Issuance of Licensed Guns Should Be Abolished

Issuance of Licensed Guns Should Be Abolished Name Institution of Affiliation Date Issuance of Licensed Guns Should Be Abolished There are increased cases of misuse of guns globally commonly referred to as gun violence. Those who misuse them engage in these behaviors, knowing that the defense for such crimes is “for self-defense”. Controlling the issuance of guns has had little to no impact on combating increased gun violence. It is difficult to differentiate those who own guns legally and those who own them illegally as people do not walk around with their gun licenses. Moreover, the proof of legal or illegal ownership of the gun only comes up after someone has killed another and this is irreversible regardless of whether the gun used was owned legally or illegally. Therefore, to fully curb the problems and deaths brought about by the ownership of guns, issuance of licensed guns should be abolished and the duty of security of citizens taken up by the government rather than individuals. To put this in context, Wintemute and Garen in their research with the view of establishing the number of guns per household in the US revealed that more than 22% of the United States population has more than two guns whereby 35% are men while 12% are women. Such a high number of guns among the citizens are not only risky to the populace but also it makes one question the role of the government in providing security to the citizens. In this modern world, it’s unjustifiable for the citizens to have such a high number of guns. Notably, the culture of ownership of the gun has its origin in the colonial history. People owned guns during these moments for various reasons, for example hunting, for personal security and later on utilized in the American revolutionary war. Some laws such as Connecticut (1643) advocated for at least one adult particularly a man in every household carry a gun in public meetings or when going to church. This was to enhance the security of such congregation. These cases brought out the culture of ownership of the gun which still persists to the present (Wintemute & Garen, 2015). However, in the present world where there are no revolutionaries or war to fight against colonialism, the number of guns owned by the citizens is extremely high and one cannot comprehend why we should have a government protecting citizens and at the same time have such a high number of guns among the same citizens in the name of self-protection. Many lives have been claimed in the US and the world at large due to the accidents and negligent use of the gun. Gun accidents are most common in homes, where people have guns for their personal defense. Most people believe that owning a gun enhances security, forgetting the fact that if one does not know how to use the gun it can lead to endangering their life. The organizations concerned only put into consideration the aspect of one owning the gun using the right means as provided by the law. Such individuals have family members, especially children who can get access to the gun, therefore, killing themselves or even the gun owner accidentally. Wintemute and Garen in investigating the various causes of high deaths in America between the years 1999- 2015, revealed that many people lost their lives due to accidents related to the usage of guns. In this regard, 10,933 deaths were registered within the period. Consequently, in 2010, over 600accidental gun deaths were registered. Also, from 2005-2010, over 1300 lives were lost due to the gun usage accidents in the US (Wintemute & Garen, 2015). If trained officers have been found to take the lives of over 330 innocent individuals in the United States accidentally, what of those who have no skills on the use of the gun? It means that more people are at risk due to gun issuance. If the issuance of the gun, whether licensed or not is stopped such cases will be reduced and thus saving the lives of many. Globally, the increased death cases are linked to many people owning guns. More than 50% of the today’s tragedies are caused by people who own guns (Wintemute & Garen, 2015). Report from Gallup polls revealed that the US is the leading in the gun deaths, six times ahead of Canada, more than 16 times ahead of Germany and more than seven times ahead of Sweden (Carlson & Darren, 2012). The increased rate of issuing of guns in America is the main reason for the higher homicide crimes. The ownership of guns happens due to lack of value to human life. The lives of many that are claimed range from children, youths, adults and even the elderly. Also, people have different problems; some develop mental problems after they have been issued with licensed guns. When the gun is owned by such individuals, for instance, those with a hot temper, they tend to overreact even on less serious issues. An individual will possess a gun legally, but subject the lives of many in danger. There is the need for the government to make guns less accessible in order to reduce these problems by stopping the issuance of licensed guns. Most of the mass shootings come from legally purchased firearms in the US. According to the review by the National Research Council on establishing the cause of the mass killings in US with the view to control the cause revealed that over 70% mass killings in the US are associated with the shootings. In the report, it was found that over 75% of the killings came from the legally purchased firearms (National research council, 2004). In addition, the report indicated that the rate of public mass shootings has tripled since the year 2011. After every two weeks, the cases of mass killings have been reported which are directly linked to the possession of firearms. In the United States over hundreds of mass shootings take place within a year. Some of the memorable cases include the Virginia Tech massacre, Oikos University shooting, 2009 Fort Hood Shooting and the 2011 Tucson shooting where many lives have been lost. These attacks happen due to most civilians owning guns and multiple weapons CITATION Gra13 \l 1033 (Duwe, 2013). The arms are legally possessed yet utilized for wrong purposes, therefore, should be taken away from these offenders as well as stop the issuance of licensed guns. Having access to a gun increases the cases of gun violence. Stroabe and Wolfgang in their research on establishing the main cause of violence in homes revealed that having a firearm at home contributes profoundly to higher chances of gun violence in homes. People ...