The term gun control in simple words mean the controlling of arms that is weapons or rather deadliest weapons used to take away lives of many at large. The term gun here means weapons and gun control here means controlling of weapons being used. The weapons which are quite deadly in nature are now seen used by almost everyone. Whether legally purchased and used or illegally purchased and being used. Gun control is one of the most controversial topics of discussion.
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One bright morning, an individual adult went out for work and was shot dead on the road on his way to work. Was he a victim of circumstances or could this have been controlled easily by inventing certain laws? Another such incident where a school student was again shot dead on his way to school and the similar question arises here as well that whether he was a victim of the situation or his life could have been saved if there would have been proper laws related to gun control.
Many people dies due to gun related misuse everyday and a data report states that around five lakhs of individuals die every year because of this. Should guns be provided or not have always been a hot topic of discussion since decades but have no actual outcome. Well individuals should be allowed to keep guns only for their protection and should have a record on where, when and they have used it so as to keep the society and other individuals safe and secure.
In simple and compact form gun control may be understood as a set of rules and regulations all related to the use of guns, its manufacturing, possession, license and every other thing related to it. Many countries around the globe have very precise laws related to it that is to say the use of gun around many countries is quite restrictive in nature. Some of the legislations keep the use of gun quite precisely whereas there happens to be countries as well which are quite lineant with the same.
The USA is the most affected place with the problem of mass shooting and massive death happening due to gun and shooting. The use of gun is something which is used or should be used to simply provide security and protection to the peoples of the nation and not hampering the people in a manner that is destructive in nature.
There happens to be certain advantages and disadvantages of gun control which are discussed as follows:-
ADVANTAGES-
Most of the mass shootings comes from legally purchased gun- Gun control is very much important as maximum amount of shooting that happens in a particular nation tends to be happening from the guns which are purchased legally with proper license and documents. Gun control will actually help a lot in controlling these mass shootings which will further safe lives of many who turns out to be victims of the circumstances and not the actual culprit.
Having access to a gun increases violence- Gun control will help in decreasing violence as having easily access to gun have just lead to increase the violence and crime rate in the nation and thus have even created an environment of fear and stress. Therefore gun control will help in reducing the violence and will contribute in making the world a better place to live in.
People who should not have guns can still purchase- There are for sure certain people who should not posses guns and arms like the elderly, the minor or even the unsound minded ones, but can still purchase them but with the help of arm control the unnecessary purchase of guns and arms can be stopped and restricted thus creating a better and sound environment.
Gun control does not requires confiscation- Gun control does not meaning taking away the possession or seizing away of someone’s property rather it will help the nation only at larger scale for the betterment of the earth and humanity at large.
Can reduce accidental injuries- There happens to be a lot of accidental injuries for example say due to having guns and arms wrong persons might or may get killed if the arm is in the wrong hand, but with the gun control this issue will be solved permanently and accidental injuries will start reducing at greater space.
Easy access leads to more crime- Easy availability of the wrong thing will lead to the access and increase of more crime. The easy availability of the arm will lead to more crime as the human mind will then stop thinking logically and in every heat of the moment will simply try to attack but with the help of gun control this too can be stopped and controlled.
More gun control will reduce suicide rates
There happens to be a lot of increased suicide rates due to increased threat happening because of the availability of these guns and arms at large but with the help of the gun control the suicide rates will also decrease and reduce as the threat rate will reduce.
Wide ship ownership will lead it to fall in wrong hands- The ownership of the arms and guns are quite wide spread and thus the easy availability of the same will lead it to fall in to the wrong hands thus causing harm at large.
Increase public confident- Gun controls will help in increasing the confidence of the public as the threat to life and endangered of the human life will decrease. Gun control will only add up benefits at the wider space.
Decrease domestic violence- Gun control will even help in reducing the rate of domestic cases and will empower women too. Domestic violence cases will also be reduced as the gun control will come in force.
DISADVANTAGES-
May create black market– Gun control will lead in creating black market as people will start smuggling and buying the arm in the wrong way. Thus the control on gun or rather gun control will lead to black market tremendously.
Few guns will not change the condition of heart– Stopping an individual from buying or selling of guns will not change the characteristics of that individual as the hatred or the violence the individual have will stay with them till the very end thus the gun control will not change the hearts.
Most gun related death is from suicide– The habit or the passion of having gun and keeping it along with themselves is quite high and when an individual will lack in this and cannot be able to fund himself to fetch the arm or the gun, this will turn him to be suicidal in nature henceforth hampering his own life, his own mental stability and even harassing the near and dear ones as well.
People fear gun because they do not understand them– The fear of gun is because nobody understands the use of the gun the purpose of the gun. It is always been seen as something which is wrong to have possession of or something which is wrong to carry but in reality guns and arms are there for the protection of the individuals and an individual should not fear them. But the portray of having arms is made up in such a way and manner that it only creates a sense of threat in the minds of the commoners. Thus the gun control will further create another sense of threats in the mind of the citizens.
It will not change the value of human life– Gun control will no longer or will not at any sense serve to change the value of human life and the importance of the same. One law imposed and the person addicted to arms will find hundreds of way to purchase and use the arms or guns, thus the value of the life of the human does not change. If someone wishes that person to die then it will happen irrespective of anything.
Citizens have the right to bear arm– According to the basic fundamental rights of the citizens, the citizens have the right to bear arm and gun control may in some manner or the other stop them in having possession. Carrying of arms acts as a mode of protection too but the gun control may turn out to be a barrier in the right of having the gun.
Will hike criminal business– Since gun control will take place, the individuals who are addicted to guns and arms or who need it will try to have them at any cost. And this will lead to an adding hand of smuggling for the same henceforth leading to more crimes and arising of more criminal minds in the nation at large.
