Need Help With Only One Paged Paper

Gun control has been a highly debated problem in the United States over the past several decades. The continuation of everyday gun violence across America in addition with the drastic increase of mass shootings and school shootings has pushed this argument into the spotlight. The balance of gun rights, rooted in the 2nd Amendment of the United States Constitution (ratified in 1788), and gun control policy, tweaked through Acts and Bills over the past 85 years, is an issue faced by American society today. Despite fluctuations, since the late 1980’s and mid 1990’s the homicide rate has seen a significant decrease, however firearms have remained the most commonly used weapon during the commission of a homicide (Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI], 2019). During the period from 1996 through 2017, firearms (mostly handguns) have been the fatal weapon used in 63.2% to 72.8% of all homicides during each of those years (FBI, 2019). These figures do not include gun deaths by suicide or accidental shooting, which results in more gun related deaths than homicide (Bauchner et. al, 2018). In 2015, there were more deaths in the United States caused by guns than by motor vehicle accidents (Bauchner et al., 2018). Guns are also commonly used during the commission of aggravated assault, rape, and robbery among other crimes.

The problem of gun violence and gun control policy is one that affects residents and visitors of the United States that could potentially be the victims of acts of gun violence whether specific or indiscriminate. However, it also affects citizens who wish to own or possess a firearm to protect themselves against being the victim of violence or civil unrest. Many of the incidents that make national headlines refer to the staggering number of daily homicides from gang-controlled areas of cities like Chicago or mass shootings and school shootings like those committed in Las Vegas, Parkland, Newtown, and Columbine. The National Institute of Justice (2019) has found in their studies that firearms are easily illegally obtained. The primary goal of gun-control policy is to reduce or eliminate the number of unnecessary injuries and fatalities caused by firearms each year for the well-being of individuals and the American society. In addition to causing tens of thousands of deaths each year, Brady United Against Gun Violence (2019) estimates that gun violence costs the American economy 229 billion dollars per year. The primary source of delivery has been through legislation that determines who can legally purchase and/or possess a firearm as well as what firearms and firearms accessories can be manufactured and sold or how they can be modified (Washington Post, 2019). One such piece of gun control policy is the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act enacted in 1993 by the 103rd United States Congress which went into effect in 1994. The Brady Act or Brady Bill, as it is often referred to, attempted to enforce previous gun control legislation by mandating federal back ground checks on anyone seeking to purchase a firearm in the United States (United States Congress, 1993). The background check system wasn’t fully operational until 1998, so as an interim provision, the Brady Act also required a five-day waiting period on handgun purchases until 1998 when the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) went into effect (United States Congress, 1993).

Notwithstanding superseding federal law, laws regarding gun sales and possession are determined at the state level and therefore vary greatly from state to state as does the rate of gun violence (Krouse, 2017). Since the Brady Act attempts to reduce firearm possession through government regulation, there are few if any tangible social allocations or provisions to deliver, especially through the Federal and State governments. The main mode of policy delivery at the macrolevel is through amendments and acts voted on by Congress like the Brady Act or intelligence and enforcement by government agency’s such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives which in fiscal year 2017 peaked at a collective budget of 10.25 billion dollars funded by American tax dollars. (Department of Justice, 2019).

***Section 4*** 

A. What are the effects and/or potential effects of the policy on the functioning of the economy as a whole-output, income, inflation, unemployment, and so forth? (macroeconomic analysis) 

B. What are the effects and/or potential effects of the policy on the behavior of individuals, firms, and markets- motivation to work, cost of rent, supply of commodities, etc? (microeconomic analysis) 

C. Opportunity cost; cost/benefit analysis