Gun Control in America
Gun Control in America
Authors: Zhang Jinyi Qin Yuan Chen Siqi Chen Yijie
Introduction
The United States has the highest rate of civilian gun ownership in the world with about one gun for every American. There are nearly three hundred million privately owned firearms in the United States: a hundred and six million handguns, a hundred and five million rifles, and eighty-three million shotguns. Such appalling numbers in guns make a parallel number in gun death in the United States. We can see American people’s great determination on protecting their civil right even at the price of death threat.
Most Americans do not, however, own guns, because three-quarters of people with guns own two or more. According to the General Social Survey, conducted by the National Policy Opinion Center at the University of Chicago, the prevalence of gun ownership has declined steadily in the past few decades. In 1973, there were guns in roughly one in two households in the United States; in 2010, one in three. In 1980, nearly one in three Americans owned a gun; in 2010, that figure had dropped to one in five. From the apparent statistics, we can see American people’s attitudes towards gun are differentiating dramatically. And the gun control is not simply a problem concerning with death and civil right.
Our essay focuses on the debate over gun control in America. Weighing the gun deaths and civil rights, American people have made their choice already in the form of laws, and they are still making choice facing the current situation. The destination is uncertain based on the complexity of its history, culture and economic conditions. But one thing is for sure, Americans are heading for their ideal civilized future.
I.Gun Murders and People's Debate
The memory of 6:05 P.M. on Thursday, 4 April 1968 when Martin Luther King was shot dead has not gone very far, we are astonished time and again by gun assassination and shooting rampage. The assassination of Harvey Bernard Milk, the Columbine High School massacre, the Shooting of Trayvon Martin, the Shooting of Michael Brown and the York University Shooting all make gun control a heated debate. Owning guns gives every normal person the right to resist against every inequality the government imposed on them. However, it also adds more threat to people’s life, especially political leaders like Martin Luther King who was fighting against stereotypes and inequality. A single shot originated from the balcony across the street easily deprived him of life. Even a political leader who is under the protection of many guards can be easily killed, not to mention the safety of other common people. So it leads to a strong questioning on what is the proper civil right for our human beings. A civilized nation doesn’t mean having over 30,000 gun deaths a year. A civilized nation never expects educators and parents and first responders to have plans at the ready for a shooting at their school. A civilized nation shouldn’t assert that the best solution to gun violence is for more people to have more access to more guns.
Even suffering the tragedy guns brought to them one after another, many Americans still recline to give up ownership of guns. For one thing, gun is their only effective weapon against the powerful. For another, they regard gun as a represent of civil right which is deeply rooted in every American's heart. Once gun is given up, they think, their personality as an American is lost simultaneously.
No American, of course, is in support of unrestrained freedom of guns. They never stop balancing between owning guns freely and giving up guns forever. And their rights of owning gun properly are also entitled by the law which will be further discussed in next part of the essay.
II.Legislative Act over Gun Ownership
The Declaration of Independence published in the 1776 says: all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that they are among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Although it doesn’t directly regulate the use of guns, to secure
these rights, people have tremendous freedom including the right of keeping and bearing arms.
The first law related guns is The Bill of Rights in 1791, which provides that the right of keeping and bearing arms for people shall not be infringed. This is a precautionary measure to protect the defenseless people from being helpless when facing repression of government forces and make the American individual increase the confidence in the protection of private property.
In 1934,the national gun low was published The establishment of the law regulated the gun sales, sales tax and that some certain types of guns such as machine guns require register.
After Robert Kennedy and Martin Ruud Kim were assassinated in 1968, America was shocked over and over again. The people of the whole country were immersed in the terrorist event in panic. The majority of citizens took gun problems seriously. Under this emergent situation, the gun control law is put into force. It regulates the gun dealing, limits the mail order sales and prohibits felons, fugitives, illegal immigration, drug addicts, mental patients and those who are prosecuted keeping and bearing guns. The conversion and sales of automatic weapons, semi-automatic weapons also are limited. After the 1968 gun control law is implemented, people who want to buy a gun have to show identity and sign a statement confirming that they are allowed to buy guns. Many states enact background check laws which are stricter than the federal requirements.
However, some people think forbidding gun is incompatible with liberty and the rules that some kind of people cannot keep guns do not conform to “all men are created equal”. Therefore, in 1986, Gun owners protection law, also known as Mike Lucci - Volcker Ma law passed. It makes some changes to the 1968 law limits. For instance, it allowed gun dealers and individual sellers to sale at gun show whether they have federal licenses or not.it also corrects the limit for the convicted felon.
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, published in 1997, is the largest crime bill in the history of the United States. It is a milestone of dealing with crime. The law provides the ban of some military specification accessories such as folding buttstock, pistol grip, flash suppressor, and the possession of newly manufactured magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition.
