Gun Control in the United States - Case Study Example

Gun Control Table of Contents I. Introduction ………………………………………………………………. 3 II. Thesis ment ………………………………………………………... 4 III. History of Gun Control in the United States …………………………… 4 IV. Positive Impact of Strictly Implementing a Gun Control over the Public Safety Concerns of the Americans ………………… 5 IV. Problem with the Current Gun Control in U.S. ………………………. 5 IV. Political Issues behind the Existing Gun Laws ………………………. 6 a. House Bill 89 of Georgia ………………………………………. 6 V. Possible Loopholes and Negative Consequences behind House Bill 89 in Georgia ………………………………………………… 7 VI. Recommended Solution(s) .……………………………………………. 8 VII. Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 9 Figure I – Non-fatal Firearm Related Violent Crimes, 1993 – 2005 ………. 11 References ……………………………………………………………………… 12 - 14 Introduction A research study revealed that between 5 to 11 percent of the American adults carry guns for self-protection purposes. (Kleck, 1997) Aside from the high number of deaths caused by criminal acts and accidents, the number of victims of non-fatal fire-arm related crimes was as high as 800,000 individuals during the year 1997. Despite the decline in the trend of non-fatal firearm related violent crimes as of 2005, the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics revealed that 9% or almost 500,000 individuals were reported a victim of violent and non-fatal crimes that involves the use of firearms. (U.S. Department of Justice, 2006a, b) (See Figure I – Non-fatal Firearm Related Violent Crimes, 1993 – 2005 on page ) In relation with the high association of guns and other firearms in the criminal cases, the student will first discuss the history of U.S. gun control followed by discussing the positive impact of strictly implementing a gun control over the public safety concerns of the Americans and the main cause of problem that makes the existing gun control ineffective in terms of keeping down the number of individuals who have been a victim of firearm-related crimes. As a way of proving the strong political issues associated with gun control, the student will thoroughly examine the advantages and disadvantages of an existing gun laws known as House Bill 89 in Georgia. After going through the positive impact of strictly implementing a gun control over the public safety of the people and the different opinion of government officials with regards to the legislation of gun control, the student will emphasize the possible loopholes and negative consequences behind the existing gun laws. Prior to conclusion, the student will provide some recommended solutions. Thesis Statement “Controversial Issues Related to the U.S. Gun Control and Public Safety Concerns of the People.” History of Gun Control in the United States The history of gun control in the United States started back in 1938’s Federal Firearms Act (FFA) followed by the 1968 Gun Control Act (GCA). (Jacobs, 2002: x – xi) The FFA of 1938 requires a license for buying a handgun. It is also stipulated in the license the extent wherein the gun owner can use the gun. For instance, a person may have a license to purchase a gun but not the right to transport or ship guns to other people. (Ascione, 1939) On the other hand, GCA also known as the “Omnibus Crime Bill and Safe Streets Act of 1968” is more strict in the sense that it focused not only on the licensing and transportation of firearms but a more comprehensive rule attached with owning a gun. (Gun Law News, 2005) For example: GCA 1968 does not legally allow interstate transfer of guns or shipping guns via post mailing system. It also requires a minimum age for individuals who wish to purchase a firearm. With the purpose of strengthening the law on gun control, the most recent 1993 Brady Law – also known as the Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 was introduced in the country. (The Avalon Project at Yale Law School, 1993) Basically, 1993 Brady Law not only requires licensed gun dealers, licensed manufacturer, or any licensed importer to conduct a background check on any potential buyers of firearms prior to any transaction such as the delivery or transfer of a handgun; but also on the promotion of safety procedures such as the proper gun storage or requiring gun manufacturers to design guns with safety locks in order to avoid gun-related accidents among others. (Jacobs, 2002: xi, 4; The Avalon Project at Yale Law School, 1993: sec. 103) Positive Impact of Strictly Implementing a Gun Control over the Public Safety Concerns of the Americans Although there are very few scholarly articles or evidence that could back up the effectiveness of gun control in terms of reducing crime rate though out the United States; a lot of people believe that there are benefits attached with implementing a strict gun control in terms of protecting the general public from becoming a victim of violent-related crimes using firearms. Aside from preventing gun violence by preventing people with police record for domestic violence, gangs, drug dealers, or the ex-convicts to carry guns (Brady Campaign, 2008; Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, 2007), the local law enforcers can make use of the gun owners record in tracing criminal acts associated with the use of handguns or other forms of firearms like shotguns. Problem with the Current Gun Control in U.S. As a result of a weak jurisdiction (Spitzer, 1998: 6), the problem with gun control in the United States is the lack of uniformity and standard control in relation to the licensing and registration as well as background checking prior to the purchasing a handgun. Despite the government’s effort behind the implementation of 1993 Brady Law, roughly 35 states were reported to have no licensing procedures or registration practices with the gun owners