The Impact of Gun Usage on Society - Research Paper Example

ID Number: Research Paper: Sociology Introduction Over the years the world has faced significant dilemmas related with the guns. Especially the question like whether preventing people from possessing guns can protect the society or not. Recently gun violence and attacks have been increased. The global society has been affected significantly by the gun violence. This trend has increased a lot. That is why different countries across the world are trying to apply strict rules and regulation as far as the personal gun is concern. It is often being observed that the people keep gun for the purpose of safeties and securities but very often are used for the purpose of violence. In general sense gun can be a significant threat for the society. But often people use it for the purpose of status, safety and security. Some people say that gun is a machine; it requires human inputs to be operated. It means only preventing guns cannot protect the society. It requires human initiatives also. Some people say that it is a medium of violence. If this medium can be discarded then certainly the society can be protected in a better way. A clear confusion is there related with the topic. This paper will help to come up with a possible conclusion related with the confusion. The paper represents aim, objectives and research question of this research study. The research will be designed on the basis of hypothesis, literature review and research methodology. This paper will analyze different findings related with the subject. It will be a structured step by step approach. Research aim, objectives and question The major aim of the research study is to analyze whether society can be protected efficiently by preventing individuals from using guns. This study would be focused towards identifying various ways of safeguarding society and aligning them with the necessity of stopping individuals from using guns. The major objectives of the study are: To analyze the impact of gun usage on society To determine the extent till which preventing individuals from using guns can have a positive impact on the society To evaluate the various ways through which society can be protected efficiently To outline the relationship between guns being banned with that of societal protection. The research question of the study is – “Will society be protected by preventing individuals from having guns?” There is a dual aspect of the study. Firstly, relation will be drawn between protection towards society and individuals possessing guns, secondly, there would be other components identified which has a direct impact towards protection of society. Hypothesis The null hypothesis of the study is that – ‘preventing people from using guns would help to protect society.’ This hypothesis would be tested through various data obtained during the research study. On the other hand the alternative hypothesis which is selected for the study can be stated as – ‘preventing gun usage by individuals will not help to protect society.’ Both these hypothesis are directly related to the study which is to determine the correlation between gun usage and protection towards society. These statements help to highlight the main objective of the study. Literature Review According to Lott (2013), gun is a significant threat for the human society. It can destabilize the power balance and the sense of equality in a society. He also added that the societal balance faces significant uncertainty due to the presence of guns. According to the views of the author, most of the global people think that there is no requirement of possessing a gun. The author stated that in most of the countries there are structured police forces to take care of the safeties and securities of their citizens. He stated that it is a source of violence that is not at all required in a civilized society. The author has categorically stated that gun brings a sense of unwanted aggression in the human psychology which is significantly detrimental for our societal balance. He also added that the increasing trends of the violence can be reduced only by the gun control measures. The author has given significant emphasis on preventing the people from owning guns. He has stated firmly that if the personal gun ownership can be controlled then the society can be protected in a better fashion (Lott 45-46). According to Doeden (2011), gun is a tool only it can’t kill people without human activity. It is only people kill people. The author stated that obviously gun is a source of social violence which can destabilize the delicate fabrics of the society. The author categorically stated that only gun control cannot prevent the society it requires human participations also. He stated that, it is the human being who pull the trigger of the gun, so at first human psychology should be adjusted. He has admitted that the society can be protected up to certain extent by preventing the people from owning a gun. But he has given significant importance on the human psychology also. The author has stated that gun is a medium through which offenders try to commit crimes. So he has given significance stress upon the medium of violence as well as the people who commits crimes in the society. The author has significantly pointed out dangers related with the guns and has identified it as one of the most important threats for the civil society (Doeden 7-9). According to Janzekovic and Daniel (2013), gun is a weapon which is not at all needed in a civilized human society. They added that modern world is getting complex day by day and that complexity is getting aggravated by the presence of guns in the hands of the individuals. They have said that often people misuses the guns. Wrong uses of guns have made this weapon one of the most common source or medium through which societal balances can be destabilized. The authors have added that with the increasing trends of personal gun ownership societal violence also has increased. They further added that gun ownership and societal harms are significantly interrelated with each other. According to authors these two are directly proportionate. They said that the society where personal gun ownership is significantly high, in that society violence is also very common matter. They have told that in USA small gun ownership rate is 89% and the society is struggling to control attacks from the gunmen. Indiscriminate firings from the unidentified gunmen are very regular incidents in USA. With the help of this example the authors have tried to make one point that, gun is a significant threat for the society and ownership of gun should be controlled to protect the society (Janzekovic and Daniel 45-47). According to Efrat (2012), ownership of a gun can be significantly detrimental for the peace and tranquility of a society. He added preventing people from owning a gun is significantly important as all the people do not have the same psychological balances. He has stated that often people of the society use guns as the measure of safety and security and are being ended as the weapon of killing human being. He has categorically supported that preventing people from owning guns can reduce the rate of crimes and it can be significantly helpful for protecting the society form the hands of the offenders. He has stated that many offenders get the license of the guns in the name of safety and security but often they use those weapons for the purpose of committing crimes and terrorism. According to the views of author, gun control can significantly protect the society and it can reduce the trends of criminal activities (Efrat 35-37). Research Methodology The research methodology section of a research study sets forth the design of the entire research procedure. There are various techniques which are incorporated as a research method so as to derive final outcomes. The selection of methods is greatly dependent on the nature of the research study. In broader context there are two forms of research study such as qualitative and quantitative study. It totally depends on the