How do the new gun laws in America protect the citizens from gun violence?
Michelle_Michy
NewGunLawsEffectivenessinEradicatingGunViolence1.docxRunning head: New Gun Laws Effectiveness in Eradicating Gun Violence 3
Effectiveness of New Gun Laws in Eradicating Gun Violence
Gun violence has been one of the most problematic issues across the United States of America in recent years. Gun violence has had negative effects in many areas of American society, including loss of life and interruption of social stability and coexistence. Besides, gun violence has cost the U.S. economy through medical costs and other indirect negative impacts (Lee et al., 2014). One of the key factors associated with the prevalence of gun violence and mass devastation is the lenient federal and states laws that permit the possession of rifles and guns with high-capacity magazines (Koper et al., 2018). Research has also identified stock bumps as another contributor to the severity of mass shootings (Koper et al., 2018). In recent times, several laws have been passed, which have shown great potential for reducing the severity of shootings, and ultimately ensure the safety of the American people (Koper et al., 2018). In the wake of new gun laws and regulations, the debate has shifted to its effectiveness in curbing gun violence. Specifically, the ban on high-capacity magazines and bump stocks at both federal and state levels have sparked a fierce debate. On the opposing side, gun enthusiasts and conservative politicians arguing citing the laws as a violation of the Second Amendment. This paper explores the advantages of new gun laws and their potential to protect the American people. Besides, this paper will discuss some of the opposing views and arguments against these laws.
Effectiveness of Gun Laws
Research has found that federal gun laws banning high-capacity magazines have had a positive impact on reducing the number of fatalities and injuries in mass shootings. Besides, the use of assault rifles in crimes has reduced significantly in the ten years the laws have been in effect. For instance, a 2004 research by the Department of Justice found that the ban on high-capacity magazines had led to a decline in reported cases of gun violence involving assault weapons (Koper et al., 2004). This study was conducted across major cities where the use of assault firearms had declined by up to 72% (Koper et al., 2004).
In another research that analyzed mass shootings between 1982 and 2010, the findings indicated that federal and state bans on high-capacity magazines had significantly reduced the number of fatalities from mass shootings (Gius, 2015). These findings are supported by a recent study which covered cases of mass shooting between 1982 and 2017. According to this study, the federal ban had reduced the fatalities of mass shootings by 70 percent (DiMaggio et al., 2019).
Banning stock bumps will also have a positive impact on fatalities and the prevalence of gun violence. In recent incidents of mass shooting, bump stocks have helped shooters to cause more fatalities and severe injuries, Therefore, banning bump stocks will limit the accuracy of shooters, reducing the fatalities and popularity of assault rifles.
Opposing Views
Despite the potential of these laws/proposals in reducing fatalities and overall negative impact on the society, gun enthusiasts and right-wing politicians have raised strong opposition against their implementation (Cortese, 2015). NRA lobbyists are also among the section of Americans who oppose the implementation of bans on high-capacity magazines (Cortese, 2015). According to these groups, these laws and regulations violate the Second Amendment, which allows Americans the right to bear and own firearms (Cortese, 2015). Despite these arguments, a larger section of American society supports most regulations and laws on guns. However, their implementation has not been achieved in most states due to the polarity associated with this issue.
References
Cortese, A. (2012). The Tucson Massacre: Deconstructing Competing Claims. Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology, 40(2), 60-71.
Gius, M. (2015). The impact of state and federal assault weapons bans on public mass shootings. Applied Economics Letters, 22(4), 281-284.
Koper, C. S., Johnson, W. D., Nichols, J. L., Ayers, A., & Mullins, N. (2018). Criminal use of assault weapons and high-capacity semiautomatic firearms: an updated examination of local and national sources. Journal of urban health, 95(3), 313-321.
Koper, C. S., Woods, D. J., & Roth, J. A. (2004). An updated assessment of the federal assault weapons ban: impacts on gun markets and gun violence, 1994-2003. University of Pennsylvania, June.
Lee, J., Quraishi, S. A., Bhatnagar, S., Zafonte, R. D., & Masiakos, P. T. (2014). The economic cost of firearm-related injuries in the United States from 2006 to 2010. Surgery, 155(5), 894-898.
