The Argument:
There exists a test that one must take before purchasing a gun: the background check. These checks look up the person's criminal, commercial financial records to determine whether he/she is fit to wield a firearm. That being said, background checks are the initial thresholds of obtaining a firearm, so they are important for gun distribution. Albeit, the United States' background checks are weak because of a loophole; the main condition is that only federally licensed gun dealers need to conduct background checks for gun sales ("Background Checks" 1). This means that for illegal transactions like purchasing from black markets or gun shows, no background checks need to be conducted. Consequently, over half of the criminals that used a gun to commit a crime obtained their guns through illegal transactions ("Background Checks" 2).
The main determinant for whether a person is capable of purchasing a gun or not is completely disregarded with this loophole; it makes the process of obtaining a firearm textbook for criminals. In order to alleviate the amount of gun violence there is today, the rule of background checks needs to be reexamined. More specifically, legislation should be passed so that all gun sales require a background check, or the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) should be funded sufficiently. Funding NICS would allow states to have crucial resources like records of individuals to be used in background checks.
The main determinant for whether a person is capable of purchasing a gun or not is completely disregarded with this loophole; it makes the process of obtaining a firearm textbook for criminals. In order to alleviate the amount of gun violence there is today, the rule of background checks needs to be reexamined. More specifically, legislation should be passed so that all gun sales require a background check, or the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) should be funded sufficiently. Funding NICS would allow states to have crucial resources like records of individuals to be used in background checks.
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Other Suggestions:
There have been many suggestions on methods to reduce gun violence, but a common one is the idea of banning handguns in the United States as they are the most popular firearm to commit homicides (“Gun Violence” 1). Handguns can be easily concealed, so they are the weapon of choice for people who choose to use them for self-defense; unfortunately, this means they are also the weapon of choice for criminals (“Gun Violence” 1). Since handguns are readily available on the black market and gun shows, they are easy for criminals to obtain illegally (Noyes para. 7). The majority of crimes involving firearms are committed with the use of a handgun; this is a serious problem in America today (“Gun Violence” 1). It seems sensible to believe that since handguns are the most used firearm to commit crimes, banning them would exponentially decrease the amount of homicides, but this is a popular misconception. People are attracted to handguns’ accessibility and convenience, but if they were to be taken away, criminals would flock to the next best weapon: long guns or rifles (Kleck 1458). This proposal attempts to try and alleviate the amount of gun violence by taking away handguns, but instead, it actually worsens the current situation by bringing up more lethal weapons than handguns.
Another suggestion is to simply ban all guns in the United States because they are catalysts for violence. While doing this would surely prevent gun violence, this suggestion would never be amended. There are many other groups that utilize guns like hunters, soldiers and policemen; suddenly taking away their main tool for their career would cause too much of an uproar and conflict would surely erupt. Although banning all guns would reduce gun violence, criminals would still find ways to commit crimes; they have a plethora of alternative weapons like knives or their own hands and feet (“Gun Bans Now” 1). Additionally, citizens would not have the ability to protect themselves with a firearm from an approaching criminal. David Kopel, a Brown University graduate studying history and the Former Assistant Attorney General for Colorado, stresses that the accessibility of firearms allows peaceful Americans to protect themselves when they cannot wait twenty minutes for the police to arrive. The sheer defensive power of a firearm is demonstrated as Kopel "found that Americans use guns defensively 2.5 million times a year" (Kopel 1).