gun control was implemented than
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people who would commit such crimes would not be owning guns in the first place. Another

reason people think less gun control is better is because they believe that gun control in general

violates their Second Amendment right to bear arms. However, gun control does not take away

the right to own a gun, it limits a persons right to own a gun, and limiting an amendment right is

constitutional. Increasing gun control would limit the violent acts that are caused from limited

gun control.

Limited gun control has caused the mass shootings, the homicides, the suicides, the gang

wars, and much more violence. Private dealers allow for easy access for anyone to obtain a gun.

Better background checks need to be implemented to ensure that criminals or people who are

mentally ill do not have access to firearms. Furthermore, the distribution and selling of

automatic weapons should be made illegal. If gun control laws were strengthened and firearms

were made harder to purchase, then maybe the number of innocent people who were gunned

down every year would be reduced and gun violence would be at a minimum.
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References

Alpers P., Rossetti A., & Salinas D. (2016). United States Gun Facts, Figures and the Law.

Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney. Retrieved from

http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/united-states

Caplan, D., & Hayden M. E. (2016). At least 50 dead in Orlando gay club shooting, suspect

pledged allegiance to ISIS. Abc news. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/US/multiple-

injuries-shooting-orlando-nightclub-police/story?id=39789552

DebraBander, F. (2015). Our armed society. MasterFile Premier, 213 (6). Retrieved from

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.montgomerycollege.idm.oclc.org/eds/detail/detail?sid=8a14963a-

98c0-49d5-acdf-

3a4655c20ff1%40sessionmgr4007&vid=10&hid=112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU

mc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=109288699&db=f5h

Flock E. (2013). Study: using guns for defense leads to fewer injuries. U.S. News. Retrieved

from https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/06/25/study-using-guns-for-defense-leads-

to-fewer-injuries

Universal background checks (2016). Law to prevent gun violence. Retrieved from

http://smartgunlaws.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/background-checks/universal-background-

checks/
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U.S. gun laws: A history (2008). Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?

storyId=91942478