Gun Control in the Modern Era

In the United States citizens have a great deal of rights compared to other countries. The U.S. constitution gives citizens an unprecedent number of rights for gun ownership compared to its peer developed countries (Bokat-Lindell). The United States also has a significantly higher rate of gun related violence than developed peer countries as well (Bokat-Lindell). Although there is a need for some individuals to own arms, there should be restrictions in place match our modern society as the nation has changed since the constitution was written.

In 2018 a survey was taken to get an approximate estimate on the number of guns owned in the United States. The survey found there was about 393 million guns in the country (Bokat-Lindell). That means at that time there were more guns than there were citizens in the United States (Bokat-Lindell). This number also makes up 46% of all civilian owned firearms around the world (Bokat-Lindell). When the constitution was created there was a need for civilian defense against Britain, wild animals and dangers found in society. By having such a high number of guns in the civilian population in the modern era where those threats are no longer present, the only need for so many civilian arms are to defend one’s self from other civilians.

The unprecedented number of guns owned by U.S. citizens it would seem has a direct correlation to gun violence and death in the country. In comparison to other developed nations the United States leads the world in gun related incidents (Bokat-Lindell). The U.S. has five times as many deaths reported annually than neighboring Canada (Bokat-Lindell) who has much tighter restrictions on gun ownership. There are thirty times more murders in the United States compared to Australia (Bokat-Lindell). This is a clear indication that more restrictions need to be imposed both on the number of guns someone can own and the type of weapons they are allowed to have as a civilian in the United States.

Because of these statistics the concept of morality has to be brought into place when considering rights and freedoms in the United States. The constitution gives the right to bear arms but that right seems to conflict with the basic human right of being allowed to live without the risk of being killed or harmed by a fellow citizen. The mentality of many seems to be that “one party’s freedom to exist in peace has lost out to another’s prerogative to kill” (Bokat-Lindell). This way of thinking is outdated and as with many changes we have seen in society recently, there must be some form of control and common ground found to reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by guns each year.

The United States constitution gives the right to bear arms. It also gives the right for the pursuit of happiness. In our modern society with the number of civilian owned weapons and the high rate of gun related crimes it is clear one right is conflicting with the other. Tighter controls and restrictions need to be put into place for reducing the number of gun related crimes in the country. Because the era the Constitution was written in is now passed we as a society need to look at amending it to ensure that the rights of all are considered not just those that benefit or believe in violence.

Source

Bokat-Lindell, Spencer. “Opinion | Why America Can’t Fix Its Gun Violence Crisis.” The New York Times, 24 Mar. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/opinion/us-gun-violence.html.

Cover Image

Guliani, E. (2022, June 24). Protect people, not guns · Free Stock photo. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/protect-people-not-guns-12591439/