Gun Ownership and Gun Control in American

Gun Ownership and Gun Control

In American culture today, guns are worshiped. Children play with toy guns, television and film glorify gun violence, teenagers show off guns to one another in order to get respect, and powerful lobbyist groups keep these weapons legal and accessible. There's something wrong with this picture. There's something wrong with a culture that believes guns are more important than feeding the hungry or sheltering the homeless. There's something wrong with a culture that worships a weapon.

Statistics show that gun ownership has done nothing more than hurt Americans. Goods for Guns, a non-profit organization, published the following facts about guns in America in their report, "National Gun Violence Statistics":

In 1999, approximately 10, 096 people were murdered by guns in the United States.

In 1998, over 30,000 people died from gunshots in the U.S.

A gun kept in the home is 22 times more likely to kill a family member or a friend than it is to be used on an intruder.

Ten children are killed by guns in the U.S. every day, on average.

In 1996, handguns were used to murder 2 people in New Zealand, 15 in Japan, 30 in Great Britian, 106 in Canada, 211 in Germany, and 9,390 in the United States. (National Gun Violence Statistics, Pg 1)

The following statistics create a clear thesis. Guns in the United States must be outlawed. The vast majority of the firearms in this country were created to kill people and that is just what they are doing. People will not truly be safe until, all guns are removed from the hands of the irresponsible and the criminal.

This paper is an in depth exploration of guns and the way that they have been employed throughout the United States. Within this paper, facts and figures will be presented which will show how guns have created a culture of fear throughout the U.S. Ultimately, the proceeding discussions will lead one to an understanding as to why guns should be outlawed. This will be done through discussions on criminals with guns, youth violence, the easy acquisition of firearms, the use of guns in suicide, and the health care costs associated with firearms.

The United States is cursed with a plague of guns. And like any disease, a cure must be found. The most obvious cure in this case is to simply eliminate the disease.

Guns in the Wrong Hands:

Clearly criminals have guns. Everybody knows that criminals have guns because everybody has seen criminals with guns on television. If the criminals on television have guns then the ones in the real world must have guns too. Though this is faulty logic, there is some truth to it. Criminals are just as influenced by media portrayals as others, as a result, most criminals would like to obtain a firearm of some sort whether they intend to use it or not.

One of the major strikes against criminal gun ownership came in the form of the 1993 Brady Bill. This particular bill was named after James Brady, the presidential press secretary who was shot and paralyzed in a 1981 assassination attempt on Ronald Regan's life. The bill essentially requires background checks and a five day waiting period for prospective gun buyers. Since it's enactment in 1993, the bill has purportedly stopped numerous dangerous criminals from obtaining guns. (Locking up Guns, Pg 1)

What the Brady bill doesn't account for is the amount of guns already in circulation. There are currently so many guns out there that it is not hard for criminals to obtain firearms. Whether at a gun shop or at a gun show, the legislation which has been enacted to keep criminals from owning guns has fallen short.

Faulty records enable terrorists, illegal aliens, and criminals to purchase guns. Over a two and a half year period, at least 9,976 convicted felons and other illegal buyers in 46 states obtained guns because of inadequate records.

Gun Violence Statistics, Pg 1)

Even if the legislation and background checks worked, criminals could always have family members or friends purchase guns for them. A study by Goods for Guns indicated that forty percent of former prison inmates who wish to obtain a gun are able to do so through an intermediary like a friend or relative.

Criminals may have other means of obtaining guns as well. Certainly most criminals who would like to use a gun in a violent crime are not opposed to stealing one. They may also be able to buy guns on the black market or obtain them through a number of other illegal loopholes in the system.

Within America's gun culture there is a subculture which is just as disturbing as the criminal culture. This is the militia/Arian nations movement that exists in the backwoods of places like Idaho and Michigan. The people within these organizations are often not stable, many stockpile weapons for wars which will never happen, some are preparing for Armageddon whereas others are preparing for a race war. The vast majority of these people do not have criminal records and as such cannot be kept from buying weapons. The result is that there is a contingent of people who have enough guns to cause a great deal of trouble should they ever decide to.

