Sunday, May 4, 2014

Gun laws and social impact in the United States

In the United States, the right of citizens to bear arms is stated directly in the second amendment of the constitution. While this amendment clearly sums up the legality of the matter, there exists many individuals and groups in the United States who believe there right to purchase guns and ammunition is in jeopardy. Rightfully so as debates about gun control have been coming up in the United States recently. With tragedies like the shootings at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado and at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, both with multiple fatalities, these gun control activists do have some grounds for discussing tightening the hold guns in the U.S.


Recently, a gun dealer in Maryland who had been planning on selling a gun with a new technology was allegedly issued threats if he sold the weapon out of his store. The technology in the gun prevents it from firing unless the owner wears an accompanying wristwatch. This technology is seen as a major threat to anti-gun control groups whom criticized the man who is an anti-gun control activist himself.


Gun control is a major issue in the U.S. In this post we will look at some of the issues going on and answer some of the following questions:
  • Is gun control a violation of the 2nd Amendment?
  • Is gun control a viable option in the United States?
  • Do gun control Laws solve the problem?
This article found on JSTOR is a quantitative statistical analysis on the effectiveness of gun control laws. Using multiple variables, it compares the number of gun related fatalities in states with restrictions on firearms in place to those without any state regulation. The study finds that gun control has little to no effect on gun related fatalities.



This article found on JSTOR also uses quantitative statistical analysis to see if gun control legislation is the answer to reduction of gun related fatalities. In this article it is found that gun control does in fact lower the number of gun related fatalities, however the study also concludes that gun control is not enough. Socioeconomic factors as well as effectiveness of law enforcement also have an effect on gun related fatalities. The study suggests a need for legislation which covers a broad range of issues must be implemented in order to significantly reduce this issue.




Gun protest
 
from: fltimes.com
Photographer: Damian Dovarganes
Children holding up pro-gun control signs at a protest rally.
 
This is a video link to one of many gun control debates that can be found on youtube.com
 
 
This first link is to a fox news article which gives some information on the gun dealer mentioned above. This article also demonstrates the extreme nature of some anti-gun control activists in this heated controversy.
 
 
The next link is to a non-profit, non-partisan affiliated news, blogging, and scholarly articles website. It also has multiple videos where the debate over gun control is discussed by experts.
 
 
 
 

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