With mass shooting such as the one at Umpqua Community College in Oregon becoming a regular occurrence, we must ask ourselves why people resort to gun violence instead of finding other ways to solve whatever problem they may be facing. The ATF estimates that there are 300 million guns in circulation while 20 years ago it was around 200 million. The GSS estimates that one-third of households have guns (Mantel 237). Every year, on average, 32,000 people die and 74,000 people suffer injuries related to gun violence and gun suicide in the US (Metzl 241). Alone in 2009, 326,090 violent crimes were committed with firearms, and 11,406 people died through firearm homicides (Wintemute e1). These numbers indicate that firearm violence is a serious issue
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Although the number of guns carried in public has increased, amount of deaths caused by guns has decreased. More specifically, between 2005 and 2009, the number of murders per year decreased from 10,158 to 9,146 while homicides committed in defense, and therefore justifiable, increased from 196 to 261 (Jonsson PP). Such statistics open the question whether increased gun ownership causes increased gun violence. In order to determine this, other predictive factors for gun violence must be evaluated. Some studies have found that mental illness, gun legislation, drug abuse, and traumatic experiences are significant predictors for violence. By analyzing these studies and statistics, it becomes clear that, contrary to popular belief, mental illness is not a major predictive factor for gun violence. Instead, gun violence in the US is exacerbated by loopholes in gun legislation and a generalized anxiety that permeates the …show more content…
What this did was if purchasing a gun through a federally licensed dealer, the gun buyer is required to submit a background check, which usually only takes a few minutes. The Problem though was: private sales are exempt i.e. there is no background check required when selling guns at gun shows, online, or person-to-person → these transactions account for 30-40% of gun sales in 1994. A study conducted by Cook and Jens Ludwig at the University of Chicago Crime Lab, looked at the first five years of the law. Compared 32 states and their homicide rates, 18 states already had laws in effect that were similar to the Brady Act and both groups of states showed similar trends in homicide rates (no significant difference between the 18 states that had previous laws similar to Brady vs. the other 14 states that did not have such laws previously) (Mantel 240). There is also a ton of concealed firearms laws. There has been three times as many gun laws passed in 2009 as antigun measures. 40 states legally provide concealed-carry permits. 10 years ago, only a few hundred thousand people had concealed weapon licenses, but by 2013 more than 6 million Americans had a concealed carry permit. One question was should there be semi automatic and handgun restrictions? In January 2013 there was a proposed ban on assault weapons and magazines that hold more than ten rounds,
Although the number of guns carried in public has increased, amount of deaths caused by guns has decreased. More specifically, between 2005 and 2009, the number of murders per year decreased from 10,158 to 9,146 while homicides committed in defense, and therefore justifiable, increased from 196 to 261 (Jonsson PP). Such statistics open the question whether increased gun ownership causes increased gun violence. In order to determine this, other predictive factors for gun violence must be evaluated. Some studies have found that mental illness, gun legislation, drug abuse, and traumatic experiences are significant predictors for violence. By analyzing these studies and statistics, it becomes clear that, contrary to popular belief, mental illness is not a major predictive factor for gun violence. Instead, gun violence in the US is exacerbated by loopholes in gun legislation and a generalized anxiety that permeates the …show more content…
What this did was if purchasing a gun through a federally licensed dealer, the gun buyer is required to submit a background check, which usually only takes a few minutes. The Problem though was: private sales are exempt i.e. there is no background check required when selling guns at gun shows, online, or person-to-person → these transactions account for 30-40% of gun sales in 1994. A study conducted by Cook and Jens Ludwig at the University of Chicago Crime Lab, looked at the first five years of the law. Compared 32 states and their homicide rates, 18 states already had laws in effect that were similar to the Brady Act and both groups of states showed similar trends in homicide rates (no significant difference between the 18 states that had previous laws similar to Brady vs. the other 14 states that did not have such laws previously) (Mantel 240). There is also a ton of concealed firearms laws. There has been three times as many gun laws passed in 2009 as antigun measures. 40 states legally provide concealed-carry permits. 10 years ago, only a few hundred thousand people had concealed weapon licenses, but by 2013 more than 6 million Americans had a concealed carry permit. One question was should there be semi automatic and handgun restrictions? In January 2013 there was a proposed ban on assault weapons and magazines that hold more than ten rounds,