Course Project Milestone: Annotated Bibliography

Gun Control Dilemma

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Gun Control Dilemma

Today’s society has seen public shootings occur for numerous reasons. From pro-life fanatics to racist extremists, the only common ground that most of the shooters have is that they use guns to kill innocent victims. Gun control has been a controversial topic in the news, but not much has changed in regard to gun laws. Every time a news story about a new mass shooting hits the media, politicians take advantage of the event and push for tightening gun laws. However, no prominent change can be seen in regard to this matter and consequently, the news stories about mass shootings are never-ending. One would think that the increase in mass shootings would increase the number of people wanting to ban guns. Therefore, this paper recommends several small solutions that will push gun control laws and public opinion in the right direction (Ruggiero, 2012). 

Strict gun control may be what the country needs to make the violence come to a standing halt. However, finding a solution to this decade-long problem is not simple. It may be easy to say that any State needs to tighten gun control laws, but doing so is an uphill battle. Gun rights advocates such as the NRA, or National Rifle Association, fight for the protection of the 2nd amendment while those who are pro-gun control disagree (Spitzer, 2017).  The best option for any country is to slowly begin to impose tighter regulation on various facets of gun control rather than make a sweeping change to one aspect of it. This way, both sides may agree to a middle ground and progress will finally be made. Instead of imposing one strict solution,

Educating the public on the actual numbers behind gun-related events and statistics may be one of the easiest policies to instate. It can be predicted that this will also face little opposition, as the form of education that this paper recommends is not biased one way or the other (DeConde, 2011). Simply stating the numbers behind gun control issues may help matters sway towards stricter policies. This may be a catalyst to begin moving public opinion towards tighter gun control laws. For example, if more citizens were educated on the impact that gun control laws have had on safety in Australia, they might be more inclined to vote for stricter laws. Next, an argument that pro-gun civilians have been adamant of is that firearms are required in matters of self-defense.

Another means of tightening gun control without wreaking social havoc is to require more substantial and frequently renewed background checks. It has been cited that nearly 90% of Americans surveyed are in favour of “expanded background checks” (Davidson, 2008). However, this has not yet passed through Congress. The NRA has great influence over Congress and maybe the cause of this bill not yet passing. Maybe once step one, educating the public has been enacted, this notion will finally pass through Congress and be enforced across the country. In Germany, all buyers under 25 must pass a psychiatric evaluation (Donohue).

In conclusion, the small solutions outlined in this paper may be the right move for policymakers to follow. A combination of increased education, a mandatory buyback of lethal firearms, and tighter and more thorough background checks will help move in the right direction to strengthen gun control laws. Hopefully, if these measures are instituted, the events such as the horrible killings of the Sandy Hook massacre where twenty children and six adults were fatally shot will because less common to hear about in the news. We have become emotionally immune to hearing about these massacres as they have become frequent news stories. Hopefully, in the near future, these kinds of news stories will be scarce and uncommon.

References

Davidson, O. G. (2008). Under fire: The NRA and the battle for gun control. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.

DeConde, A. (2011). Gun violence in America: The struggle for control. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

Ruggiero, V. R. (2012). Thinking critically about ethical issues (8th ed.). New York: Mc-Graw Hill.

Spitzer, R. J. (2017). The Politics of Gun Control. Milton: Taylor and Francis.