Every year more and more civilians die because of violence of young people, such as attackers, robbers etc. Why is it so common nowadays? Why every day of our life becomes a war? Where should we look for the explanation of the terrible statistics? The right to own firearms is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. However, this right entails a big problem, as numerous shootouts in schools, malls and churches are repeated almost weekly. Thus, the problem presupposes the observation of the issue from the various points, concerning governmental regulations, human ability to use the guns reasonably and human safety.
The fact that the government is to control the situation that occurs in society is undeniable. However, only recently the U.S. government began to reflect on the problem of mass killing. It started to respond to numerous murders of innocent people. There are a lot of examples of such permissiveness. In December 2012, 20-year-old attacker killed 20 children and seven teachers in schools of Connecticut. The gunman fired from the registered weapons, automatic rifles and two pistols. Another massive killing happened in summer 2012 when James Holmes shot 12 people in the cinema of Colorado, the U.S, at the premiere of the new movie about Batman. In December 2012 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that as a result of the use of firearms every day about 34 Americans die. He proposed a total ban on free circulation of weapons. “We’re killing each other—and we’re the only industrialized country where this happens,” Bloomberg said.
With weapons in hand, cruel people or mentally unbalanced can kill dozens. There are a lot of addicts who do not have enough money for drugs and who are ready to get them in any way possible are ready to go for the outright crime. Many mentally unstable people who do not even realize what they do are among the citizens of the country. Such people are invincible if they possess guns. They can reach their goals with only one shot and they realize it. The reason is the government which gives people the opportunity to commit crimes.
But on the other hand, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington DC are among the most criminal cities in America. And by a strange coincidence, these cities have the most stringent laws regarding the possession of weapons. In 1987, Florida allowed the citizens to buy guns. Since then, crime in the state fell by 21%, while in the whole country the increase was up to 12%. A poll of prisoners, conducted by the Ministry of Justice in prisons shows that 40% of offenders had such cases when they refused previously planned crimes because of fear that the victim might be armed. It should be noted that not the word “armed” but “may be armed” was used. This statistic shows us just one thing: the rate of crime rises where people are not afraid to get the ball back. It is better when people have a possibility to protect themselves. Armed men should not be provoked; it means there is a need to sharply limit the propaganda of violence, aggression, and immorality in the society. Armed men have to be mentally healthy and sober. Armed citizens have to be calm. They shouldn’t be annoyed by low or unpaid wages or tease humiliation of human dignity.
There are a lot of thoughts and it’s hard to understand what is better for society. But there is one obvious thing that gun ownership should be strictly controlled by the government. And if society has a lot of problems and the government can not solve them, it is better to prohibit the legalization of weapons at all. Because when a man is in despair, the gun may be the best help which can harm many people.
References:
- Biersteker Thomas J., Spiro Peter J., Sriram Chandra Lekha, Raffo Veronica. International law and international relations. New York: Routledge, 2007. Print.
- Nordstrom Carolyn. Shadows of war. Violence, power and international profiteering in the twenty-first century. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 2004. Print.
- Stim, Richard. Patent, Copyright & Trademark. 9th ed. Berkeley, CA: Nolo, 2007. Print.