The Deal With Guns

In recent years, gun control has become one of the most pressing issues facing the United States. So what are the facts? There are currently 270 million registered guns in the United States and 319 million people. 30,000 people die each year from gun related violence. First off let’s dissect that fact: the cities in America with the highest gun murder rate are as follows, 1. Los Angeles 2. Chicago 3. New York City and 4. Philadelphia. So what does that have to do with anything? It’s no coincidence that of these top four gun crime cities, each of their states is in the top 10 for strictest gun control laws. In other words, it is harder to get a gun as a civilian who is mentally stable in these cities than anywhere else. So, as criminals, why not go into the cities where it’s almost guaranteed that not many have a gun to defend themselves. By logic, a criminal would attack those areas because it has the least resistance. Now, to be clear, I do believe in background checks and that the goal should be to get guns out of the hands of criminals and into the hands of the responsible gun owners. I believe there are limits to who can have a gun. For me, these limits are anyone with an unstable mental capacity and people who are convicted felons as well as if you live with someone who is mentally unstable or has criminal background.  I say that we can do this through extensive checking on mental screening and checking criminal history.

So how do criminals acquire these guns?  It has been shown that of all shootings in the United States, 39.6% of criminals obtained a gun from a friend or family member, 39.2% of criminals obtained a gun on the street or from an illegal source, 0.7% of criminals purchased a gun at a gun show, 1% of criminals purchased a gun at a flea market, 3.8% of criminals purchased a gun from a pawn shop, and only 8.3% of criminals actually bought their guns from retail outlets. These facts show that almost 79% of criminals get their guns illegally and only about 21% of criminals acquire their guns legally. Ridiculously high rate right? So, we know about that 79%, let’s talk about that 21%. I believe this area is where we can start to help making a noticeable difference. Acquiring guns at gun shows, flea markets, pawn shops, and retailers is obviously legal so we can make ground by making sure that we have the best and most up to date mental screenings possible as well as criminal background checks. Obviously we are all human and make mistakes, but we cannot afford to make any mistakes here. People who are mentally ill need to be kept as far away from guns as possible. They can be incredibly  unstable and often are unable to be rational in situations where guns can and should be used. Automatically, criminals are not supposed to have guns; therefore, anyone with a criminal background should be prohibited from purchasing or using any firearm due to their past history of violence.

Next week, I will continue this ongoing discussion about guns and how our country should deal with it, I will be talking about solutions to problems, both moral and logical reasons behind guns and how and when guns were first allowed in the US. Join me next week and I would love to have discussions and feedback with all of you. Comment your thoughts below!

Written by Kenny Quinn

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