From the historical development of gun control, the management of gun is in constant adjustment and change, and it continues to develop in the struggle of supporters and opponents. However, the use of guns still cannot be completely banned. Reasons are complicated as they are concerned with many political and economic backgrounds.
III.Reasons Underneath the Surface
i.Historical and cultural reasons
Gun control is a complicated issue that involves civil rights, social order and government’s power. Overall gun control means the Constitution should be changed, but it must get support from the vast majority of senators in both chambers of Congress and most states. However, at present, there are clear clauses in constitution of forty-four among the fifty American states to protect the gun possession right of citizens. So gun control movements in America are hard to win on the federal level.
In fact, most Americans disagree to abolish gun possession right which is regulated by the Constitution. They don’t think current gun-control laws need to be changed completely. Why American citizens are so obsessed with gun possession right? It has close relationship with the history, society and cultural background of the United States.
First, gun has been used as weapons of defense for two hundred years. The United States is a country of immigrants. In the first few years after arriving on North America, people used guns to fight with beasts and bandits in reclaiming wasteland. To survive and protect families in such dangerous circumstance, almost each of the early settles had a gun. In most Americans opinion, the United States’ independence and freedom owes much to those people who owned guns. Because they stepped forward for faith at that time to fight, Americans got independence and freedom finally. In later expanding of the western frontier, guns played an important role again. After American Civil War, gun’s position in Americans’ heart was confirmed. People view possessing guns as an inalienable right. After a long period of evolution, possessing and using guns becomes a part of American lifestyle gradually.
Second, the United States is a nation which emphasizes on protecting personal privacy, private property and private space. Citizens are not willing to deliver their personal security to government completely. Or in other words, they don’t believe government has sufficient capability to provide reliable security protection. (Some examples remain to be added). They need guns to prevent threats from outlaws.
Third, on a deeper level, gun possession is used to prevent citizens from tyranny of government. Because most of the first generation of Americans came from the British, which was still under
tyranny of the king, they suffered a lot from government encroaching civil rights. The founders of American politics had developed great respect for popular sovereignty. And they remained on high alert for the power of the federal government. Thus, a bill of rights was demanded to limit government’s power. As what was regulated in United States Bill of Rights, “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Nowadays, Americans don’t need to worry about being bullied by the government. Even so, preventing citizens from tyranny of government has taken root on the bottom of American’s thoughts, becoming a kind of politics and social culture.
ii.Profit chains behind guns
The issue over gun control in America is more than a single case only relevant to the government and public. It corresponds with many groups wooing for their own interest, which makes gun control a more complex and harder problem.
When it comes to gun control, we have to mention an organization called the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). Founded in 1871, the group has informed its members about firearm related bills since 1934, and it has directly lobbied for and against legislation since 1975. The large number of members and strict organization gives it such kind of power. And it is considered as one of the top three most influential lobbying groups in Washington by observers and lawmakers. Apart from the NRA, the Gun Owners of American is another opposition power to gun control via adding pressure to the congress to pass legislation on protection of gun owners.
But the situation is not that easy. The split of the NRA and the police office makes its view on gun for self-protection less convincible to people than before. At that time, the Handgun Control Inc. is known by public.
The issue over gun control is debated over more and more fiercely due to these organizations. To some extent, the American politics is determined by the groups standing for different interest.
Conclusion
The United States is a country with the highest rate of civilian gun ownership which has caused countless gun deaths till now. Knowing the formidable force of guns, Americans are balancing the ownership of guns with their inherent civil consciousness. Seeing from the law, we can get a glimpse of how the debate over this constantly heated topic is progressing.
Under the surface of changes easily to be found in America, there are some deep reasons which are affecting American people’s decision profoundly and persistently: Their history of using gun as a revolt tool and the enormous profit chains involving guns. The lethality and complexity of gun makes it tough to handle for every American. They have already gone this far, so it won’t be that hard to swallow another period of bitter in order to build their civilized country.
References
I.Chinese Part
[1] 新浪网：美国《权利法案》2003.8.12
[2] 铁血军事网：美国不禁枪的真正原因 2006.6.25
[3] 新华网：美国最高法新裁决：所有公民都有权拥有枪 2010.6.29
[4] 人民法院报：美国枪击案与宪法第二修正案 2012.4.20
[5] 东方早报：为什么枪支管制在美国无法实施? 2012.12.16
[6]朱彦：《美国枪支法律法规的改革》
[7]财经：《重启枪支管控改革》
II.English Part
[1] CNN News: Gun violence isn't somebody else's problem, October 27, 2014
[2] 《The Declaration of Independence》1776
[3]《Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act》1997
[4] The New Yorker: Battleground America by Jill Lepore, April 23, 2012