Though Timothy McVeigh did not use a gun in his attack on the Oklahoma City Federal Building, that doesn't mean that he hadn't stockpiled weapons. This particular product of the militia atmosphere in the United States is a perfect example of what can happen when unstable people are provoked to violence. McVeigh had access to many forms of weapons including guns. In this particular case he chose explosives. The next militia person or group to become involved in domestic terrorism will use whatever they can get their hands on. Certainly guns will always be a major part of the extreme right's world view.

Youth Violence:

One of the most disturbing trends in gun violence revolves around youth violence. This particular form of gun violence appears to be shifting and changing as time goes on, but it is by no means going away. Following are some statistics on youth violence in America:

Nearly 16 children died a day in 1997 as a result of a firearms homicide, suicide or unintentional shooting.

Between 1986 and 1992, the total number of children killed by firearms rose by 144%.

From 1985-1993, murders committed by people over age 25 dropped 20%; but they increased 65% among 18 to 24-year-olds and increased 165% among 14 to 17-year-olds.

Annual rates of firearm homicides for youths age 15-19 increased 155% between 1989 and 1994.

In Los Angles County between 1981 and 1992, a child between five and nine was slain, on average, every eight and a half days.

Youth Violence Statistics, Pg 1)

There are three situations where teenagers and children tend to be involved in gun violence. The first and that which has been the most long-term form of youth gun violence revolves around gangs. The second, a far more recent addition to youth gun violence, is school shootings. And the third and last, revolves around children using guns as toys. Each of these issues will be looked at closely in the following paragraphs:

1) Gang Violence:

Youth gang violence has always been a part of our nation's heritage. Throughout the years many of these gang conflicts involved scuffles and fist fights between young people. However this has changed dramatically. Since the late seventies through the present day, gang violence has become synonymous with gun violence.

In 1992, it was estimated that more than 85% of murder victims aged fifteen to nineteen were killed with firearms. Homicides of fifteen to nineteen-year-olds are more likely to involve a firearm than among any other age group. Another eye opening statistic is that between 1979 and 1991, almost 400,000 youth aged fifteen to nineteen died as the result of firearms. Homicide involving firearms have been the leading cause of death for Black males ages fifteen to nineteen since 1969. Something is wrong with having homicide by firearms the leading cause of death, of any race. Many would say that firearms are necessary to protect themselves. Has our society fallen so low that we must "protect" ourselves using deadly weapons? I would suspect that many would simply answer this question with a "yes." (Gangs and Guns, Pg 2)

There are many reasons for which youth join gangs. In some cases they join ethnic gangs because people within the gang speak their language, others join because they are looking for a surrogate family, some become involved because of a sadistic need to create fear in others, and even more join to reap benefits which accompany participation in organized crime. Regardless of why youth join gangs, one thing is for certain, those who participate in gangs are armed and dangerous.

Nowhere are gangs more prevalent than in Los Angeles County. Within this area the use of semiautomatic handguns in gang-related killings has more than quadrupled, to more than 40%. (Youth Violence Statistics, Pg 2) In 2002, gang members were responsible for over three hundred homicides. (City Declares War on Gangs, Pg 2)

Gang culture - much like militia culture - revolves around respect for firearms. Gang members take a great deal of pride in their guns and they take pride in their killing. Violence by gang members in big cities is equivalent to war. It is not uncommon for non-gang affiliated bystanders to be hit by stray bullets in gun battles perpetrated by those involved in gangs. Youth gang members use their guns mercilessly, and unlike war they don't tend to take prisoners.

If guns were not available so easily, gang members would have a much harder time participating in violent activities. If guns were outlawed, every gang member who was arrested would lose his weapon, so too would every other person carrying a firearm. Soon the supply of weapons would be down and the demand would go up. The result would be that kids trying to sell drugs on street corners would not have access to these types of weapons as easily as they do today.

School Shootings:

In 1998-99 academic year, 3,523 students were expelled for bringing a firearm to school. This is a decrease from the 5,724 students expelled in 1996-97 for bringing a firearm to school. (Gun Violence Statistics, Pg 2)

Many consider February 2, 1996 to be the official start to the modern era of school shootings. In 1996, a 14-year-old student went on a rampage at his school in Moses Lake, Washington. When the dust settled, two students and one teacher were dead. This was just the first incident to take place. From that point forward, mass attacks on schools by students in the United States have become almost commonplace. (Timeline of Shootings, Pg 1)

