Super Dooper Blog: Midterm Evaluation - Should Background Check Gun Controls be Implemented in the United States?

One of the pros of gun control is it could reduce the high number of gun related deaths in the U.S. Every year the number of gun related deaths reach approximately 32,000. According to the chart below, the Central of Disease Control (CDC) receives millions of dollars budget to research deaths by brain trauma, falls by the elderly, Polio, Lyme disease and even mining. However when we compare the individual causes of death (except for brain trauma), we find that the death toll falls short of the 31,000 gun related death toll in 2010. It would seem rational to put some measures to reduce this death toll.

(Poster from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/no-funds-studies-gun-violence-article-1.1809263)

Stricter background checks means felons and people with mental disorders will find it more difficult to obtain guns and will prevent a specific type of gun violence pattern: gun massacre followed suicide. The culprits behind the terrible cases of school shootings such as the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 and Sandy Hook Elementary school shootings both had mental disorders. Both gunmen committed suicide after their massacres. Without background checks, these mentally disturbed people were free to go into a gun store and buy guns and ammunition without restriction. An article by the New York Times suggests:

“Swanson has found, [mental disorder] increases the risk of gun violence when that violence takes the form of suicide. According to the C.D.C., between twenty-one and forty-four per cent of those who commit suicide had previously exhibited mental health problem – as indicated by a combination of family interviews and evidence of mental health treatment found at the scene… between sixteen and thirty-three per cent had a history of psychiatric treatment” - New York Times

(Article from November 19, 2014 Link: http://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/almost-link-mental-health-gun-violence)

In other word, although not all gun violence is related to mental disorders (and some mental disorders go undiagnosed) some of the worst gun massacres in U.S. history (Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech) have been caused in the ‘murder-suicide’ pattern by people with mental disorders. These acts of meaningless violence could be prevented in the future if proper gun control laws were in place

Thirdly, other countries with tighter gun control laws have less gun related murders. This means that gun control laws are effective at stopping gun related violence, at least in other countries. The figures for the United States as can be seen from the graph are at least three times that of other OECD countries. Placing background check laws could be the first step to reducing this high figure. In countries like Norway or Germany where gun ownership saturation is much less
than the United States, tighter gun controls prevent gun related deaths.

One of the main cons of implementing background check laws is the violation of the Constitutional Right of the people – Second Amendment. The Second Amendment reads “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”. This is why unlike other countries, the United States can never truly be gun-free for its citizens. A United States citizen has a right to bear arms. Although the background check does not prohibit every ordinary citizen from bearing arms and therefore can be interpreted as in accordance with the Second Amendment, United States ranks number one in the world in gun ownership rate. Around 89 out of every 100 people own a gun. Any regulation related to guns are likely to be unpopular.

Without guns, individual households will have less security against crime. People feel safer when they have guns. 74% of criminals avoid breaking and entering houses while their owners are home because so many households have guns (http://www.safewise.com/resources/guns-at-home).

If big muscular thugs try to mug a lady in the street, they may think twice if the lady has a gun. Guns are effective at protecting oneself because of the sheer power it possesses. When the L.A. Riots broke out in 1992, protestors and looters moved to Koreatown to target Korean-American owned stores. To defend their stores, some of the Korean Americans armed themselves with guns and rifles to protect their merchandise and themselves. They positioned themselves on the roof as their stronghold against the mobs. Here is a photo and a video of the situation at that time:

(skip video to 1:28)

Gun Control laws will cost taxpayers more. This is why one state senator, Camera Bartolotta, is attempting to pass a bill that will eliminate the Pennsylvania Instant Check System (PICS) and National Instant Check System (NICS) background checks in place in Pennsylvania.

Sporting hobbies that require guns could be more difficult if stringent background check laws were to expand into further gun policies. Some people see gun shooting as part of their identity and it is not uncommon for kids to start shooting at a young age in states where there are woods nearby. The following is a video of a young girl showing expert marksman skills with the handgun. She enters various gun shooting competitions as a recreational activity.

Overall, I believe that if America wants to reduce the high number of gun related deaths, they need a strong basic gun control background check regulation that will be properly enforced. The high number of deaths by gun violence (32,000), strong correlation between mental disorder and the atrocious ‘murder-suicide’ gun violence cases (Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech) that broke the nation’s hearts and the fact that countries with gun control have less gun violence than the United States warrants a solution to prevent gun violence. Although the argument “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people” is used by people supporting deregulation of gun control, one can’t ignore the sheer power it possesses as well as the danger of an individual taking massive lives, including children. In wake of the Sandy Hook crisis in which innocent children’s lives were taken without warning, there needs to be some basic measures that aim to reduce the high number of gun violence deaths.