States With Stricter Gun Laws and Gun Violence Crimes - Term Paper Example

? s with Stricter gun laws don't have a dramatic difference in gun violence crimes compared to s with less laws s with Stricter gun laws don't have a dramatic difference in gun violence crimes compared to States with less laws Introduction The recent past has witnessed a widely spoken debate as well as publications all over the media station with regards to gun violence and the fact that States believed to be having stricter gun laws tend to experience a remarkable difference in crimes related to gun violence as compared to those states with less strict laws. The gun violence occurrences are mainly experienced in poor urban states with most cases being gang violence that include male juveniles or even young adult males. This has resulted to increased rate of high profile shooting of many people leading to heated debates on gun policies among different states in relation to their contribution to increased rates of gun violence and crime. Statistics have it that in the year 2010, the murdering of more than 358 people were carried out using rifles. A total of 6,009 people were killed by the use of handguns and others 1939 people were murdered by firearm. It is rather absurd to note that states with the highest increased gun ownership have the largest rates of violent crimes. More than thirty one states have implemented such laws commonly referred to as “shall issue laws”. These laws permit the adults to handle concealed handguns on condition that they do not have a criminal record or a bad history of vital mental illness (Stephen, 2000). This goes beyond odds to disapprove common sense that implies when most people carry guns the crimes involving guns will be greatly reduced. This can be looked at from the perspective that criminals are given huge penalties because a higher arrest and conviction of criminals reduces the rate of crime. This has been considered to imply that someone committing a crime will seek the help of another person who is in a position to help him or her. Surprisingly there is a high negative relationship between the number of law –abiding citizens who have permits and the number of crimes committed (Stephen, 2000). These occurrences are taken to imply that as more people get gun permits, the rate of crimes related to guns reduces greatly. It has also been observed that murder rates keep on reducing by 3 per cent , rape cases by 2 per cent and robberies by above 2 per cent for every year that handgun law has been in place (Dowlut, 2002). Violent crimes are believed to have reduced by concealed handgun mainly because they lower the occurrence of attempted crimes now that criminals are not sure which possible victims can safeguard them and also victims who poses guns can easily secure themselves at most times. Stricter laws are seen in Connecticut in terms of gun ownership than most states (Dowlut, 2002). Contrary Opinion Some recent studies by a pro-gun control the San Francisco organization gives an opposite view with regards to the gun laws and the rates of crimes related to guns. The study has it that the firm restrictive laws as witnessed in California and Connecticut experience lower rates of gun-related killings while states with less restrictions on firearms have an increased rate. California was regarded as having the firmest laws on gun controls in the entire nation as per the Law Centre to Prevent Gun Violence which is behind the firearms regulation promotion. Connecticut comes fourth when it comes to states with the strongest gun laws and the impact was seen when it recorded the sixth -lowest gun deaths. States with less strict laws like Alaska, Louisiana and Montana recorded the highest number of deaths resulting from gunfire doubling the number witnessed in California. The federal Centres for Disease Control report had it that California experienced 7.88 gun deaths for every 100,000 residents in comparison with the 20.28 rate in Alaska (Burton, 2010). Another research conducted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham on states in need of specialised background checks before buying guns had a lower death rates than those that lack such rules also had the same conclusion. One of the main reasons behind such trend is that the eloquence of any state is hugely limited because the federal government does secure gun regulations so much up to each state (Ashman, 2012). For example, California has come up with laws to ban most semiautomatic rifles, such as the Bushmaster 223 that Lanza used to kill 6 educators and 20 students (Ashman, 2012). In the neighbouring state; Nevada, rifles are legal and this implies that the rifles can be easily reached and illegally used in California. However in Connecticut , the Bushmaster is legal and this reflects the increased level of gun regulation even in the countries ranked high in report by the law centre. Despite the fact that in about 10 states that restrict semiautomatic rifles, Connecticut safeguards them unless they have certain additional features ,like a pistol grip and a folding or collapse stock (Ashbell, 2000). Lanza used the Bushmaster version of the AR-15 rifle that was later reported to be legally purchased by his mother, whom he also murdered before taking her guns and then going to the school where he killed the educators and fellow pupils (Ashbell, 2000). Other laws that have been enacted in an effort to check on gun related crime include the federal assault weapons law that banned the use of Semiautomatic weapons that have specific features effected from 1994 to 2004 (Ashbell, 2000).The law was promoted after a case where a man used assault weapons to murder eight people and then committed suicide at California St. in San Francisco. Despite the many efforts to come up with such laws, the federal law has been widely viewed as being ineffective. Despite the many laws, assault weapons are still being used in gum crimes. The use of large-calibre