Columbine High – Colorado, Pulse Nightclub- Orlando, Parkland – Florida, Santa Fe High – Texas, Mandalay Bay- Las Vegas…you must be wondering if am randomly picking places in the US. Well, am I? Sure? Take a second glance at those names, think….you’re almost there! Yes!! Those are the places that witnessed some of the worst mass shootings in history.
America has forever been playing a tug-of-war with gun rights and gun control and the much debated 2nd amendment of the American Constitution may have been partly responsible for the kind of gun culture prevalent in the country.
Introduction
So, what exactly does the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution say?
It reads, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” It was adopted on 17th December 1791 as a part of the Bill of Rights(the first ten amendments of the constitution).
The meaning of the various phrases in the amendment has been interpreted in different ways by different statesmen and other people. However, for the common man, there has been only one clear interpretation of the amendment, through the decades. And that is, purchasing a gun is fairly an easy affair in the US, compared to other countries(legally or illegally).
Purchase and possession of guns
In the US, guns can be primarily bought from 2 sources – stores and gun shows. Although laws regarding possession of firearms vary from state to state, in most of the states it is just a matter of minutes before you can buy a gun from a store. In Nevada for instance, there is neither a waiting period nor a limit to the number of firearms an individual can possess. The only rule is, the person willing to buy a gun must be above 18 years of age(there is however a proper background check). In 39 states, shops are allowed to sell arms without performing a background check on the prospective owner.
Coming to gun shows, http://www.gunshows-usa.com/2018-gun-knife-show-listings/ lists the various gun shows in the country for the year 2018. Often dubbed as the gun show loophole, in a majority of states the buyers at gun shows, are exempted from background checks, if the purchase is made from a private dealer. A private dealer may be licensed or unlicensed. If you take a closer look at the advertisements in the link above, some gun shows do admit children below 18 years of age without an entrance fee(provided they are accompanied by a parent).
Facts and figures
Having read the background on gun culture in the US, let us now take a look at whether these laws (or the lack of them, thereof) have any impact on the shooting incidents that seem to take place frequently in various states of the country.
In a recent sample survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 3 in 10 American adults told that they own a gun. The survey consisted of 3930 adults, of which 1269 were gun owners. In fact, Americans own more guns per capita than residents of any other country in the world. Some of the biggest takeaways of the survey were:
- 44% of Americans said they personally knew someone who had been shot, either accidentally or intentionally.
- Gun owners were more likely than non-gun owners to know someone who had been shot (51% vs. 40% of non-owners)
- Among all adults, 86% told the ease with which people can illegally obtain guns contributes a great deal or a fair amount to gun violence
So, we can safely arrive at the conclusion that it is not just the other folks, but even a good percentage of Americans themselves feel that people in their country have easy access to firearms, which directly or indirectly contribute to gun violence.
The perpetrators
Now, if we look at the backgrounds of the shooters who perpetrated these mass shootings, one common factor we easily notice is, most of them were either victims of bullying or suffered a mental illness or both. Be it, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold who instigated the Columbine High School Massacre, or Omar Mateen who opened fire at a gay nightclub at Orlando or Nickolas Cruz(Stoneman Douglas High School shooting), they all were emotionally imbalanced and were identified with behavioral issues at some point in their lives.
A look at their diaries, journals reveal that they felt sidelined, ignored; like they didn’t have a voice. It is not that their illness went unnoticed or untreated. The therapy wasn’t effective, perhaps. The incidents speak volumes about the dangers that can be averted, if parents spend enough time with their children and lend a ear to their problems.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can say that there is a plethora of factors contributing to the recurring incidents of mass shootings in the United States of America. When it comes to gun ownership statistics, countries that take the 2nd and 3rd places lag behind the US by a huge margin. According, to a 2017 report by the CNN (https://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/03/americas/us-gun-statistics/index.html), ‘Gun homicide rates are 25.2 times higher in the US when compared to other high-income countries.’ Since it is evident from the statistics that the situation is pretty bad, it is important to understand that cold-blooded crimes call for stringent laws. One example of this, is Australia which experienced four cases of mass shootings between 1987 and 1996. In the late nineties, the Australian government tightened its gun laws. Self protection is no longer considered as a reason to own arms. So, far it has been a success story as the number of mass shootings dropped to 0%.
However, since a lot of Americans own guns for self protection, laws cannot be changed or implemented overnight. Changing culturally held notions and opinions takes a longer time than introducing fresh ideas. Therefore, we may not expect the Australian model to work for America.
After decades of repeated incidents, candlelight marches, protests and public outcry, one would wonder if one is still in square one. A lot needs to be done, as one of the world’s most powerful countries still awaits its messiah, as it struggles to handle its major menace – illegal possession and usage of firearms.
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