Gun control is quite a big issue depending on the country. For example, the United States has a gun control issue that was born from mass shootings in the country. While it is easy to say “ban all guns” to prevent shootings like the one on December 2nd, 2015 in California, it’s more complex than that. Guns are usually associated with the Police or the Army which makes sense, seeing as both industries specialise in some form of combat and people who are a part of either have the authorisation to use guns in order to protect the country. Also, completely banning guns would result in companies that specialise in gun making or shooting to go out of business. I personally think that people shouldn’t be allowed to have possession of weapons unless they have very specific qualifications and requirements that involve a thorough mental health check, seeing as quite a few mass shootings were caused by people with mental illness. This way, we should be able to prevent more injuries and deaths from occurring as well as improve the safety in the streets.
Guns not only cause physical damage to a living being. Guns can have a psychological impact on people which causes them to become more violent/aggressive and somewhat angrier. A study in 1967 that was conducted proved that when a person is exposed to a gun, they are shown to express more aggression. (The "Weapons Effect") Of course, there are other factors that could determine the severity of the aggression (such as gender, age, urbanization, census region, and driving frequency) but overall people still showed an increased amount of aggression. It is said that guns trigger fear because of a human’s ability to detect potentially dangerous items, which explains why a lot of people have a fear of spiders or snakes. ("Phobias May Be Memories Passed down in Genes from Ancestors.") In the past, our ancestors learned that snakes and spiders could poison or potentially kill us, and that reaction to the creatures was passed down to future generations. The same logic is applied to guns or other forms of weaponry since the misuse of guns result in casualties and/or death. This is why not just anyone should carry guns as civilians will unnecessarily stress out at the sight of the weapon. Guns will activate their fight-or-flight response, which is activated at the sight of something terrifying. (Hormones will be released that will prepare the person to either run away or deal with the situation that is before them). ("The Fight or Flight Response - 5 Minute Stress Mastery.")
Also, when seemingly regular citizens are in possession of guns, it lowers the safety of others around them in general. It’s not just a mental ordeal. There have been many random shootings that have happened on streets just because a teenager or an adult had a gun on them. There have also been accidental casualties caused by a gun just being in someone’s presence. Back in 2015 January, a 2-year-old toddler from Florida accidentally killed himself because he found a gun in the glove compartment of the car. ("Florida Toddler Fatally Shoots Himself with Father's Gun While Parents Load Car."). Another incident this year occurred where another 2-year-old child accidentally shot himself with the gun in his mother’s purse. ("Child, 2, Kills Self with Gun from Mom's Purse, Police Say." ). It happened when his mother turned away from her purse for a little bit. Even in very recent news, a former contestant on “The Voice”, Christina Grimmie, was shot after her Orlando concert during a meet and greet on June 11th. Finally, there was a recent shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando by an ISIS member which resulted in at least 50 deaths and 53 injuries. ("Police: 50 Killed in Florida Nightclub Terror Attack."). Over 30,000 people in the US die from firearms each year, and on average 30 people are murdered by firearms per day. ("USA Gun Violence Statistics."). If it was possible to take away guns from every average everyday citizen, the rates of death by firearm will definitely drop significantly and nobody will have to suffer losing loved ones or idols.
Some people might argue that a lot of people carry guns with them for self-defense so taking them away would put them in more danger, however, I say that a safer alternative for self-defense is to carry around a type of blade. (e.g. a pocket knife). Based on a paper that covers stab wounds to the abdomen against gunshot wounds to the abdomen, statistics show that there were 49 cases of shotgun wounds and 44 of pocket knife wounds. While those numbers are close, the death count wasn’t. 10/49 people died from the shotgun wound whilst 0/44 people died from the pocket knife wound. Also, overall there were 190 gunshot cases and 262 stab wound cases, and even with the difference, only 5.3% of the stab wound cases ended up in death. On the other hand, 17.4% of the gunshot wound cases ended in a fatality. In conclusion, carrying around a blade rather than firearms is much safer and will result in fewer deaths. ("Are Stab Wounds as Dangerous as Gun Shot Wounds?")
Overall, I think that only people with certain qualifications and requirements should be able to be in possession of guns so the death rates from guns will drop drastically. Citizens should be encouraged to carry a pocket knife if they do feel unsafe as it’ll mostly end up in a casualty rather than fatality. We would also be able to reduce the subconscious fears of getting shot on the street significantly, seeing as only specific people would be carrying them as opposed to random citizens.
Bibliography :
"The "weapons Effect"" Psychology Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 June 2016.
"USA Gun Violence Statistics." Heedinggodscall.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 June 2016.
"Phobias May Be Memories Passed down in Genes from Ancestors." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d. Web. 12 June 2016.
"The Fight or Flight Response - 5 Minute Stress Mastery." The Fight or Flight Response - 5 Minute Stress Mastery. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 June 2016.
"Are Stab Wounds as Dangerous as Gun Shot Wounds?" Deltoid. N.p., 05 Oct. 1993. Web. 12 June 2016.
Yuhas, Alan. "Mere Sight of a Gun Makes Police – and Public – More Aggressive, Experts Say." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 05 Aug. 2015. Web. 12 June 2016.
Gambino, Lauren. "Florida Toddler Fatally Shoots Himself with Father's Gun While Parents Load Car." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 22 Jan. 2015. Web. 12 June 2016.
"Child, 2, Kills Self with Gun from Mom's Purse, Police Say." KPNX. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 June 2016.
"Police: 50 Killed in Florida Nightclub Terror Attack." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 12 June 2016.
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