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Revisedselfdefence.docxRunning Head: ARMED SELF DEFENCE IS SUITABLE FOR STOPPING GUN VIOLENCE 2
Armed self-defense is the most suitable way of stopping gun violence
Name of student
ENGL 160
Writing Project 3
Date
Armed self-defense is the most suitable way of stopping gun violence
Armed self-defense has been an issue that has been longstanding over the decades catching the heart of most people when there is an incidence involving gun violence that is aired by the media. It is possible to watch the news for several days and fail to note anything that concerns gun violence. However, in most cases when such an issue is reported it mostly invoices loss of lives or serious injuries on victims. The main question lies on whether licensed gun owners find it hard to observe the rules that are set out in the training or licensing procedure. According to Cudworth, 2019, many people feel that the fact that gun owners get involved in incidences of gun violence, it is important that gun control procedures become more stringent to ensure that only those who truly deserve and those who proof beyond doubts that they can soberly handle firearms end up being licensed. Many cases of guns in the wrong hands causing deaths in schools and public entertainment joints have also caused fears among members of the public (Felson & Eckert,2018). I believe the fact that people have been licensed to own firearms is not the problem and that armed self-defense is the best solution to gun violence.
The gun control laws put in place by both the federal government and individual state governments sufficiently cover the various issues concerning gun violence and only that there are loopholes in law enforcement creating paths for criminals to infiltrate the system. According to Dhanapala, Donowaki & Lumpe,2019, it is not possible that thousands of laws passed to regulate gun licensing and use in the USA have been unable to cover every possible aspect and scenario. The government should ensure that those who break the laws are prosecuted to avoid a case where a blanket punishment is enforced denying innocent people the chance to rightfully own guns. According to Goodman and Perry, 2018, making it hard for people to acquire guns legally will not prevent criminals from acquiring guns and therefore the issue of strict regulation will not be a solution. When it becomes hard to get guns there should also be enough security officers to make sure citizens are safe even in their residential places. This is basically not practical and therefore citizens who qualify and satisfy the vetting board should be allowed to own guns for self-defense. It is therefore important to ensure that strict measures are taken on those who break laws. Those involved gun violence or any form of crime involving guns should be treated as criminals prosecuted accordingly. They should serve as examples to deter those with similar interests from committing such crimes. This will restore order in the use of firearms for self-defense and help citizens to choose their preferred way of securing their homes and themselves.
The United States of America has a long history of citizens owning guns for self-defense and this makes it a tradition. The use of guns can be traced back many years ago and therefore, Americans have owned guns throughout history as stipulated in the second Amendment and therefore ending this right will not be a solution to gun violence. According to Goodman & Perry, 2018, Americans who are gun owners have participated in many incidences teaming up with security officers to help restore order during times of crimes. This therefore means that Americans are used to a situation where there is a gun owner in a family and this is not taken as anything that might disturb peace in that family but instead a way of securing the family members and their property. Interfering with this right which is specified in the first amendment would make members of the public to react against the move and may be stage demonstrations (Kamal & Burton, 2018). Denying people, the right to become rightful owners of guns would therefore be against their will and it could lead to more trouble.
Guns also do not kill on their own. There are millions of people who own self-defense arms and have never been implicated on any incidence. This therefore means that gun violence is caused by few elements of legally licensed citizens who are gun owners as well as criminals who use crude mechanisms to get themselves firearms (Cudworth, 2019). The problem that lies in the center of gun violence is not that many people have guns but that a few people who cheated the process or who have ill intentions have been able to use crude mechanisms to secure the ownership of guns and go ahead to execute their ill intentions. Once such cases are reported or the police complete their investigations and determine that the gun was illegally owned and later used in ill motives or that the gun was in the hands of criminals, the concerned authorities should be probed to ensure that everything is accounted for and those who are convicted face their jail sentences.
Armed self-defense has economic consequences. When private citizens are armed, they are able to protect themselves and their families in case of attack by criminals. This will ensure that criminals don’t kill innocent lives who work hard to make the economy thrive (Felson & Eckert, 2018). The sale of guns and their manufacture also earns the country income through licenses fees and taxes. However, violence caused by increased use of guns may cause deaths and also hurt the economy. There have been many serious political arguments about gun control in the USA. Those who argue for stricter gun control argue that there are countries like UK which have stronger regulations against gun control and therefore have less average murder rates and gun violence (Felson & Eckert, 2018). They also argue that the USA lacks laws that regulate firearms ownership across the entire country leaving that to states. The variation in laws on the same across states is seen to be a problem. According Cudworth, 2019, those who argue against stricter rules argue that there are over 20,000 laws in control of firearms in the USA and gun violence is still rampant and therefore the problem in is not on the side of availability of laws
According to Kamal & Burton, 2018, the current political scenario, passing a gun law in parliament is supported by democrats while republicans and the Trump administration are against it. The numbers of representatives on either opposition or government determine whether gun laws pass rather than the motive behind the control. American culture about owning guns is built in the tradition. According to Dhanapala et al., 2019, self-defense firearms have been in the hands of civilians licensed by the government agencies for many years and people are reluctant to change from the tradition. Religious organizations have also taken on the firearm issue and violence. According to Merino, 2018, religious factions have influenced the politics of gun control over the decades. For instance, due to the shooting in Southern Baptist church in Texas, many prominent pastors have taken on the issue and reached out to president Trump The denomination has 15 million members and this shows the weight of its decisions.
In conclusion, this paper has analyzed the issue of self defense in America coming up with justification on why it will lead to reduction of gun violence. On the contrary, gun control rules have been unable to end the issue of gun violence due to loopholes in the system including the licensing process and the borders which are used by criminals to sneak in illegal firearms. Therefore, making sure that citizens who qualify are able to get training and licenses to own firearms is a solution to ensuring that citizens are safe because police cannot be everywhere at any given time.
References
Cudworth, J. (2019). Government Challenges with Implementing Effective Gun
Control Policies (Doctoral dissertation, California State University, Northridge).
Dhanapala, J., Donowaki, M., & Lumpe, L. (2019). Small arms control: Old weapons,
new issues. Routledge.
Felson, M., & Eckert, M. A. (2018). Crime and Everyday Life: A Brief Introduction.
SAGE Publications.
Goodman, S., & Perry, B. (2018). The American Gun Control Debate: A Discursive
Analysis. In Discourse, Peace, and Conflict (pp. 67-82). Springer, Cham.
Kamal, R. D., & Burton, C. (2018). Policy Gridlock versus Policy Shift in Gun Politics:
A Comparative Veto Player Analysis of Gun Control Policies in the United States and Canada. World Affairs, 181(4), 317-347.
Merino, S. (2018). God and guns: examining religious influences on gun control
attitudes in the United States. Religions, 9(6), 189.