It will not help in reducing crime rates– Gun control at no sense or cost will help in reducing the crime rates as it will only help in adding up of crime rates as smuggling of the same will increase. Gun control in no way will reduce crime rate and this is one important point to be thought of at a serious note.
Will make the government too powerful– Gun control will some way or the rather boost the government thus making him strong, strong in a way which will not add any value to the nation or the citizens but will only add value to the government individually and specifically.
Increased terrorism– Gun control will lead to an increase in terrorism as black market and smuggling will tend to start happening at higher scale which will add up to the creation of the terrorism taking place thus hampering and destroying all widely and the youths specifically.
Nowhere in the world is gun control more controversial than that in the USA where the possession of the gun is constitutionally protected but murders and violence and crime happening with gun is absolutely okay and common. Gun control is one of the most important issues in American politics and worldwide too.
With each mass shooting defined as four or more victims having been killed indiscriminately antagonism grows between both sides of the gun control argument. Proponents of stricter gun regulations fear for their safety in a country where there is an average of 88 guns per 100 people, according to the 2011 Small Arms Survey.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence estimates that around 114,994 people are shot each year in the US. This includes murders, assaults, accidents, police intervention, suicide attempts, and suicides. Opponents of regulatory arguments, however, also fear a loss of safety. They argue that restricting the right to bear arms would leave citizens unable to protect themselves in their daily lives or, in a worst-case scenario, from a government turned against the people. Though regulations vary from state to state, there are a few key conditions for obtaining guns in the US.
There are some facts about gun control in the USA which are discussed as follows:-
1. Is there any minimum age limit for the possession of a gun?
The Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA), which regulates firearms at the federal level. Requires that citizens and legal residents must be at least 18 years of age to purchase shotguns or rifles and ammunition. Or any other sort of weapons and guns and arms. All other firearms handguns, for example can only be sold to people 21 years of age and older. State or local officials may implement higher age restrictions but are not allowed to lower the federal minimum.
2. Who all are restricted from purchasing or possessing firearms?
Fugitives, people deemed a danger to society and patients involuntarily committed to mental institutions or of unsound minds are among those who may not purchase firearms. People with prior convictions that include a prison sentence exceeding one year, or carrying sentences of more than two years, are also prohibited from purchasing firearms. Federal law also stops the sale of guns to people who have been found guilty of unlawfully possessing or using controlled substances within the past year.
3. Does the federal or state government regulate firearms?
The Second Amendment serves as the legal basis for the “right of the people to keep and bear arms.” Though state and local governments regulate whether residents may, for example, carry guns in public, laws regulating who may receive or possess guns are set out at the federal level. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), a division of the Department of Justice, administers the GCA. The ATF also regulates the standards for issuing licenses to gun vendors. Shotguns, rifles, machine guns, firearm mufflers and silencers are regulated by the National Firearms Act of 1934. The purchase of semi-automatic weapons is legal in most states, as are automatic weapons made before 1986.
4. Who may sell the arms and guns?
Any individual having the license to sell the arms authorised by the government may sell arms. Selling of arms takes places online also in authorised and unauthorised websites as well.
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GUN CONTROL LAWS:-
Current gun control laws in the United States are varied by state and federal level laws are most often very broad, wide rules, as opposed to specific, detailed rules on how guns are to be regulated. Never the less, understanding the most important federal gun control laws of today will be important for any who aim to become gun owners.
Title I of US federal gun control laws is the Gun Control Act of 1968. This gun control law prohibits certain categories of individuals from possessing firearms. Some of the categories include convicted felons, fugitives from justice, unlawful drug users, and those who have been dishonourably discharged from the military.
This gun control law also prohibits people younger than 18 years old from “possessing handguns or handgun ammunition. But with some certain exceptions for employment, target practice, education,” and certain outlined defensive purposes.
The Gun Control Act is also the first gun control law that set up Federal Firearms Licenses, for individuals and companies who wish to sell firearms. No one and no company without a Federal Firearms License could sell guns, under this gun control law’s provisions.
Title II of America’s federal gun control laws is the National Firearms Act of 1934. The act while old and somewhat overruled by newer gun control laws. Some laws Still hold relevance to America’s general gun control policies.
This particular gun control law enforces the regulation of a number of types of firearms, including machine guns, short barreled rifles, short barreled shot guns, suppressors, and “destructive devices,” which includes grenades, bombs, and the like. In essence, the act ensures that these items will only be made by specifically licensed gun makers in America, and that their usage will generally, therefore, be curtailed.
The Gun Control Act of 1968
built onto the regulations set up by this earlier gun control law, by stating that the firearms regulated by the NFA were illegal to import, unless there could be a clear and reasonable case made for those firearms being used for sport. Thus, the two gun control laws together restrict these categories of weapons strongly, as they cannot be imported, and can only be made in America by specifically licensed companies.
The next most important gun control law is the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. This act required that those who would purchase guns be run through a background check before they are being allowed to actually obtain a gun. This is one of the most impressive contested gun control laws in recent memory. As it originally greatly increased the waiting period required for obtaining a gun; when the gun control law came out. There was no quick and easy way to perform a background check. Four years later, however, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, was developed. And is implemented for all background checks made to satisfy the requirements of this gun control law.
The NICS system allows for background checks to take place often over the space of a single phone call. Should a request for a background check be placed, and no denial comes within three days. Then the individual may purchase a firearm. And even if the background check technically did not complete.
There are other gun control laws of significance. Including a currently proposed reinstatement of the ban on assault weapons which expired in 2004. But the majority of these are likely to state, not federal, laws, particular to your own home. The previously mentioned laws are the most important federal gun control laws for gun purchasers.
{The gun control laws have been taken or the citation of the gun control law is from www.guns.laws.com respectively}.