ammunition magazines has also increased tremendously in the recent past following the increased number of bans on weapons. The Significance of the Numbers Statistics on gun violence show that that 58 per cent of murder cases in different states are caused by their relatives or acquaintances .What most people don’t understand is that the acquaintance number may also include gang members killing other gang members or drug buyers killing drug pushers this means the acquaintance covers a wide range of relationships. However, most of the murders have been observed to be committed by recent law-abiding citizens. With 90% of adult murders at any time of their lives having had criminal records as adult (Dowlut, 2000) The issue of laws governing the use of guns should not just be restricted to the elderly as there have been cases where children have been involved in gun related crimes and murder like the reported case in Jonesboro where a teacher and four children were killed by two school boys. It is argued that such cases will increase in future if the laws don’t restrict people to carry guns with them. With reference to the above cases, the shooting took place in an area where the laws had already been enacted thus the guns were considered as being illegal. The bad side of this law is that it brings about the possibility of the good guy not been able to defend himself from the bad guy. Looking at the multiple shooting cases witnessed in the United States, it is clear that in each year, there has to be a case where at least two people or more where shot publically. The ‘shall-issue’ law has brought out mixed reactions as after the states implemented the, the number of multiple –victim shootings greatly reduced by approximately 84 per cent. Considering all the crime cases, it is clear that both the adults and children are safeguarded when the law-abiding adults are given the will to carry concealed handguns. It can also be argued that with laws allowing citizens to carry with them guns, there are increased chances of people attacking each other in case of tense situations thus increasing the rate of crime in such states. This is also one of the most feared occurrence that was raised during the state legislative hearings on concealed –handgun laws. However, statistics on gun relate violence have disproved this fear as very few cases if any have been reported as to have taken place following similar circumstances. With the state allowing millions of people to carry concealed weapons over the past decade there has been only one case reported where a person with a permit used a gun after a traffic accident (Dowlut, 2002)). Murder rates have also remained independent of gender as the cases have reduced not considering if more women or men are carrying handguns. However an additional woman handling a concealed handgun greatly lowers the murder rate for women by almost 3 to 4 times more that this could happen in a man’s situation (Dowlut, 2002). Conclusion Many states have come out strongly enacting laws on gun use and gun violence. This reflects the fact that currently 41 states have “right –to-carry” laws as per the National Rifle Association report. The Shall issue laws were implemented to do away with the laws that restricted the carrying of weapons or that permits on a very guided basis. This followed the increased crime rate in different states in the US, 24 states taking up this measure after the law was passed. This has facilitated many other federal state and local gun control laws to do away with this law or implement less restrictive ones. In addition, a number of privately -owned guns has grown by almost 100 million. Several researches and findings have come up in an effort to determine the relation between the rate of crime and right-to-carry laws in states and counties. Such studies have come up with different conclusions with other supporting the laws while other strongly opposing them. Some studies show a reduction in the rate of crime growth caused by the adoption of right-to-carry laws. This greatly contradicts the trend models that showed in the literature version leads to law change. Some current evidence have failed to prove the possibility to prove the availability a link between the passage of right-to-carry laws and crime rates. Despite the different positions, there has been a concrete connection between the implementation of right -to carry laws and violent crimes such as rape, auto theft, aggravated assault and larceny (Stephen, 2000). The formation of such laws has reduced the number of deaths and injury that most of the enemies could not reduce. However the numbers and fact s to show that these laws have contributed to reduced crime is not as attained easily. A small change in the provisions of the laws brings out a wide shift of the effects estimated and some effects may be long lasting like when the shall-issue laws in turn increase robbery with the vital increase in other crimes like property crime. The laws have to be encouraged in all states and should be well implemented so as to ensure that the high rates of gun related crimes witnessed in different states can be eliminated or greatly reduced. The implementation has to be properly conducted as poorly enacted laws will result in increased rates of gun related crimes in the long run contrary to the aim of such law. Considering the different reports on the same, it is clear that states with strict laws on gun related crimes experience less crimes as compared to those states with less or no laws t regulate gun use and gun related violence. Reference Ashbell, T. (2000). More on Gun Control. Josset-Bass: San Francisco Ashman, A. (2012). Gun Control. Pitman Publishing: Marshfield Burton, P (2010). “Firearms Licensing-Time for Reform.” New Law Journal. 145: 670 Dowlut, K., (2002). “ States Constitutions and the Right to Keep and Bear Arms,” Law Review. 183 Stephen, H., (2000). That Every Man Be Armed. “The Independent Institute” 17: 54 Read More