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Should We Have Stricter Gun Control?

Following the numerous mass shooting in the United States, various things usually crop up. The bereaved families support gun control legislation, the calls for these laws increases and finally nothing much is done. After the Florida Shooting, the conversation that ensued was two-pronged: Individuals who advocate for stricter gun laws and those against it. Therefore, this situation highlights the sensitivity and controversy surrounding the subject of gun control. Mellisa et al. (143) opine that the issue surrounding the gun control in the United States can be credited to the Second Amendment, colonial history, and so on. Proponents of stricter gun laws argue that the Second Amendment was fashioned for military personnel as opposed to civilians; however, critics say that through it civilians have the right to own guns. To reduce the crime rate and mass shootings then gun control should be made stricter.

            On February 14, at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, 17 people were massacred by a 19-year-old AR-15 gun owner. The loss of lives at the school forms the basis for the implementation of strict gun control laws. According to Megan et al. (99), states that have enacted more gun control legislation tend to report fewer gun-related incidences; therefore, this argument underlines the difference made by the enactment of strict gun laws.  The failure to have more and strict gun laws increases the chances of loss of human lives that are lost because of other human beings due to misuse of personal guns. As evidenced by the Florida Shooting, the loss of human life is something that cannot be compensated, as such; the enactment of stricter gun laws will reduce the chances of an individual deciding to kill others without any remorse. 

            The implementation of stricter gun laws will result in the ban for high capacity magazines that could be used with rifles such as the AR-15. This kind of weaponry turns murder into mass murder. Blocher and Miller (298) assert that an analysis of the 62 mass shootings between 1982 and 2012 reveals that in over 50% of these shootings high-capacity magazines were used. The use of such weaponry increases the injury rate by 150% and the death rate by 63%. Therefore, these statistics conclude that a killer is turned into a killing machine by the use of high-capacity magazines. For example, in December 2014 during the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting the perpetrator used a Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle that had high-capacity magazines of 30 rounds.  Besides, in gang-related shooting gang members tend to use high-capacity magazines, so that to maximize the casualty rate as a way of compensating for the lack of accuracy.

The enactment of strict gun laws will reduce the societal costs associated with gun violence. According to Mellisa et al. (153), gun violence has resulted in the US government losing over $5 billion in tax revenues, $224 million in insurance claims, and so on. Besides, in 2010, the US government provided over $6 million that catered for 25,200 hospitalizations of gun injuries and 36, 345 emergency room visits. Taxpayer money was used to pay most of the bills of gun violence as more than 80% of the people injured did not possess insurance. Gun violence proves to be costly as it includes psychological costs, life insurance, private security, incarceration, policing, medical expenses, legal services, and so on (Blocher...