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Age and Crime

Page 7

Age and Crime

Michael Scott

Criminal Justice Practicum

CRJU 2090

Albany Technical College

Gun control or gun legislation is a widely regarded topic throughout the national news as well as law enforcement agencies. Inside of my research paper, I will discuss gun legislation (control) in great detail and provide examples of ways we can effectively regulate firearms in the United States. Since gun control is a popular topic, it is very important to understand what it is and what type of rules are set in place. It is also very important to know which states strictly enforce firearm legislation and the data and information that surrounds gun control legislation in the United States. Firearm regulation began to reach its peak in American politics in the early 1930s, and has been a controversial issue ever since. Gun control is a topic that has been around for a long time and will continue to be the topic for many debates.

Keywords: gun control, firearm

Gun control is defined as a set of laws or policies that supervise the sale, transfer, manufacture, modification, possession, or use of firearms (guns) by civilians. Gun control legislation varies from the different jurisdictions and countries. Most countries have restrictive firearm guiding policies, with only a few legislations deemed as “permissive”. Mostly, gun control serves mainly to regulate firearms deemed as “small arms”. Small arms may be categorized as revolvers, self-loading pistols, rifles, carbines, assault rifles, submachine guns, and light machine guns.

The term gun control is almost always politicized, meaning it is a cause to become political in character, or make others engage in or talk about politics. The right to bear arms is a fundamental right in our United States Constitution, so of course firearms have played a significant role in U.S. history and culture. Firearms have been around for a very long time, but the regulations that surround them have not. Federal gun regulations were “largely non-existent until well into the twentieth century” (Chinchilla, Green, 2014). It was not until as of late that gun control emerged as one of the hottest topics among law enforcement agencies and American politics.

The strict gun regulations have come into light because of many mass shootings over the United States. There have been many instances where guns have gotten into the hands of unstable individuals that have committed atrocities across the United States. Often, these things happen and that is when Congress decides to put things in place to prevent these tragedies. Senate Democrats have tried to pass legislation to expand background checks on people who want to purchase firearms. These legislations were quickly shut down by the Republican-controlled Senate, who seem to be more pro-gun that pro-prevent-national-tragedies.

There are essentially two groups that revolve around the politics of guns. These groups are those gun control and gun rights activists. Gun control activists believe that guns should be heavily regulated. Gun rights activists seek to enhance the right to keep and bear arms and oppose gun control legislation that limits the use of firearms and private ownership. Groups such as the National Rifle Association serve as gun rights activists, and groups such as the CodePink and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence serve as gun control activists.

These groups have debated for many years on one sole topic: guns. Both sides have introduced new legislation in order to combat gun violence or enhance the Second Amendment. These debates have ignited the American citizens to ask one simple question to their legislators: What do you think is more important – to protect the rights of Americans to own guns, OR to control gun ownership? The Pew Research Center has tracked public opinion on this topic for over two decades. In 2015, 52% of Americans supported gun rights, while 46% supported gun control (The Pew Research Center, 2016).

In these findings, you can clearly see that there is a divide in our nation on this matter. The margins are not very large, but you can see that this is a topic that will be debated for a long time. Legislators across America tend to make topics such as gun control a main platform to get elected by their constituents. It is a topic that most Americans talk about at home and amongst their peer groups. It is a very explosive and divisive topic, as shown by the data collected by the Pew Research Group.

Within the two activists’ groups that control the politicization of guns, the one that is widely discussed are gun rights activists. As previously discussed, gun rights activists seek to enhance the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. An association closely associated with these kinds of activists are the National Rifle Association. The National Rifle Association of America, or the NRA for short, is an American non-profit organization that advocated for gun rights. To show how much the topic of gun control can influence the election of political figures, the NRA spent at least $30 million dollars to help elect Donald Trump, which was more than any other outside group. With such outstanding contributions and having helped elected a president, their influence is very heavy in the White House. They can influence the outcome of gun rights bills and gun control bills, which could be a very bad thing.

Gun control groups such as CodePink, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV), and the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence (the Ed Fund) work tirelessly to try to lobby for gun control bills. They are gun control advocacy organizations that are opposed to gun violence. They seek to “secure freedom from gun violence through research, strategic engagement and effective policy advocacy” (CSGV, 2017). Groups such as these oppose the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. They also oppose the “stand your ground” laws.

The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act is a United States law that protects firearm manufacturers and dealers from being held liable when crimes have been committed with their products. This law was passed into law by the 109th United States Congress and made effective on October 26, 2005. Before this law was passed, victims of firearm violence were very successful in litigation against firearm manufactures and dealers for negligence on grounds that they should have expected their products were to be used for criminal activity. President George W. Bush was the president at the time and Wayne LaPierra of the NRA thanked him for signing the act. LaPierra called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act one of the most significant piece of pro-gun legislation in twenty years into law. During the 2016 election, this law became a big campaign issue, especially in the Democratic Party. Hillary Clinton said, if elected, she should repeal the law, and Bernie Sanders defended the law in October 2015.