researcher to choose the best possible method so that appropriate results can be determined. Qualitative study is based on data or opinions which are gathered from various sources or directly through interacting with individuals (Tracy 97). On the contrary, quantitative research study is directly associated with collecting data through questionnaire survey, structured interviews, etc., and then analyzing collected data with the help of a statistical measure. Both these techniques yield desirable results but it greatly depends on the format of the study so as to determine the best possible methodology (Tiddlier 115). This research study will be based on qualitative research procedure as it requires opinions of experts so as to highlight the solution of the research problem. Interviews will be conducted to identify the vast set of opinions and execute further analysis on research topic (Silverman 97). The interview will be hosted in United States and randomly ten to fifteen people will be selected from the queue which is witnessed in offices where gun license is obtained or renewed by individuals. This study will be totally based on primary data collection procedure and the data obtained through interview will be interpreted by the researcher. Findings and Analysis The findings of the study are aligned with the aims and objectives of the research study. There were a total of fifteen people who were interviewed by the researcher in gun offices where people usually visit to renew or apply for their respective gun licenses. The interview which was conducted outlined different opinions towards identified research problem. Firstly all the interviewee was asked directly - whether they feel that preventing gun usage by individuals can enhance societal protection. Majority of the people being interviewed replied that they to certain extent feel that preventing individuals from having gun can serve the mission of protecting society. They strongly feel that guns play a vital role in increasing the rate of crime in the society. In order to protect society from any further damage it is essential to ban guns which are a cause for much unrest in the society. On the other hand some interviewees feel that preventing individuals from holding guns can never protect society but it can negatively impact the society by disarming people to fight against crime or corruption. Though only few had come up with this opinion but it has given a new dimension to the research study. The next question which was asked was more in general context that is- what are the other factors they feel is more important in order to protect society. Through this question it was easy to determine the various other components that need to be given more importance so as to protect the society. The majority of the respondents agreed on a common factor which was human psychology. They feel that individuals need to be educated properly so that they are able to divert their minds from such crime related issues. On the other hand preventing arms will only take away the power from individuals but it would not eradicate crime from the society. In order to achieve so it is essential to spread awareness regarding crime control and its significant impact on the society. The next question which was asked was – what do they feel is the relationship between guns being banned and societal protection. Some of the respondents were not able to relate between the two as they felt that guns are often possessed by individuals to protect themselves in time of crisis. They argued about the fact that gun control can neither bring in peace nor support the mission of protecting the society. These respondents put across their own examples of having guns to protect their family and to proclaim it as a status symbol. On the contrary, majority of respondents stated that guns are often misused by individuals and by doing so they disrupt the level of stability within the society. This form of misusage of guns is an alarming factor towards proper protection of society. The respondents even stated that crime is not born through individuals possessing or using guns but it is directly associated with individuals adopting the negative aspects of these arms and creating a drastic impact on the society. Often in society it is observed that individuals possessing guns consider themselves to be superior and believes that they hold all rights toward exercising power on other individuals. This in turn is not a positive factor for the minority section of the society as they feel dominated by those having guns. The misusage of guns begins when individuals are not able to control their behavioral approach and misinterpret their liberty and power. Last question which was asked was- what is the extent to which you feel stoppage of gun usage can protect society. The majority of the respondents replied that it would help to end corruption to a great extent and it will even help in discouraging individuals from exercising their power and control over minority section. This opinion clearly reveals the fact that individuals believe that gun control can enhance protection level of society. As they previously stated in the interview that giving rights to individuals to possess guns make them exploit those rights and misuse those arms. This in turn has a negative impact on the society as a whole. In overall context, gun control has been observed to be an efficient measure to bring forth protection in the society and majority of the respondents believe that misusage of guns can accelerate the rate of corruption or crime taking place in the society. The null hypothesis is accepted in the research study on the basis of research findings whereas alternative hypothesis has been rejected in the study. Conclusion The above research paper is clearly indicating that preventing people from having guns can protect society. Here in this paper all the findings and analysis are clearly indicating that it is highly important to control the usage of guns. During the course of this paper it has been noticed that different authors have stated their views against the gun ownership. So, all these factors of the research paper are clearly supporting the null hypothesis. That is why the alternative hypothesis is discarded. Different facts, findings and examples used in this paper have clearly articulated that gun is a significant threat for the society and it is highly required to prevent the people from owning the weapon. But the research paper also has pointed out one more factor i.e. the psychological aspect of the human being. From the above paper it is very clear that controlling gun is utterly important for the protection of the society but human psychology also must be adjusted. Otherwise only the gun controlling alone cannot protect the society. Here in this paper the researcher has properly pointed out that prevention of personal gun ownership is the most important factor as far as the protection of the society is concerned. There is no shadow of doubt that the society can be protected by preventing the people from having guns. Protection of the society is a significantly important matter for any advanced civilization. This important matter can certainly be addressed by preventing the people from having guns. Works Cited Doeden, Matt. Gun Control: Preventing Violence or Crushing Constitutional Rights?. New York: Twenty-First Century Books. 2011. Print. Efrat, Asif. Governing Guns, Preventing Plunder: International Cooperation Against Illicit Trade. London: Oxford University Press. 2012. Print. Janzekovic, John and Silander, Daniel. Responsibility to Protect and Prevent: Principles, Promises and Practicalities. London: Anthem Press. 2013. Print. Lott, John. More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws, Third Edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2013. Print. Silverman. David., Qualitative Research. London: SAGE. 2010. Print. Tiddlier. Charles., Foundations of mixed methods research. California: SAGE. 2009. Print. Tracy. Sarah., Qualitative Research Methods. UK: John Wiley & Sons. 2012. Print. Read More