Between 1996 and 2003 there have been twenty-four major school shooting incidents in the United States. Casualties of these in-school shootings include five teachers and thirty-five students. Numerous bystanders were wounded in many of the incidents as well. (Timeline of Shootings, Pg 1)

Perhaps the most infamous of these school shootings was that which took place on April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, two local teenage boys, marched into their school on that morning armed with an assortment of guns, knives, and bombs. They subsequently killed twelve classmates and one teacher. They wounded twenty-three other students as well before turning their weapons on themselves. Investigations following the incident discovered that the two boys had been planning the attack for a year and were motivated in part by Adolf Hitler and Aryan Nations propaganda. (Reconstructing the Horror, Pg 1-5)

Klebold and Harris used an assortment of weapons in their rampage. The following items were used in the attack:

One TEC DC 9, modified semi-automatic pistol

One sawed-off double-barrel shotgun

One 9 mm semi-automatic rifle

More than 30 homemade explosives, including pipe bombs, crude hand grenades and a propane tank with explosives attached. (Weapons Used in the Shooting Pg. 1)

Though they carried explosives and knives, these items were not employed as frequently as the firearms. Indeed, though some of the bombs were effective, many of them simply didn't work. The carnage unleashed at Columbine was primarily due to the easy access these young men had to guns.

Robyn Anderson, a friend of Klebold and Harris, bought the shotguns and the Hi-Point 9mm Carbine at the Tanner Gun Show in December of 1988 from unlicensed sellers. Because Anderson purchased the guns for someone else, the transition constituted an illegal "straw purchase." Klebold and Harris bought the TEC-DC9 from a pizza shop employee named Mark Manes, who knew they were too young to purchase an assault pistol, but nevertheless sold it to them for $500. (Violence Policy Center, Pg 1)

In other words a seventeen-year-old and an eighteen-year-old with no other criminal connections had no problem whatsoever acquiring weapons which they wished to use on their classmates. The access that these two young men had to both weapons and ammunition (bought at the local K-Mart) is extremely disturbing. None of the weapons used during the Columbine incident had any function other than for use on human beings. These weapons were not designed for hunting or target practice, they were designed to be used as they were: to kill people.

The school shooting incidents reflect a disturbing trend among teenagers. There is a belief that guns and violence are the answer to their problems. On the one hand this belief has been built up by videogames and Hollywood. The Hollywood action hero - the person the audience is supposed to empathize with - routinely dispatches his enemies with extreme prejudice. On the other hand, politicians, police officers, and military veterans are often opposed to any type of gun control legislation. In other words, real world people, not movie heroes, support one's right to own a gun. To the teenage mind, this support of firearms often equates to the idea that "guns are good." And it doesn't take much for an immature teenage mind to redefine "guns are good" into "using guns to solve problems is a good as well."

Small Children:

In February of 2000, a scuffle took place on an elementary school playground. The participants were two first grade children, both six years old. One was a boy whose name has not been revealed. The other was a girl named Kyla Rolland. After the scuffle the school day ended like most school days do. However, the boy was still upset about his conflict with Kyla. So while he was home that night, he took a loaded.32-caliber pistol from the closet.

The next day when the six-year-old boy saw the girl in their first grade classroom, he shot her in the neck. The girl died in a hospital a half hour later. It is unlikely that the boy really understood what he was doing... (McDonald, Pg 1-2)

As American gun culture provides ample images of people who are "cool" using guns, children often seek out these weapons. They want to hold them. They want to play with them. They want to shoot them. In many cases they simply do not understand what they are holding. Following are some statistics about kids and guns:

On average, 4 to 5 children died every day in non-homicide firearm incidents from 1995-2000.

In 2001, there were 14,571 kids injured by a firearm - and an additional 13,572 kids were injured from BB or pellet guns.

The overall firearm-related death rate among U.S. children aged less than 15 years was nearly 12 times higher than among children in 25 other industrialized countries.

Forty percent of American households with children have guns.

Two thirds of students in grades 6-12 say they could obtain a firearm within 24 hours. (Kids and Guns, Pg 1)

There are few countries in the world which allow children such unencumbered access to firearms. There are few countries in the nation wherein parents concern themselves with whether or not their child should play with another child because of what the child's parents may or may not have. In the United States many parents are truly concerned about the access to weapons that their children's friends might have. (Kids and Guns, Pg 2)

The reality is that a responsible gun owner could easily prevent a child from attaining access to a gun. They could put it in a safe or put a gun lock on it, but as the preceding figures show many gun owners are far from responsible and their children pay the price for their own infatuation with firearms.

