Introduction
Despite the efforts of legal authorities and law enforcement, the levels of crime have been on the rise over the past few decades. As a result, a range of citizens experiences a lack of safety. Even those that live in comparatively crime-free areas feel that they are open to the attacks of strangers. The specified situation is in complete discord with the U.S. Constitution and the idea of protecting the lives of its citizens. Therefore, the current regulation requires looser gun control laws that will give people the rights to which they have been entitled since the conception of the Constitution.
Main body
By introducing gun ownership as the legal right of American citizens, one will be able to deter crime to a considerable degree. Particularly, the fact that every member of American society that has legal capacity can fend for themselves will serve as the restraining factor in the changes in crime levels and especially gun violence (Pederson et al. 277.). As long as the vulnerable demographic is deprived of the ability to defend itself, and criminals are the only ones in possession of firearms, gun violence will remain an issue in American society.
Furthermore, by imposing gun control laws on U.S. residents, one will not have any tangible effect on the actual offenders, who are most common to incite gun violence. Instead, the regulation will affect law-abiding citizens who already have a perfect understanding of their responsibilities and, therefore, will not resort to using guns in instances that do not involve a threat to their lives (Rubin 1690).
Indeed, even with a set of rigid gun control regulations, criminals will remain in possession of firearms and will use them to commit crimes ranging from robbery to homicide (Ludwig 12098). The public, however, will be left entirely helpless without any means of fending for themselves in an environment that does not control gun possession among actual criminals. Thus, the law will ultimately result in harming the most vulnerable groups in the U.S.
Moreover, when considering the factors that contribute to accidents associated with guns, one should keep in mind that most of them are caused by the lack of basic literacy of gun safety. Consequently, it is more reasonable to educate people about using weapons as opposed to prohibiting their use. For instance, crucial principles such as keeping firearms outside of children’s reach need to be taught to the American population.
People need to know that, as a tool, guns are ultimately neutral; it is the lack of knowledge and skills that can make using them unsafe (Phillips 869). Thus, one needs to promote gun education to the American population instead of banning firearms completely.
The proponents of gun control policies claim that with people carrying guns the level of violence will increase. However, the specified idea represents the instance of outrageous injustice by presuming that an American citizen cannot understand the basic principles of legal boundaries. Having a gun will not make one break the law and abuse one’s right to use firearms, similarly to how holding a knife does not imply that one will use it for murder (Jones and Stone 169). By presuming that the possession of firearms will inevitably lead to a rise in attacks, one defies people their common sense and moral values.
Conclusion
Since U.S. citizens experience a complete lack of safety without the ability to defend themselves against criminals, and because the right to carry a gun is guaranteed to them by the American Constitution, the current gun control policies need to be reconsidered. Therefore, the concept of gun control is absurd in its inception. By teaching people to be responsible and sensible about using guns, one will be able to increase the level of safety substantially.
Works Cited
Jones, Michael A., and George W. Stone. “The US Gun-Control Paradox: Gun Buyer Response to Congressional Gun-Control Initiatives.” Journal of Business & Economics Research, vol. 13, no. 4, 2015, pp. 167-174.
Ludwig, Jens. “Reducing Gun Violence in America.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 114, no. 46, 2017, pp. 12097-12099.
Pederson, JoEllen, et al. “Gun Ownership and Attitudes toward Gun Control in Older Adults: Re-Examining Self Interest Theory.” American Journal of Social Science Research, vol. 1, no. 5, 2015, pp. 273-281.
Phillips, Charles D. “The Politics of Firearm Safety: An Emerging New Balance of Power.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 108, no. 7, 2018, pp. 868-870.
Rubin, Rita. “Tale of 2 Agencies: CDC Avoids Gun Violence Research but NIH Funds It.” The Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 315, no. 16, 2016, pp. 1689-1692.