Cases of random shootings in public places in the United States have increased significantly in the recent years. In 2017 October, 58 people died and over 500 others were injured in a massacre during a music concert that was held in Las Vegas. A month later, armed people attacked a church in Texas and killed 26 people (Robbins, 2018). Gun-related massacres have also taken place in schools; in the year 2012, 26 people died when armed attackers struck the Sandy Hook school in Connecticut. This year, a 19-year-old man attacked a high school in Florida, leaving 19 people dead (BBC News, 2018). The Las Vegas incident is described as “the worst mass shooting in US history” (Robbins, 2018 para.1), but it is evident that mass shootings are a common phenomenon in the U.S. Surprisingly, the country does not take gun control seriously. More precisely, little attention is paid to the issue of gun control despite it being clear that urgent action needs to be taken in order to prevent gun-related massacres. According to Ehrenfreund and Goldfarb (2015), a survey done across Americans reveals that the people do not consider it necessary to enforce stricter laws on gun control. More worrying, the popularity of gun control in the U.S. has taken a downward trend in recent years. This is the case even when it is clear that states that have enforced strict laws on gun control record fewer gun-related deaths as compared to those whose laws are somewhat lax (Ehrenfreund & Goldfarb, 2015). In light of this, the position taken in this paper is that gun control measures are urgently needed in the U.S. in order to curb the rapidly growing menace of gun violence in the nation.
When strict gun control policies and legislations are put in place, there will be a substantial decline in gun-related deaths and injuries. A comparative study done in the U.S. in the year 2011 revealed that the states that have enacted restrictions on gun control recorded the least number of firearm deaths. Specifically, it has been found that states that have created requirements concerning gun storage, as well as those that prohibit the use of assault weapons have fewer deaths as compared to those states where such restrictions are either absent or lax (Ehrenfreund & Goldfarb, 2015). Commenting on the recent incidents in the U.S., Robbins (2018) states that mass shootings will only be reduced or curbed if the unchecked freedom that Americans enjoy is reviewed. The author observes that Americans “are free to stockpile weapons…, order ammo online [and] outfit [their] guns with bump stocks” (Robbins, 2018 para.3). Without doubt, this freedom comes at a very exorbitant cost: innocent people being attacked and killed on an almost daily basis. Such a report reinforces the argument that gun control measures are required as one of the primary interventions to the mass shootings problem ailing the U.S.
A significant number of the mass shootings recorded recently in the U.S. have been perpetrated using legally acquired weapons, but most of the people involved have a tainted criminal record. This is to say that even though illegal procurement of guns in the U.S. cannot be said to be the main reason for the growing prevalence of gun-related massacres, there is still need to impose gun control measures to make sure that people in possession of firearms do not pose danger to citizens. In a report published in The Guardian, Chalabi (2015, para.9) documents that “some of the killers [implicated in the recent mass shootings] should never have been able to make those seemingly legal purchases”. This is because most of the people who own guns, and who use these weapons for mass shootings have either a criminal history or use drugs. From this, it becomes clear that besides enforcing strict laws concerning gun purchase and possess, the government also needs to work with the FBI so that background checks are done on every individual who applies to buy a firearm. This way, incidents of random shootings will be reduced significantly.
In reference to the finding that gun control is not a popular topic in the U.S., it is worth noting that despite the clearly-identifiable benefits of having gun control measures, some counterarguments to this proposal have been made. For example, opponents of the gun control proposal argue that not all neighborhoods in the country are affected by the problem. The argument is that gun violence has an element of racial disparity; gun-related massacres are concentrated in the neighborhoods where racial segregation is highest. Critics also argue that gun control measures may not work in the U.S. given the enormity of the problem. It is perceived that destroying all illegal firearms in the U.S. would cost the government a huge amount of money (Beckett et al., 2016). Whilst there is some logic in these concerns, it is worth borrowing a leaf from Australia, a country that has not witnessed a large-casualty incident of mass shooting since 1996. Responding to a mass shooting incident in 1996, Australia’s conservative leader at that time enforced sweeping reforms to gun legislations. The government destroyed approximately 1 million weapons, and mass shootings in the country have reduced by a very big margin (Beckett et al., 2016). The Australian example validates the proposal to have strict gun control laws in the U.S.
Aside from the mass shootings that have been executed incidentally in public spaces in the U.S, cases of accidental injuries from unintentional shootings have also been on the rise. These cases will be greatly reduced if laws on gun control are passed and enforced. According to Vittana (2018), in the year 2010 alone, more than 600 people died due to unintentional shootings. The sad part is that a majority of the peo0ple that have died as a result of these unintentional shootings are in their early adulthood. Thankfully, it has been established that more than 30% of these deaths could have been prevented if restrictions or laws were present, for example, those regulating gun ownership and use. This is important, more so when it is considered that risk of violence increases where one has access to weapons. In a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine, it was reported that people who live in homes where there is a gun are 40 times more likely to suffer the consequences of homicide as compared to those living in firearm-free homes (Vittana, 2018).
Enforcing strict measures on gun control is the only way to put to an end the growing incidence of gun-related massacres in the U.S., thereby eliminating the gun culture that has prevailed in the country for a long time. It has already been mentioned that inasmuch as many lives are being lost on an almost daily basis, gun control is not something that many Americans want to hear about. Cruz (2016) attributes this to ‘a gun culture’. The author states that since people migrated into the U.S. and the South, there has always been a culture of holding gun shows. People have become accustomed to the sound of gunshots during the night. This culture is responsible for the numerous accidents recorded in the country, with people being killed by stray bullets. The problem is worsened by the facts that even teenagers have access to firearms. Without doubt, there is a profound love for guns in the U.S., and this can only be contained if the government passes strict laws regulating gun ownership and use.
In conclusion, the gun control topic is, undoubtedly, a very contentious one. While there are concerns that gun control may not offer the most effective to the problem of mass shootings and gun-related deaths in the U.S., it is still a useful starting point in the fight against the gun violence menace. A variety of factors have been cited as contributing to gun violence, but one thing stands out clearly: the value of human life in the U.S. seems to have been compromised by the concepts of self-defense and freedom. Allowing people to purchase and possess guns based on the argument that this helps them to defend themselves in case of an attack makes some sense; however, it is equally important to assess the threat that this poses to innocent, hapless citizens. Moreover, gun control policies have proved to be effective in countries like Australia. In this light, the government is urged to enact clear policies on gun control.
 
References
BBC News. (2018). Florida shooting: at least 17 dead in high school attack. Available at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43066226
Beckett, L., Harris, R., Popovich, N., Diehm, J., & Chalabi, M. (2016, June 21). America’s gun problem is so much bigger than mass shootings. The Guardian. Available at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/21/gun-control-debate-mass-shootings-gun-violence
Chalabi, M. (2015, Dec 14). Could more gun control have stopped 2015’s deadliest mass shootings? The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/14/the-role-of-gun-control-in-2015-worst-mass-shootings
Cruz, K. (2016). The pros and cons of gun control. Retrieved from https://www.theodysseyonline.com/pros-and-cons-of-gun-control
Ehrenfreund, M., & Goldfarb, Z. (2015, June 18). 11 essential facts about guns and mass shootings in the United States. The Washington Post. Available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/18/11-essential-facts-about-guns-and-mass-shootings-in-the-united-states/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2edc4f02fb54
Robbins, M. (2018, Feb 15). Why Americans don’t do anything about mass shootings. https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/06/opinions/why-we-dont-give-a-damn-about-mass-shootings-robbins/index.html
Vittana. (2018). 10 advantages and disadvantages of gun control. Retrieved from https://vittana.org/10-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-gun-control

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