Gun Violence
The People Right...
When founding father of the Constitution sat down to write the bill of rights they made ten basic rules or freedoms that all Americans are entitled to. For hundreds of years no one has questioned any of those freedoms, that is until recent years. The second amendment gives Americans the right to bear arms. The purpose of this amendment is to be able to form a militia in order to be able to overthrow a repressive government. In recent years the availability and number of guns in the United States has increased. With the media tracking and recording violence, some Americans have begun to question the 2nd amendment’s relevance.
The Stat
"Mass shootings: There were 372 mass shootings in the US in 2015, killing 475 people and wounding 1,870, according to the Mass Shooting Tracker, which catalogues such incidents. A mass shooting is defined as a single shooting incident which kills or injures four or more people, including the assailant." - according to BBC, in this modern age, there is much discussion on the place of weapons in society. Some argue that the display and usage of powerful weapons may be detrimental, due to appearance of these weapons in the hands of police officers, and civilians alike. It is reflected in many studies that the presence, or usage of civilian firearms do not have a direct correlation to increased violence, sometimes even leading to reduced violence. Even in the most restricted states, many crimes occur with legally-bought firearms. When examining these cases more deeply, a trend is revealed: mentally-ill perpetrators. In order to better protect against these attacks, arming police forces with military weaponry and vehicles would only benefit society. While some may argue that gun bans or such are beneficial, these proposals would only limit the Second Amendment, while crime continues. The only true way for society to reduce crime would be to improve access to treatment for mentally-ill individuals, and improve the armament of our police forces.
Instead of focusing political goals, and funding on restricting the right of the Second Amendment, there should be a focus on mental health in society. In almost all cases, a shooter is often one with a condition that allows them to commit these acts of violence. A case study that explains this is that of Isla Vista, in California. Elliot Rodger shot and stabbed those near the University of California campus, and ended up murdering six. Two key factors to assess in this situation are: 1) gun restrictions, and 2) Affected public health state. This state is defined as the ability for an individual with a mental illness to receive treatment, and prolonged administration of drugs to those with such illness. California is a state with very restrictive gun legislation. Specific types of firearms restricted include semi-automatic rifles with ‘military-style’ features, including flash hiders, high capacity magazines, and pistol-grips among other things. This is stated California codes §12280, §12285, and §32310 respectively. In order to assess the rating of California from the anti-gun perspective, it received first place, as least friendly to criminals. Along with specific restrictions presented in the codes, it is shown that California is indeed a very restricted state in terms of gun laws. Along with this, California has an ‘F’ rating for affected public health rate. This is defined as a lack of inpatient commitment to treatment, lack of outpatient commitment to treatment, availability of emergency evaluation, and finally, use of laws to prevent crime. As quoted from the Treatment Advocacy Center, “17 states earned a cumulative grade of “D” or “F” for the quality of their laws.” This quote clarifies that the general affected-public health state is low in California, yet also in the rest of the United States.
Numbers Talk
Mass shootings: There were 372 mass shootings in the US in 2015, killing 475 people and wounding 1,870, according to the Mass Shooting Tracker, which catalogues such incidents. A mass shooting is defined as a single shooting incident which kills or injures four or more people, including the assailant. School shootings: There were 64 school shootings in 2015, according to a dedicated campaign group set up in the wake of the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre in Connecticut in 2012. Those figures include occasions when a gun was fired but no-one was hurt. All shootings: Some 13,286 people were killed in the US by firearms in 2015, according to the Gun Violence Archive, and 26,819 people were injured [those figures exclude suicide]. Those figures are likely to rise by several hundred, once incidents in the final week of the year are counted.