Gun Control Policy Development - Essay Example

? Gun control policy It is evident that gun related tragedies in the United s of American garners a lot of extreme debate and attention on the government efforts towards gun control. It is the time to address the gun related violence in the United States. This paper wills advice on the policy development steps that the current President of US will have to take in order to implement a policy that will control guns. The paper will also discuss the implementation and evaluation processes of the policy. Gun control policy development Introduction Calls for tighter gun control have been occasioned by the deadly shooting of innocent children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut where more than 20 children and six adults lost their lives. Gun ownership has remained a controversial issue in American politics. The controversy stems from the right to bear arms as outlined by the US constitution and the deliberate efforts and responsibility of the federal government to control gun related crimes (Valdez, 2003). Gun control laws exist almost at every government level since the federal government taxes the automatic weapons and the short barrel rifles which should be registered according to National Firearms Act of 1934. In addition, the Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibits the transfer of guns to minors and also mail-order sales of guns in America. Although the 1968 Act required all guns to have serial numbers and prohibition of guns to individuals who have been convicted of felonies, the act has done minimal in controlling gun-related violence. The Gun Free School Zones Act of 1995 limited ability to carry guns near K-12 school, but different States have permitted full access of schools while armed (Valdez, 2003). On January 16, 2013, President Obama outlined several steps in gun control and access to mental health services. The proposals include background checks for all gun related transactions, stronger bans on assault rifles, and emergence response funds for shootings in schools. The proposals also include enhancing mental health services access among the young people and providing the law enforcement agencies more powers to investigate and prosecute citizens involved in gun related crimes (Valdez, 2003). The process policy model is the best model in legislating gun control laws. The focal point of the model is the political processes that involve all concerned stakeholders through changing the perception of the citizens and allowing public participation (Ginsberg & Miller-Cribbs, 2005). The process model starts with problem identification and the need of government action towards solving the problem (Fox, Bayat & Ferreira, 2006). The second step will include policy formulation and development of proposals through the input of congressional committees and other interest groups. The third step should entail legitimization of the policy which will entail making the policy as law by the actions of the Congress and the President. The fourth step will entail implementation of the policy as law across the country through preparation of budgets and measures of the law enforcement agencies (Ginsberg & Miller-Cribbs, 2005). The final step will entail evaluation of the policy by the government agencies in order to ascertain whether the policy and laws have been able to deter gun related violence across the country (Fox, Bayat & Ferreira, 2006). Agenda setting/ identification of the gun violence problem The initial step in gun control policy will be outlining the need to legislate on gun control. The President will outline the societal need of protection from gun violence and escalating gun related deaths in the country (Fox, Bayat & Ferreira, 2006). The President must make the citizens also understand the Second Amendment of the constitution did not grant citizens the individual right to gun ownership. The President should create awareness that the United States is the leading country in gun ownership and has the highest rate of gun crime across the world. For instance, more than 50 percent of the households have guns that may be used in an illegal manner due to the lack of background checks on the owners. The President will also give an overview of the gun violence in the world since more than 30,000 people lose their lives annually due to gun shooting with just 1,000 of the victims being accidental shooting. The President will also outline the need of the citizens to consider other recreational activities other than using guns for recreational purposes such as hunting. The President will proactively set the agenda for gun control policy through showing how societal changes have led to the gun violence in the country (Fox, Bayat & Ferreira, 2006). In this step, the President will have to mention that 11,000 gun murders occurred in the country in 2012 compared to only 35 cases in United Kingdom where gun ownership is strictly controlled. The President will have to be categorical that increased gun ownership will undermine the national security in the future if gun ownership is not strictly controlled. In this step, the President will welcome interested groups in supporting the gun control legislation (Fox, Bayat & Ferreira, 2006). Policy formulation The second step according to the model is formulating the gun control policy. All the stakeholders including the President, pro-gun groups, special interest groups and the Congress must be involved in the policy formulation stage. The legislation will have to be drafted and written proposals for review will be granted to all interested parties. The public must be allowed to provide an opinion on