Gun Violence in the US - Essay Example

The violence however is believed to be fundamentally harbored by several underlying issues. These form the bases whereupon the problem can be explored but no specific ideal reason has yet been presented for this tragic phenomenon. Gun violence is attributed to several issues. These vary from lifestyle to economic reasons. For instance, social concerns are pinpointed as one of the reasons that yield the tragedy. Such issues around society as biases and social classification, just to mention but a few are termed as crucial in dictating gun violence. For instance, ethnic background and history confirm that black Americans are amongst the larger share of the victims involved. The problem is, however, this same ethnicity is self-targeted; an occurrence that raises questions as to whether the issue is inter-ethnic or the contrary. In as much as the historical perceptions may have such a massive influence on the people there is more to the violence than the background can provide (Reese, par 5).

The problem also arises with the nature in which the inventories of armories are handled. There are approximately 283 million firearms in the hands of civilians. However, this does not directly guarantee violence. It turns out that of this big number of civilian processions, most of the violence cases accrue from the firearms distributed by individual dealers. Roughly 30,000 firearms are unaccounted for annually from the dealers’ inventories. This makes the control of such distribution difficult, especially given the policy guidelines (Reese, par. 4).

Another paradigm significant in explaining gun violence is the family and the social value system. There are several instances in records of homicidal and suicidal cases involving firearms in the US. Most of these cases are unaccounted for by the media houses owing to the dynamic debates around them. When for example, a teenage girl indiscriminately shoots at her schoolmates and then later her mother; we have a great deal of the question to ponder. The teenager uses this as a defense mechanism against the atrocities she believes she is subjected to (Maria, par.1). There is doubt about the anomie cushioning society. And then a case like the Newton tragedy; where the target group turns out to be none, confirms the fact that the killings are much more than just a few surface explanations may give. It is also pointed out that technological advances and a myriad of information sourcing have yielded this gradual decay, especially in children. Their interpretations of some media like entertainment media; where they can play violent games, are manifest in how they execute it to make the real problem happen (Editorial, par. 3).

In summary, to understand gun violence, a holistic approach must be embraced. This should involve both the public and the government. Everyone is a stakeholder in attempting to avert this crisis. Much of this success will come from a properly informed society. This can be achieved when agencies deemed with this responsibility like the media take up the task. It is also necessary that this process be devolved at a family level where the right information should be stemmed down in this simplest unit of society. In this way, there may be a decline in the tragic menace. Read More