Gun Control Laws and Misuses
Currently there are 310 million guns in the United States, which consists of 114 million handguns, 110 million rifles, and 86 million shotguns [1]. These are the guns that are registered and in fact there might be more weapons due to unregistered guns and smuggling from the borders. These unmonitored guns are hard to keep track of and are sold in underground markets and arm the gang members and felons. The major federal laws that have been passed include: National Firearms Act of 1934, Gun Control Act of 1968, Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986, and Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. Currently, under these laws, anyone can buy a gun as long as they are over 18 and don’t fall into these bullet points:
· Anyone currently under indictment for a crime punishable by more than a year in prison
· Anyone who has been previously convicted of such a crime
· A fugitive
· User of any controlled substance
· Anyone who has been committed to a mental institution or deemed mentally defective
· An illegal alien
· Anyone who has been dishonorably discharged from the military
· Anyone who has renounced his or her U.S. citizenship
· Anyone who currently has a restraining order against him or her from an intimate partner or child of said partner
· Anyone who has been convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor
[4]
This helps filter out the people who want to purchase a weapon with malicious motives and their background. These laws are a great way to start screening out the people who shouldn’t have a gun but other than this there isn’t much keeping someone who is 18 years or older from buying a gun. There should be more gun reform in testing the mental health of someone. Currently, the mental stability is up to the discretion of the Federal Firearms Licensed dealer and the results of whether or not they have been committed to a mental institution. This can reformed in the federal level because right now the only changes vary from state to state and I believe it should be done on a national level. The issue with gun control is there isn’t much that can be done once a person goes past those screenings and receives the weapon. Other laws that can be made that would be beneficial are laws that require the checking of gun location and the mental health of an individual. These can assure that guns are not being resold and that the individual is not in a risky state of mind. These laws can be seen as too invasive but they can be necessary to not only protect that lives of people but also preserve the right to bear a weapon. There is no clear cut way to improve the system but something must be done to handle these weapons of protection and violence. The ulterior is that no one is allowed to have a gun and that is not the solution to people who want to have guns for protection.
California has passed laws to further control the use of firearms in public and domestically. Automatic weapons are illegal to possess domestically for their firepower and are not necessary for residents to possess.[4] To make it less likely for shootings to occurs California has a law stating that it is illegal to carry a loaded rifle, shotgun, or handgun in any public street. Other laws prohibit carrying a concealed weapon and the gun must be holstered on the belt and the concealing of a gun in a car as well [3]. California also has a law that residents moving into the state have 60 days to register their handgun with the state. [2] The laws are great for the monitoring of not only weapons in public but also the weapons that are being brought in by new residents.
Along with the mass shootings that occur another misuse of firearms is their use in suicide. Suicide is something that impacts many people in the United States and the leading way of committing suicide right now is through the use of firearms. In 2004 14,523 of the 25,566 male suicides that occurred were done through the use of a firearm [5]. Similarly, 2,227 of the 6,873 female suicides occurred with a firearm. These are huge percentages of the suicides and it can be argued if it wasn’t done this way, they would have occurred suicide in another way. But, it can also be argued that if a gun wasn’t accessible to them the situation could have been avoided.
[1]Krouse, William . "Gun Control Legislation." , http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32842.pdf November 14, 2012.(accessed May 13, 2014)
[2]"California." NRAILA RSS. http://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/state-laws/california.aspx (accessed May 14, 2014).
[3]"Do You Know the Current Gun Laws in California?." About.com Crime / Punishment. http://crime.about.com/od/gunlawsbystate/p/gunlaws_ca.htm (accessed May 12, 2014).
[4]"Federal Gun Control Laws - How Collectors Are Affected." About.com Weapons. http://weapons.about.com/od/gunlaws/a/Federal-Gun-Control-Laws.htm (accessed May 13, 2014).
[5]"Suicide Statistics." at Suicide.org! , , , , !. http://www.suicide.org/suicide-statistics.html (accessed May 13, 2014).
