LEAP 4:

Multimedia: Digital Learning in Action

The term gun culture in the United States encompasses the behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs about firearms and their usage by civilians. Gun ownership in the United States is constitutionally protected by the 2nd amendment. Although, there are many people that disagree with our current situation regarding gun control and their focus on gun culture is highly negative. In this post, I am going to explore both standpoints of gun culture and their takes on implementing universal background checks to solve the issue. I will explore the viewpoints of those people that are pro gun control, as well as those who view it as a major flaw in our system. Universal background checks are a hot n topic and it is important for us to explore both sides of the issue and where civilians stand on gun culture in the United States.

 

 

Pro Gun Control

For the last few years, advocates for gun control have changed their focus. They no longer talk so much about banning weapons. Instead they have switched their focus to implementing universal background checks to make sure firearms won't fall into the hands of criminals. Gun violence is a problem, no matter what side of the spectrum you are on. There are those who believe that harms will result from this problem if it is not solved. To date, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System has prevented more than two million convicted felons and other prohibited purchasers from buying guns. In order to guarantee that these criminals, domestic abusers, the dangerously mentally ill and others are denied unchecked access to guns, people pro gun control believe that the U.S. Congress should create a federal law requiring universal background checks on all sales of firearms, including private sales. They believe that this will ultimately create a safer environment for our country where there will be less deaths per year in relation to guns. The problem with our current background check system is that even though we have background checks set in place, there are still loopholes within the system. Current federal law requires criminal background checks only for guns sold through licensed firearm dealers. This means that only 60% of gun sales in the United States require a background check. This presents a problem because the loophole in the law allows individuals not in the business of selling firearms to sell guns without a license. This also means that they can do so without processing any paperwork. According to the National Center For Injury Prevention and Control In the United States, firearms are used in about 31,000 deaths per year. 11,000 of those deaths are due to homicides. Gun control advocated believe that we have yet to implement truly meaningful gun control at the federal level. Without these requirements firearms can be bought by almost anyone, anywhere. You can obtain them at gun shows, online, and through other low key venues. Sometimes, vendors in specific states employ their own background checks, but there are plenty of vendors who don’t. But even in the states where there are checks, this doesn’t account for all of the guns purchased or acquired in some other private manner. Columbine killer Eric Harris, who was 17 years old at the time and prohibited under federal law from purchasing a firearm. Harris and fellow shooter Dylan Klebold obtained the firearms they used to commit mass murder through private sales at Colorado gun shows. These harms have occurred and cause people who should not be able to possess a gun to gain access to them. This means that people with mental health illnesses, convicted felons, domestic abusers etc. will be able to purchase a gun unless we close these loopholes. If these people are able to obtain a gun this could result in the harm of innocent civilians. To add to the issue, According to the (CIRP) Center for injury and prevention in Philadelphia. In the US, 2013, 1,670 children 0-18 died by gun shot and 9,718 were injured from guns in their homes. Some of these cases were self inflicted or done by the hands of another child. This is true because most children under age 10 know where their parents keep their firearms and admitted handling the weapons, contradicting their parents’ report.  Gun control advocates believe that universal background check system will solve the ongoing issues the United States faces with guns. The federal background check system is an effective mechanism that prevents prohibited purchasers, such as convicted felons, the dangerously mentally ill and domestic abusers from accessing guns. Yet the loopholes in our laws allow prohibited individuals to access firearms through unlicensed dealers. By closing these loopholes and requiring background checks at gun shows and online, we can ensure that guns stay out of the hands of those prohibited by federal law. This will result in less harm and homicides throughout the United States. Universal background checks will prevent these problems because they will create an equal procedure for all states to follow when it comes to firearm sales. While there still may be more restrictive states and less restrictive states, the new background check system will set the bar for what must be included in the process of buying a gun.

 

 

Against Gun Control

There are citizens who believe that implementing universal background checks is the wrong course of action to curb gun violence. They believe that universal background checks would not solve the purpose they are intended to, thus rendering them ineffective. They instead pose a separate idea of creating a database that would be compiled of any evidence that would raise ‘red flags’ to potentially hazardous people attempting to buy firearms. Those against gun control believe that universal background checks in themselves will not stop gun violence especially mass-shootings/killings. Implementing Universal background checks would not solve the purpose they are intended to, in terms of hindering gun related incidents. Due to the fact that in the past there have been incidences where individuals who had been checked out and even had things such as conceal to carry permits and other licenses that require thorough background checks have still committed crimes involving firearms. The checks for concealed carry permits are far more rigorous than instant background checks. According to research, 763 people have been killed by individuals with concealed to carry permits, of these 17 were law officers, 485 committed suicide, 48 resulted in a murder-suicide, and 139 were killed in mass shootings.

They believe that rather than implementing universal background checks for all, that the government instead creates a database that would be compiled of evidence that would include any events which were reported such as domestic violence or mental health episodes. Universal background checks are undoubtably expensive and would require a lot of man power to compile information from anyone and everyone who wants to purchase a firearm. Along with the fact that it would not breach the privacy of mentally stable law abiding citizens. It is net beneficial because it is better to have a database that is accessible to the seller to be able to look for any type of ‘red flags’ rather than a series of test that would cost time and money for both the buyer and the seller as well as the fact that it is much less invasive to people’s privacy. The coufnterplan solves both the problem of people who may not be fit to purchase firearms from slipping through the cracks and buying one, as well as the issue of how having a database with everyone’s information on it at the hands of the government makes them uncomfortable. Since there are many people who show signs of things such as mental health issues or domestic violence before they ever commit a crime with a firearm, there needs to be a system to document such individuals who have displayed these ‘red flags’ without intruding on innocent gun buyers. It is important to identify potentially hazardous individuals for more thorough screening in order concentrate such efforts on people that are more likely to commit crimes with a firearm rather than a stable individual. At least 38 of the 61 mass shooters in the past three decades displayed signs of mental health problems prior to the killings.

In response to pro gun control advocates, this side argues that universal background checks will not stop gun violence especially mass-shootings/killings. Even without guns people can still commit mass killings if determined. We have seen this in events such as the Boston marathon bombing and foreign events related to things like mass stabbings that have occurred in countries such as Sweden and China. Even when guns are purchased legally they can still fall into the wrongs hands through a number of ways including everything from theft to improper storage. Research shows that of the 143 guns possessed by perpetrators of mass shootings since 1982, more than three quarters were obtained legally.

Background checks are extremely tedious and cost ineffective, as they would require large quantities of time, money, and man power to be as effective as possible. Even still, if we were able to implement these universal background checks without their extreme costs, evidence has found that they would not be as useful as they would need to be. In the past individuals have received permits such as “conceal to carry” that require very rigorous and in depth background checks and tests that have suited individuals “fit” to have a firearm, where that same individual would later go on to commit acts such as domestic violence  or mass shooting involving the firearm they had legally purchased. Even after this, we have found that even if guns are only sold to “good people” there is still no way of guaranteeing these guns stay with said people as we have seen in cases such as Adam Lanza who used his mother’s legally purchased firearms to commit heinous acts.