Gun rights activists support laws such “stand your ground”. Stand your ground is a justification in criminal cases that state that defendants can basically stand their ground and use force without retreating, to protect themselves in the face of an imminent threat. Laws such as these have been widely criticized and called “shoot first” laws. There is a long line of critics, including the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Per a task force in Florida, they have deemed the law to be confusing, and that it should be modified to be better received.

As discussed previously, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is an outspoken critic of such laws such as stand your ground. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence are nonprofit organizations that advocate for gun control and against gun violence. Both are commonly referred to as the Brady Campaign. It was named after James Brady, who was left permanently disabled after the assassination attempt of Ronald Raegan. The Brady Campaign was founded in 1974 as the National Council to Control Handguns. The mission statement of the Brady organization “is to create a safer America for all of us that will lead to a dramatic reduction in gun deaths and injuries” (Brady, 2017).

Although many laws have been passed and many organizations have lobbied, the topic of gun control has stemmed from a wide variety of mass shootings in the United States. On June 12, a lone gunman entered an Orlando night club and murdered 49 people while injuring many others. This attack stands as one of the deadliest mass shootings in United States history. In 2013, a lone gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary school and killed 26 people, 20 of those being children. These violent attacks have one thing in common: they were committed using a firearm. They have been senseless acts of domestic terrorism by senseless aggressors senselessly using firearms. Legislators have worked to try to come up with common-sense reform to help prevent these tragedies, but they can never conclude due to combating viewpoints on guns.

Stand your ground laws and other laws that follow the ideals of gun rights activists have indirectly fueled some of these acts of terror, whether they intended to or not. Some people see it like this: if there are laws in place to help me get a gun and rights that protect me if I use a gun, then I could use it in any way I want. Things such as the Second Amendment and the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act make it easier for individuals to assert their right to own and use guns as they please. It is the truth, and with no common ground to stand on, we might never get these problems resolved. The debating between activists will never cease and these violent shootings may never end.

There are have valid points that have risen regarding gun control laws reducing violence. Some say that the elimination of some firearms and hardened gun control laws would reduce the number of criminal homicides in the United States. Some argue that homicides will happen regardless is someone has an intent to kill, because there is more than one way to skin a cat. Not all homicides are this way, though. Guns are easy to obtain and are the fastest way to essentially kill a person, so most killings are done so with a gun. Getting guns out of the wrong hands will reduce the amount of criminal homicides, in my opinion. This would be impossible though, without more effective gun control laws.

Although some might agree with my theory on how to reduce criminal homicides, some do not. Gun rights activists disagree, and so do police officers. In fact, police officers “support gun rights over gun control by a 3 to 1 margin” (Hawkins, 2017). Seventy-four percent of officers believe that is important to protect the rights of Americans to own guns. The officers who put their lives on the lines everyday have such a great appreciation of the Second Amendment and oppose the ban on assault weapons.

Since declaring independence way back in 1776, America has always had a long and conflicted relationship with gun laws. The right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right in our Constitution, and these “arms” have played a pivotal role in shaping United States history, culture, and politician stances. The rights entitled to the American people may not be infringed, but per 46% of Americans, they should be. From the discriminatory background of gun laws, such as Black Codes which restricted freed blacks from owning guns, to the Fourteenth Amendment (Equal Protection Clause) which integrated gun ownership to everyone, there has and always will be a very confusing aspect to gun laws. To groups such as the National Rifle Association of America (gun rights) and the Brady Centers (gun control), lobbying for gun laws and influencing legislators has been at an all-time high. Gun rights activists have influenced many things such as openly opposing gun rights bills and donating money to presidential campaigns. Gun control has also played a large part in American history, with Congress passing the Gun Control Act of 1968, a great win for many gun control activists. This Act also created the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to enforce this act.

All in all, gun laws have been an integral part of America’s history while also being the root of many of its problems. This topic will continue to be a divisive topic among the American people, law enforcement, and the United States government. For us to function with the laws of the land, they should be able to cater to solve the problems that a country faces. In many cases, these problems could be solved with common-sense gun control legislation. With this, we could prevent many things and begin to work on the road ahead.

Bibliography

1. Chinchilla, M., Green, M. 2016 June 24. KQED News. https://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2016/06/24/americas-loaded-history-with-guns/

2. The Pew Research Center. 2016 August 26. http://www.people-press.org/2016/08/26/gun-rights-vs-gun-control/#total

3. Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. 2017 April 13. http://csgv.org/

4. Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. 2017 April 24. http://www.bradycampaign.org/

5. Hawkins, A. Pew Survey: Police Support Gun Rights Over Gun Control 3 to 1 Margin. 2017 January 11. http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/11/pew-survey-police-support-gun-rights-over-gun-control-3-1-margin/