Currently there are 310 million guns in the United States, which consists of 114 million handguns, 110 million rifles, and 86 million shotguns [1]. These are the guns that are registered and in fact there might be more weapons due to unregistered guns and smuggling from the borders. These unmonitored guns are hard to keep track of and are sold in underground markets and arm the gang members and felons. The major federal laws that have been passed include: National Firearms Act of 1934, Gun Control Act of 1968, Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986, and Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. Currently, under these laws, anyone can buy a gun as long as they are over 18 and don’t fall into these bullet points:
· Anyone currently under indictment for a crime punishable by more than a year in prison
· Anyone who has been previously convicted of such a crime
· A fugitive
· User of any controlled substance
· Anyone who has been committed to a mental institution or deemed mentally defective
· An illegal alien
· Anyone who has been dishonorably discharged from the military
· Anyone who has renounced his or her U.S. citizenship
· Anyone who currently has a restraining order against him or her from an intimate partner or child of said partner
· Anyone who has been convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor
[4]
This helps filter out the people who want to purchase a weapon with malicious motives and their background. These laws are a great way to start screening out the people who shouldn’t have a gun but other than this there isn’t much keeping someone who is 18 years or older from buying a gun. There should be more gun reform in testing the mental health of someone. Currently, the mental stability is up to the discretion of the Federal Firearms Licensed dealer and the results of whether or not they have been committed to a mental institution. This can reformed in the federal level because right now the only changes vary from state to state and I believe it should be done on a national level. The issue with gun control is there isn’t much that can be done once a person goes past those screenings and receives the weapon. Other laws that can be made that would be beneficial are laws that require the checking of gun location and the mental health of an individual. These can assure that guns are not being resold and that the individual is not in a risky state of mind. These laws can be seen as too invasive but they can be necessary to not only protect that lives of people but also preserve the right to bear a weapon. There is no clear cut way to improve the system but something must be done to handle these weapons of protection and violence. The ulterior is that no one is allowed to have a gun and that is not the solution to people who want to have guns for protection.
California has passed laws to further control the use of firearms in public and domestically. Automatic weapons are illegal to possess domestically for their firepower and are not necessary for residents to possess.[4] To make it less likely for shootings to occurs California has a law stating that it is illegal to carry a loaded rifle, shotgun, or handgun in any public street. Other laws prohibit carrying a concealed weapon and the gun must be holstered on the belt and the concealing of a gun in a car as well [3]. California also has a law that residents moving into the state have 60 days to register their handgun with the state. [2] The laws are great for the monitoring of not only weapons in public but also the weapons that are being brought in by new residents.
Along with the mass shootings that occur another misuse of firearms is their use in suicide. Suicide is something that impacts many people in the United States and the leading way of committing suicide right now is through the use of firearms. In 2004 14,523 of the 25,566 male suicides that occurred were done through the use of a firearm [5]. Similarly, 2,227 of the 6,873 female suicides occurred with a firearm. These are huge percentages of the suicides and it can be argued if it wasn’t done this way, they would have occurred suicide in another way. But, it can also be argued that if a gun wasn’t accessible to them the situation could have been avoided.
[1]Krouse, William . "Gun Control Legislation." , http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32842.pdf November 14, 2012.(accessed May 13, 2014)
[2]"California." NRAILA RSS. http://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/state-laws/california.aspx (accessed May 14, 2014).
[3]"Do You Know the Current Gun Laws in California?." About.com Crime / Punishment. http://crime.about.com/od/gunlawsbystate/p/gunlaws_ca.htm (accessed May 12, 2014).
[4]"Federal Gun Control Laws - How Collectors Are Affected." About.com Weapons. http://weapons.about.com/od/gunlaws/a/Federal-Gun-Control-Laws.htm (accessed May 13, 2014).
[5]"Suicide Statistics." at Suicide.org! , , , , !. http://www.suicide.org/suicide-statistics.html (accessed May 13, 2014).