Acquisition of a Firearm:

One of the primary arguments made by the National Rifle Association and others who staunchly defend the second amendment is that if guns were taken away only criminals would have guns. This may be true, but the question is how did they get said guns? How easy is it to obtain a weapon in the United States?

The reality is that it is quite easy. Gun stores and pawn shops abound. Flea markets and gun shows are relatively unregulated places wherein almost anyone can buy a gun. In Michael Moore's excellent documentary on American gun culture "Bowling for Columbine," Moore exposes a bank which provides its customers with a free gun simply for opening a new account. In a country which worships firearms guns are simply not that hard to obtain.

According to government figures, 89% of crime guns traced have changed hands at least once.

Nearly 1 in 3 guns recovered in a crime are less than three years old.

Gun shows and flea markets are the second leading source for guns illegally trafficked.

A federal study found that almost 26,000 guns recovered in crime came from a gun show or a flea market - a typical investigation involved 131 illegal guns trafficked.

In gun show investigations, felons are associated with selling or buying a gun 46% or the time - In more than a third of the investigations, guns were found to have been involved in subsequent crimes, including assault, robbery, burglary, and homicide.

Approximately 43% of crime guns traced are recovered from individuals under 25 years old. - Ten percent of guns used in crime by juveniles were sold either at a gun show or at a flea market.

Unlicensed sellers amass up to one-half of the dealers at gun shows and flea markets.

States that do not require gun show background checks are more likely to export crime guns to other states.

Trafficking of Illegal Guns, Pg 1)

The reality is that tracking weapons after they've been sold is nearly impossible. Certainly after a crime takes place, the police investigate the history of a given weapon as they did in the Columbine incident. However, a post crime investigation on the history of a weapon is simply too late. The victim of the shooting has already suffered either an injury or death. Where the gun came from or how it got into the hands of a criminal no longer matters to the victim.

The authorities have a tremendously difficult time regulating and investigating crimes committed with large visible vehicles. Stolen cars are often not found, large amounts of agricultural products are transported into places that they are not supposed to be, and entire trailers full of illegal immigrants cross the boarder on a regular basis. What would make anyone believe that the authorities have the means to follow all of the legal sales of a given weapon much less the illegal movements of it? Guns, handguns in particular, are small and are easily moved between people and places. Until guns are simply outlawed this movement will continue to take place.

Suicide:

Most teenagers go through multiple periods of depression during their adolescence. Many of them consider suicide at one point or another, but most do not go through with it. Unfortunately there is a contingent of teens who do commit suicide. Many of them use a firearm.

Certainly adults are not immune to the temptation of suicide either. This particular crime tends to peak in the teen years, but people of all ages are prone to depression and with that the possibility of suicide.

The New England Journal of Medicine has determined that the presence of a gun in the home increases the risk of suicide fivefold. (Guns and Suicide, Pg 1)

On average between the years of 1991-2000, 1,323 kids committed suicide with a firearm each year; more than 150 each year were kids under 15 years-old. (Kids and Guns, Pg 1)

Firearms are a highly lethal means of suicide. One study found that 92% of suicide attempts with a firearm result in a fatality. (Guns and Suicide, Pg 1)

Suicide by firearms was the most common method for both men and women, accounting for 57% of all suicides, according the National Institute of Mental Health. (Guns and Suicide, Pg 1)

Among persons aged 15-19 years, firearm-related suicides accounted for 62% of the increase in the overall rate of suicide from 1980-1997. (Guns and Suicide, Pg 1)

In 1997, guns were used in 17,566 suicides, compared with 13,522 homicides, according to the National Vital Statistics Report. (Guns and Suicide, Pg 1)

The last statistic is perhaps the most disturbing of them all. In 1997 there were over four thousand more suicides using guns than there were homicides. This figure alone lends tremendous credibility to arguments against owning a firearm. The obvious assumption to be made from these statistics is that if a weapon is not available immediately, the likelihood of a suicide attempt goes down.

There are currently no readily available statistics which correlate a lack of access to firearms with suicide attempts. This is partially because any such statistic would be skewed. How would the statisticians know the number of people who ultimately decided against suicide because a weapon was not there during times of crisis?