Crackdown on Guns

Guns have been used for self-defense and recreational purposes in the United States ever since the arrival of the European settlers. Guns have also been recently involved in crime throughout the United States. This directly results in the murder of civilians because guns end up in the hands of irresponsible individuals and result in these casualties such as the instance in Virginia Tech. The case of the Virginia Tech shooting was one where a student who was presented as “In imminent danger to himself due to mental illness” after being evaluated in a mental hospital purchased two pistols and killed 32 people. To prevent tragedies such as the Virginia tech shooting from happening again, there needs to be stronger gun control laws throughout the United States. Stronger gun control laws would result in the prevention in illegal transactions, the promotion of a stronger background check system and the increase of the safety of the citizens of the United States.
Stronger gun control laws would result in the prevention of illegal transaction by causing the prevention of variability in gun shows, the prevention of unlicensed dealers exchanging guns, and unlicensed sellers may not perform background checks, resulting in guns getting the hands of criminals. Mayor Bloomberg analyzed three gun shows between May and August of 2009. During this time, 19 of 30 of gun vendors interviewed
by an investigator were barred from having legal possession of the guns that they were currently selling and16 of 17 different gun vendors sold to straw buyers, buyers who then gave their guns to people who were not legally eligible to buy a gun, a federal offense.
This is known as the gun show loophole which results in people purchasing guns without receiving background checks. ("Targeting Gun Shows.") These unlicensed guns could end up in the hands of criminals and other irresponsible individuals and present a major risk to the citizens of the United States by causing gun related crimes with illegally purchased guns. By closing the gun show loophole, illegal transactions would be prevented and far fewer guns would end up in the hands of people who are legally ineligible to have possession of guns.
Stronger gun control laws would promote a stronger background check system which would result in shootings such as the case in Virginia tech being prevented, mental health being taken into account and guns being less available to minorities. Current gun control laws do not allow individuals who had been sentenced to or convicted for more than one year of prison, fugitives, drug addicts, mentally defective or insane people, non-citizens, those dishonorably discharged from the military, individuals restrained by court order for threatening the safety of their partner and individuals who caused a domestic disturbance. The FBI or the state is legally required to perform a background check on any individual purchasing a gun during a 5 day waiting period which allows the FBI to check for any disqualifications for the right to purchase a gun. There are cases though that people that are unqualified do receive weapons such as the gunman who caused the Virginia tech shootings because mental health records are not often submitted. This caused the deadly shooting at Virginia tech. and could have been prevented if mental health was taken into account. Because of a stronger background check system, there would be more control over the exchange of guns throughout the United States, resulting in guns being less accessible. ("Gun Background Checks.")
Stronger gun control laws would increase the security of the citizens of the United States by keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and mentally unstable people, prevents the trafficking of illegal guns and Guns would end up in the hands of minorities in less instances. Gun crime is frequent in the United States and this has caused a massive death toll due to gun related crimes. Gun related crimes are more prominent in the US than other countries such as England. With all of the handguns in the United States estimating 50-70 million as of 2003, it is easy for there to be illegal trafficking of these lethal and concealable weapons. With a decrease of the amount of these weapons available due to an increase in the amount of gun control laws and with the prevention of illegal transaction and trafficking, there would be a reduced threat of gun violence throughout the United States. (Hartwood, Gun Control-Opposing viewpoints) Another is the impact of guns on minors, adolescents and young adults. The Columbine shooting was tragic and it shows that society has a very powerful influence on kids and young adults because of the rise of the first person shooter. A kid could be so enraged and depressed that he becomes berserk, grabs a gun and causes a massacre just as the kids in the Columbine shooting and the student at Virginia tech had which resulted in the deaths of dozens of people. To counteract these incidents, parents need to be aware of what actions their children are partaking in and how it is affecting them which would reduce the amount of tragedies that occur. (Tucker. Gun Control-Opposing viewpoints)

Overall, guns need to be controlled when they are in the hands of people to prevent the illegal exchange of guns by using a stronger background check system which would reduce the amount of violence each year in the United States in order to protect the lives of citizens. With stronger gun control laws which promote the following causes, the United States would be in a much better state than it would be without the implementation of stronger gun control laws.

Works Cited

Hartwood, Richard, and Cynthia Tucker. Gun Control-Opposing viewpoints. N.p.:

Bonnie, 2003. Print. edited by Helen Conthran
Issues and Controversies. "Gun Background Checks." Facts.com Issues and

Controversies. N.p., 11 May 2007. Web. 21 Mar. 2010.
<http://2facts.es.vrc.schoolaid.net/>.
Los Angles Times. "Targeting Gun Shows." Los Angles Times 16 Oct. 2009: A.30.

SIRS Researcher. Web. 30 Mar. 2010.
<http://sks.sirs.es.vrc.schoolaid.net/>.