the proposed legislation before the draft bill is brought to the Congress for debate. The President will have to seek the support of the Congress especially the members of the Republican Party in ensuring the bill is passed in to law (Squires, 2012). The draft bill should outline the criteria of manufacture of small guns and related components and the licensing authority. The Bill should also limit the firearms exports and imports through a control laws and certification process for the intended use of the small arms transfer. The bill should also set up an authority that will be tasked with regulating the gun sales. The bill should also provoke all state laws that grant individual gun ownership rights (Squires, 2012). The bill should totally prohibit the possession of semi automated rifles and armour piercing ammunitions. In addition, the possession of handguns such as pistols and revolvers must be strictly prohibited. Only the licensed gun owners will have the permission to acquire, and transfer guns or ammunitions. In the licensing approval process, the applicants must demonstrate a genuine reason for the intention to posses a gun (Kleck, 2005). The licensing authority will have the powers to conduct background checks on the applicants such as mental disease history and previous criminal history of the applicant. In addition, the bill should increase the legal age of gun ownership to about 25 years in order to limit the ability of teenagers accessing guns. A third character must also refer the applicant in the licensure process. In order to control domestic violence, the authority will have the powers to revoke licenses for those citizens should be revoked (Kleck, 2005). All gun owners will also be required to renew the licenses after the expiry of the outlined duration. The licensing authority will maintain record of all gun owners including the serial numbers of the guns issued. The number of approved ammunition rounds will be capped at 10 while gun dealers will also be required to maintain records of guns sold on behalf of the authority. Private gun transfer will strictly be prohibited while a ballistic printing technology will have to be used to recognize and track the guns issued to civilians (Squires, 2012). Carrying concealed guns or plain view in public will be prohibited while heavy penalties will have to be implemented for illegal possession of the guns. The draft bill will also include an amnesty programs for voluntary return and surrender of illegal guns and a federal policy for the destruction of the illegal guns (Kleck, 2005). Adoption The President will have to select a gun abolition senator or member of the House of Representative to introduce the bill in Congress. The President will have to get the commitment of the legislators to pass the bill by outlining the need of the bill to the legislators. The President will sign the bill in to law after the legislation process (Kleck, 2005). Implementation After the bill is signed it to law, the next step will entail implementation of the provisions of the bill. The law will grant for the establishment of an authority that will be charged with licensing of the guns and revocation of licenses. Enough funding will have to be availed to the law enforcement agencies in order to monitor illegal guns and prosecute individuals suspected of gun crimes. The law will also grant funding for the provision of enhanced mental care services to the youths in order to control the rate of gun violence in the society. The law will spell the time line after which the provisions of the law will become effective and enforceable (Caramani, 2008). Evaluation The final step of public policy development is the evaluation stage whereby the outcomes of the policy are measured against the expectations of the public. Since the law is geared at controlling gun related violence and deaths, the evaluation process will review the changes in the gun related violence over certain duration of time. The evaluation team will comprise of government agencies that deal with mental care and law enforcement. For instance, the outcomes of the law will consider the number of domestic violence incidents, the number of gun related suicide deaths, the number of accidental shootings, the number of gun robberies and number of intentional shootings over a period of one year. The results of the evaluation will guide the policy makers in taking a corrective action if the policy objectives have not been attained (Caramani, 2008). Conclusion Gun control remains a controversial issue of debate in the US. However, the number of gun related violence instances is alarming. The President has promised certain policy measures that are intended at creating legislation that will control gun ownership and use in the United States. This model of policy development will be the most effective in preparing the legislation and achieving the Congress approval. References: Caramani, D. (2008). Comparative politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Fox, W., Bayat, M.S & Ferreira, I.W. (2006). A guide to managing public policy. Cape Town: Juta. Ginsberg, L.H & Miller-Cribbs, J. (2005). Understanding social problems, policies, and programs. Columbia: University of South Carolina. Kleck, G. (2005). Point blank: guns and violence in America. New Jersey: Aldine Transaction. Lott, J.R. (2010). More guns, less crime: understanding crime and gun control laws. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Squires, P. (2012). Gun culture or gun control: firearms and violence: safety and society. New York: Routledge. Valdez, A. (2003). Gun control. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers. Read More