Health of Society and Firearms

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In Wisconsin the gun laws are pretty lenient, and for this reason people have fought to increase regulations for the purchase and ownership of these weapons. Conceal and carry is a big issue among many because it allows someone who is “21 years old, a Wisconsin resident and not prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law” and “you must provide proof that you have taken the required firearms training.” (Laasby 1). What mainly sparks controversy over this is not the age required but the fact that untrained civilians can carry a concealed firearm when in the public. The reason I say untrained is not that they don’t require any training, but because the training offered usually takes place in a one session class. Short one day classes will lead to people forgetting important safety tips and key elements for using a gun properly. In addition to conceal and carry background checks in the U.S are extremely lenient. When it comes to background checks, “40% of all legal gun sales nationwide” do not require one (It’s 2). This is a large number of weapons that are being distributed to people who may be criminals, mentally insane, or domestic abusers. A big factor contributing to this is gun shows. At a gun show people do not need to undergo any sort of background check unless doing business with a licensed arms dealer. Guns ending up in the wrong hands can only lead to crime and tragedy.

Gun violence has been an increasing reality in today’s society. In Oregon at the Umpqua Community College, on October first of this year, a man “killed nine people and wounded nine others” (The Associated Press 2). A first hand survivor explained how the man was asking students if they were religious, after responding he would proceed to shoot them (The Associated Press 1). This is clearly a person who is mentally unstable and shouldn’t be able to obtain a gun. Another example of this would be the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting where “20 children and six educators” (Johnson 1) were gunned down. Obama made a statement that read this “will be remembered as the tragedy that inspired the nation to make communities safer” (Johnson 1). Although Obama may have said this, gun violence continues to spread throughout the U.S due to a lack in action. After all of the shootings and crimes related to guns, any increases in gun purchasing and owning policies, as well as certain gun bans wouldn’t change anything.

Nowadays, guns can be found anywhere you look from the black market to your grandparent’s basement. Not only are guns easily accessible off the streets, but new technological breakthroughs may lead to the production of guns in one’s own home. Many companies today are finding ways to 3-D print guns and it is most definitely a reality. As of now it would cost a fortune to obtain the machinery to accomplish this goal, but as more and more technological advances occur, soon everyday people will be able to purchase the right equipment to produce untraceable firearms right within their homes. Philadelphia passed a law that put a ban on the 3D printing of guns. Although this ban was made with good intentions “passing such a law is going to have absolutely no effect whatsoever on the real world” (Worstall 2). This is complete true. Just because there is a ban on 3D printing guns, doesn’t mean people are going to follow that law. Even if someone who used a 3D printed gun in a crime, these guns are untraceable which would make it nearly impossible to find out who committed the crime. This is one of those issues that will not be solved by passing more and more laws. Other steps need to be taken in order to prevent this, which reinforces the fact that no law is going to decrease the amount of crime involving guns in the U.S. Not only are these guns accessible though 3D print, but guns are found in nearly half of American households.

America is a great country, in that every citizen has rights. These rights grant them the ability to bear arms. In the United States, nearly “40-45%” (Agresti 1) of households own a gun which totals out to about “47-53 million” (Agrest 1). These numbers are outrageous. If nearly half of American households have access to a firearm this totally destroys the positive effects of gun laws. These mere facts display how easy it would be for a criminal or someone who is mentally unstable to obtain a deadly weapon. Also, these are only the guns that are accounted for. There are plenty more on the streets in the hands of criminals everywhere which makes it even easier to get your hands on a gun. Another big issue that many people want changed is the fact that there are no background checks when purchasing a gun at a gun show.

Many people argue that implementing background checks at gun shows would decrease the amount of crime and guns on the street. I am totally for this, but it still won’t cut it. There will always be another loophole no matter what laws are made. He could get the gun from someone who has a clean record, or he could steal one. If there are more people stealing guns because it is harder to buy one that will only create a more dangerous environment. There are loopholes everywhere and will never be stopped. Another example of a loophole is the Virginia law that expired in 2012 that made it only possible for people to buy one gun every month. This law “dramatically reduced the number of Virginia-purchased guns at crime scenes” (Johnson 2). This may have seemed a success, but while this law was in order, “the number of crime guns from other states increased” (Johnson 2). This is just one more example of how more gun laws would not work. Of course they would but a bump into someone’s path to obtain a gun but they will always find another way to get a gun illegally.

Possible Solutions to Gun Violence

With gun violence and the inability to put an end to loopholes and strengthen gun policies, other steps need to be taken in order to insure the safety of society. In schools, there needs to be more safety precautions taken. All doors should remain locked with only one entrance for visitors.

People who want gun laws are completely in their right mind, but in reality there will always be a loophole when new laws are introduced. There needs to be other ways to look at the problem rather than making new laws. For example, maybe start programs to see what cause certain people to massacre innocent people so that they can take steps to prevent it from happening. Another possible way would be to introduce more safety measure at schools so that it isn’t as easy for a killer to enter and gun down multiple people with ease. When gun crimes occur many people blame the gun, but what they don’t take into consideration is the person pulling