whereas 32 states do not require background checks on newly purchased handguns. (Gun Control in the United States , 2000) Political Issues behind the Existing Gun Laws It is very difficult to implement a strong gun control because of the issue on intractable American politics. (Jacobs, 2002; Spitzer, 1998: 3) This is one reason why there are a lot of different gun bills being implemented in each state. Among the latest and most controversial gun laws that was recently signed and implemented is the House Bill 89. (Carter, 2008; Georgia General Assembly, 2008; King & OHayer, 2008) House Bill 89 of Georgia Effective on July 1, 2008 (Carter, 2008; King & OHayer, 2008), Governor Sonny Perdue signed the House Bill 89 stating that gun owners will be allowed to carry their concealed weapon while on public transportation (MARTA), in restaurants that serve alcohol (MacDonald, 2008; Wooten, 2008), including the state and local parks (Georgia General Assembly, 2008; Salzer, 2008). House bill 89 also legally allows law abiding citizens who are staying at Georgia to carry a guns regardless of whether they carry or does not carry a Georgia Firearms License (GFL) permit. (Carter, 2008) There are contradicting business and political opinions behind the legislation of house bill 89. According to Sen. John Douglas, “responsible citizens should be given the permit to carry guns in order to enable them to protect themselves and their families.” (Jones, 2008) On the contrary, Ron Wolf – the exective director of the Georgia Restaurant Association stated that, “even good people may have an impaired judgment when they are under the influence of alcohol.” (MacDonald, 2008) Similar to the perception of the business group (Salzer, 2008), the law enforcement officials believe that there are negative consequences associated with house bill 89 on public safety. (Atkins, 2008) House bill 89 permit gun owners to enter restaurants that serves alcohol as long as they refrain from drinking alcohol. (Jones, 2008; Salzer, 2008) In relation to this matter, Sen. Nan Orrock stated that it is not practical to implement a “no-drinking rule to all gun carriers in restaurants” since gun owners can simply go to restaurants that do not serve alcohol. (Jones, 2008) Besides, implementing a ‘no drinking alcohol rule’ does not guarantee that customers who will enter restaurants that serve alcohol will be safe from possible criminal attacks and life-threatening violence. (Cox, 2008) Possible Loopholes and Negative Consequences behind House Bill 89 in Georgia The problem with House Bill 89 of Georgia is related to the fact that Governor Perdue was actively endorsed by the National Rifle Association during his re-election campaign back in 2006. (Salzer, 2006) For this reason, there is a strong possibility that Governor Perdue was forced to signed house bill 89 for the benefits of the National Rifle Association and those businesses that sell guns and other firearms. The fact that Governor Perdue has recently signed a bill that allows car insurance companies to increase their premium rates (King & O’hayer, 2008) only shows that the governor is aware of the negative social and economic consequences associated with house bill 89. Basically, there are more negative consequences attached with house bill 89 more than its advantageous side considering the fact that the lives of innocent people in Georgia will be highly at risk whereas the only individuals who will enjoy the benefits of the new gun bill are the businesses that sell firearms and those individuals who have the passion for guns. Aside from causing the restaurants to lose business opportunities from the sale of alcohol beverages; it will be very tedious to assign each of the restaurant personnel to check on whether their customer is armed or unarmed before they serve them with alcohol. In fact, legally allowing the licensed and unlicenced gun holders to enter public transportation such as the buses, trains, some of the local airport where MARTA has a station and restaurants will put Georgians at risks of becoming a victim of criminal events which involves the use of firearms. (Carter, 2008) In the process, it is not only the local residence, restaurants and public transportation employees who could be a victim of stray bullets but also the tourists. Recommended Solution(s) In order to strengthen the U.S. gun control, there is a need for the local government to search for meaningful ways on fighting corruption and lobbying between the groups such as the National Rifle Association. One way of cutting down the strong political ties between the government and the National Rifle Association is to have a president that will not politically support any unbiased decision when it comes to the implementation of gun laws throughout the different state in the United States. There is also a strong need to the U.S. president to ensure that each state follows only one regulation and licensing procedures on gun ownership. By doing so, each of the local enforcement group can easily monitor and control the issuance of firearms to gun owners. The proposed strategic gun control will also enable the local enforcers to easily trace empty gun cases and solve criminal cases throughout the country. With regards to strictly implementing the gun control, the U.S. government should strictly impose imprisonment and fines to those individuals who will be caught violating a universal gun control law. This should include punishing not only the gun owners who will be using their gun in criminal acts but also the gun sellers who does not follow the general guidelines issued by the law enforcers such as in the case of selling guns to notorious gangs and/or drug traders. The punishment should not free any senators or governors who are proven to be guilty of making unwise decisions with regards to