Reforming gun laws through transparency, oversight, and background checks

Gun Laws

To begin, gun laws of late have become a very contentious issue for politicians and society at large. In one instance policy makes must appease their natural funding constituency in regards to their basic rights to bare arms. However, they also must consider the broader implications of their policy actions on society at large. When juxtaposed against one another, a very contentious and often emotional debate arises. Many agree however, that gun laws must be altered to reflect the changing operating environment our world functions in. With the advent of globalization and e-commerce, new threats to society and the general public have become very profound. Immigration laws have allowed millions of undocumented individuals into the nation. These individuals have the ability to obtain firearms, and other armaments that could jeopardized the safety of the American public. E-commerce allows individuals to hide behind aliases and convoluted processes when purchasing weapons. Due in part to these aspects, gun laws should be changed to create greater transparency in regards to purchases, greater oversight when purchases are made, and more information regarding the individuals purchasing the products (Ozanne-Smith, 2004).

Needs and implementation strategy

In regards to needs and implementation, the needs of the community at large should take precedence. Society must have freedom as the nation is predicated on this principle. As such the implementation should be universal to reflect the global nature of the gun control. Laws enacted should apply to every state and should be applied immediately after they are enacted. Deterrents should also be implemented and shared throughout the nation. Best practices in the implementation of deterrents and legislation should also be seamless. Aspects such as excessive bureaucracy and cost should be eliminated at all levels. Bureaucracy in particular is troublesome to the overall implementation of the strategy as it causes unnecessary time lapses. In addition, bureaucracy makes adjustments both costly and ineffective as agencies are unable to respond to changing dynamics in the gun community. As such, in regards to implementation, the solution must be universal enough to apply to the entire nation, but flexibly enough to allow law enforcement and the community to react in a timely fashion.

Conclusion

In conclusion, gun violence is a very contentious issue that affects all of civilization. From school shooting, to bombings, to terrorist attacks, gun violence is rooted in them all. As such, it is important to deter would be criminals while also providing incentives to use guns appropriately. This in combination with stiffer penalties will allow the nation to better curtail violent acts of crime. Although the strategies mentioned above will not completely eliminate gun violence, it will do much to deter its occurrence. Through these measures both the nation and society at large will become a better place to live.

Stakeholders

Stake

Resources

Action channels open to stakeholders

Prob. Of participation and manner of doing so Influence

Implications for implementation strategy

Affected action plan elements

Individual Citizens

Life, enjoyment, peace, freedom

Collectivism, used of the community at large, money, expertise

Voting, protests, neighborhood watch programs

Participation through voting and/or protests

Heavy

Individual citizens must be the first to implement the strategy

Teaching, deterring, and incentives

Businesses

Income, profit, revenue

Money, physical resources, connections

Legislation, lobbying

80% participation through lobbying

Heavy

Businesses must be more vigilant in their oversight and protection of customers

Deterring

Police

Life, Family time, enjoyment

Limited to police personnel, joint ventures and tips

Gun programs, patrols, intelligence from joint ventures

Participation through more hiring, oversight and community involvement

Moderate

Hire more police, patrol more often

Deterring

Government

Re-election, an unruly society, lack of justice or perception thereof

Theatrically, gov't resources are unlimited as they can print money

Police, legislation, FBI, CIA, military

Participation through legislation and physical force if a situation becomes dire

Heavy

Enact very powerful and comprehensive gun reform

Incentives, Deterring behavior

References:

1. Ozanne-Smith, J;, K Ashby, S Newstead, VZ Stathakis and a Clapperton. "Firearm related deaths: the impact of regulatory reform." Prevention 2004;10:190-286.

2. Chapman, S;, Alpers, P., Agho, K. And Jones, M. "Australia's 1996 gun law reforms: faster falls in firearm deaths, firearm suicides, and a decade without mass shootings." Injury Prevention 2006; 12:365-372.

3. Mouzos, Jenny; & Reuter, P (2002). Ludwig J & Cook PJ, ed. Australia: a massive buyback of low-risk guns. Evaluating Gun Policy: Effects on Crime and Violence. The Brookings Institution, Washington.

4. Baker, Jeanine; & McPhedran, Samara (2006-10-18). "Gun Laws and Sudden Death: Did the Australian Firearms Legislation of 1996 Make a Difference?." British Journal of Criminology (3): 455