the implementation of gun laws. Conclusion Although there has been not much research studies conducted behind the impact of gun control with the criminal cases and deaths, the implementation of a strong gun control will protect the lives and safety of the law abiding citizens of the United States. Despite the implementation of the Federal Firearms Act (FFA) in 1938; the Gun Control Act (GCA) in 1968; and the Brady Law in 1993; gun control in the United States remain weak because of the existence of a strong political ties between the U.S. government officials and the gun manufacturers which are strongly supported by the National Rifle Association. A very good example of political issues behind the implementation of gun laws can be observed with the recent issues behind the house bill 89 which was signed by Governor Perdue. In relation to the huge possibility that the new house bill will increase the crime rate in Georgia, millions of concerned citizens have been protesting against the new gun law. Several issues related to the fact that the National Rifle Association supported him during his pre-election campaign back in 2006 (Salzer, 2006) and his decision to sign a bill that allows car insurance companies to increase their premium rates (King & O’hayer, 2008) clearly reveals that the governor is not making a wise decision in terms of socially and economically protecting the people from the consequences associated with house bill 89. For this reason, it has been concluded that the only way to implement a successful gun control is to challenge the U.S. government to overcome the corruption between the local government officials and the National Rifle Association. ** * End * ** Figure I – Non-fatal Firearm Related Violent Crimes, 1993 – 2005 Source: U.S. Department of Justice, 2006 References: Ascione, A. M. (1939). The Federal Firearms Act. St John’s Law Review , 13:437. Atkins, M. (2008, May 15). Savannah Morning News. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from New gun law frustrates police: http://savannahnow.com/node/497828 Brady Campaign. (2008, June 17). Retrieved July 8, 2008, from Brady Center, Law Enforcement Leaders Urge Supreme Court To Reverse Appeals Court Ruling Allowing Domestic Violence Abusers To Have Guns: http://www.bradycampaign.org/media/release.php?release=989 Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. (2007, November). Retrieved July 8, 2008, from Profile of a Rougue Gun Dealer: DAndreas Gun Case: http://www.bradycenter.org/xshare/pdf/reports/dandrea_report.pdf Carter, E. L. (2008, May 6). Georgia Political & Policy Digest. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from The "Biggest Gun Reform in Georgias History": http://www.georgiapoliticaldigest.com/article_18864.shtml Cox, C. W. (2008, May 2). The Journal-Constitution. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from GUNS IN PUBLIC: Dont allow gripes to kill a valid bill: http://www.ajc.com/wednesday/content/printedition/2008/05/02/nraed.html?cxntlid=inform_artr Georgia General Assembly. (2008). Retrieved July 8, 2008, from House Bill 89: http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2007_08/fulltext/hb89.htm Gun Control in the United States . (2000, April). Retrieved July 8, 2008, from A Comparative Survey of State Firearm: A Project of the Open Society Institutes Center on Crime, Communities & Culture and the Funders Collaborative for Gun Violence Prevention: http://hei.unige.ch/sas/files/portal/issueareas/measures/Measur_pdf/OSI%20GunReport.pdf Gun Law News. (2005, September 4). Retrieved July 9, 2008, from Gun Control act of 1968: http://www.gunlawnews.org/GCA-68.html Jacobs, J. B. (2002). Can Gun Control Work? Oxford University PRess. Jones, A. (2008, April 3). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from Senate OKs Concealed Guns in Eateries, MARTA: http://www.ajc.com/wednesday/content/metro/stories/2008/04/02/guns_0403.html King, M., & OHayer, D. (2008, May 14). 11 Alive.com. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from Perdue Signs Controversial Gun Bill: http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=115920&catid=3 Kleck, G. (1997). Targeting Guns: Firearms and their Control. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. MacDonald, M. (2008, February 19). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from Showdown Over Guns in Public Places: http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2008/02/18/guns_0219.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Salzer, J. (2008, May 14). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from Perdue signs law allowing guns in restaurants: Concealed weapons now allowed in parks, on public transportation: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/05/14/bills_0515.html Spitzer, R. J. (1998). The Politics of Gun Control. Chatham House Publishers. The Avalon Project at Yale Law School. (1993, November). Retrieved July 9, 2008, from Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act; November 11, 1993 : http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/statutes/hr1025_103.htm U.S. Department of Justice. (2006a, September 10). Retrieved July 8, 2008, from After 1996, less than 10% of nonfatal violent crimes involved firearm: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/percentfirearm.htm U.S. Department of Justice. (2006b, September 10). Retrieved July 8, 2008, from Nonfatal firearm-related crime has plummeted since 1993, before increasing in 2005: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/firearmnonfatalno.htm Wooten, J. (2008, May 15). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from Guns and LibGuns and Liberal Angsteral Angst: http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/shared-blogs/ajc/thinkingright/entries/2008/05/15/guns_and_liberal_angst.html Read More