Gun Control in the United States

Gun Control in the United States

               Abstract

The paper aimed at finding out whether the United States should increase gun control. The study adopted a mixed research method where both qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed. Data was gathered from secondary sources. The regression model was used to analyze the data. Excel was used as a tool of analysis. The study concluded that there exists a strong positive relationship between the number of gun ownership among the US population and the number of death incidences resulting from gun incidences, the males are the major victims of gun incidences in the US and lastly gun ownership is comparatively very high compared to many other high-income nations across the globe. The study recommended that the US should institute more gun control.

1.0 Background of the Study

According to Duignan (2018), gun control involves the legal measures taken by the government to restrict the use and possession of guns. In many countries across the globe, there is strict control for possession and use of guns. The issue of gun control is, however, still a political issue. Some support gun control viewing it as necessary for the overall public safety while others consider it an infringement to personal liberty.

The issue of gun control is highly controversial in the United States. The possession of guns in US is protected in the constitution, yet the nation reports the highest number of murders executed through guns. Among the developed countries, the United States has the highest number of homicide cases executed by firearms. The proponents of crime control in the US argue that gun control will help in reducing the crime rate and save many lives for US citizens. The opponents for gun control, on the other hand, argue that it would do the opposite of protecting the citizens as it would limit the capacity of citizens who are law-abiding from protecting themselves from armed criminals.

The second amendment in the US constitution clearly states that people’s rights to bear and keep arms should not be infringed in a free state as it is a necessary measure to enhancing security. In a case between District of Columbia Vs. Heller (2008), the supreme court recognized the right of individuals to use independent firms for self-defense (Duigman, 2018). In another case, two years later, involving McDonald Vs. Chicago, it was argued that the interpretation of the second amendment of the Constitution regarding gun control was applicable against the federal, state, and local statutes.

The US has recorded numerous cases of mass murders involving the use of guns. Some of the most famous cases include the Orlando nightclub murder case that involved the death of 49 people in the year 2016, the Newton Elementary school massacre of 2012, where six adults and 20 children were killed (Duigman, 2018). These incidences have made many Americans call for more constitutional reasonable measures such as the reinstatement of federal bans on assault weapons as well as extended background checks for gun purchases.

1.2 Research Objectives

The main objective of this study is to answer the question of whether the United States should institute more gun control. This question will be addressed by testing two major hypotheses which include:

Ho: An increase of guns in the population will increase the death rate.

H1: An increase of guns in the population will not increase the death rate.

Ho: The number of gun deaths in the US is not high compared to other countries in the world

H1: The number of gun deaths in the US is high compared to other countries in the world

Ho: The incidences of gun deaths in the US does not have the same impact on all genders

H1: The incidences of gun deaths in the US have the same impact on all genders

2.0 Literature Review

Public opinions on this issue have been tracked for the last twenty years. All through the years, different proposals have been made in a bid to arrive at a bipartisan opinion. The tragedies that have been witnessed resulting from gun control such as school shootings have been continually changed public opinion on this issue. In a recent survey between February and March in the year 2018, the majority of the Americans now are in support of more stringent measures for gun control. Some of the proposed measures include expanding the background check systems to mental and felon patients, banning the assault weapons, and prohibiting the sale of guns to people aged below 21 years.

According to Marwa, McMillan, and Keith (2018), the school shooting involving Stoneman High school that killed about 17 led to the surviving students across the US match to the streets demanding more gun restriction measures. The state of Florida, through a house committee vote, erected to raise the minimum age from 18 years to 21 years for all persons buying and using a riffle. The state also voted that all gun purchases have three waiting days. The state also voted to introduce programs that would take teachers through a law enforcement training to carry weapons; however, this bill was still awaiting approval by the school district.

According to Blake and Aaron (2018), about 66% of the Americans who voted on this issue supported strict regulations on gun control, and this was the highest measure taken since the year 2008. According to Khalid and Asma (2018), a CNN poll revealed that more than 70% of Americans support more stringent regulations on gun control in the US. There were similar results with Ipsos. NPR poll where 75% of the Americans voted in favor of strict rules. According to the CBS News polls, 65% of the Americans also voted for more gun control as the way forward in enhancing the security of the Americans. Another survey by Gallup polls on March 2018, 67% of the Americans voted for more stringent control over the sale of guns. According to Blanton and Dana (2019), the August fox news polls indicated that about 90% of the respondents voted in favor of background checks for gun holders, 81% voted to confiscate guns from individuals considered risky while 67% of the respondents voted for an assault weapons ban.

According to Madison (2018), Americans have continued to call for more measures on gun control. Various states such as Illinois, Florida, New Jersey, Vermont, Connecticut, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Nebraska have taken further measures to control the purchase and usage of guns in the region. The states have taken many measures ranging from limiting firearms rounds capacity to a maximum of 10 or 15, rising the legal age for possessing guns to 21 years, banning the bump stocks, expanding mental health stocks, and banning the assault weapons.

Both politicians and the public are becoming more conscious of the recent tragedies involving gun assaults in the United States. Politicians have been triggering the debate on this topic. By the year 2018, several states, including Rhode Island, Florida, Washington, and Oregon, have already passed gun control legislation requiring more stringent measures to be undertaken on gun usage. In July 2019, the city council of San Diego approved legislation requiring all gun holders to disable the gun triggers when not underuse or store the guns in a locked container. The council aimed at reducing the number of accidental shootings caused when children access guns or suicide cases. This decision was informed by the fact that the majority of the Americans do not secure their guns from children. Children as young as nine years know where their parents keep their guns.

According to David Owen (2018), the recent initiatives by the states are consistent with the opinions of the democrats. The victim schools in Connecticut also took the initiative of hiring armed security guards to protect the students in the event of a shooting. Though the Republicans have advocated for this idea, the Democrats have continued to argue that such measures will just make the situation worse.

Research Methodology

Data was collected through a review of secondary sources. A regression analysis was run to test the appropriateness of the model and also to test the hypothesis. In the first hypothesis, data was collected across all states in the US. The number of registered guns per state was the independent variable used as the X-input, while the number of incidences resulting from gun violence was the dependent variable used as the Y-input. The regression analysis assumed a confidence level of 95%. The significance of the analysis model was tested using the F-test, and data was analyzed using the excel tool. The results were presented in the form of tables. The results for the second and third hypotheses were based on the review of secondary materials.

Results

Hypothesis 1:

As revealed in the results above, there is a strong relationship between the possession of guns in the population, and the number of gun incidences reported as revealed by the coefficient of correlation (R) 0.835226. Gun possession in the US population can explain 69.76% of the changes in death incidences, as indicated by the adjusted (R) of 0.6976. Based on this hypothesis, 30.24% (i.e., 100% – 69.76%) of the changes in gun incidences can be explained by other factors.

To test the appropriateness of the model, F-test was used. The F- test revealed that (F= 1, 49 = 113.03) and p = 0.000, meaning that the model was significant at a confidence level of 95% as indicated in the ANOVA table above. The model is significant because the alpha value of 0.000 is below 0.05. Similarly, gun possession as a factor influencing gun incidences among the US population was found to be highly significant, as revealed by the p-value of 0.000. Based on these results, the study fails to accept the null hypothesis.

Hypothesis 2:

As indicated in the results shown above, the incidences of gun violence have had a different impact on the different genders. The regression above indicates a strong positive relationship between the male victims and the overall total number of gun incidences, as indicated by the R coefficient of 0.9789 rather than. The adjusted R of 0.977 also indicates that male victims account for more 97.7% of the gun violence while the rest are female victims.

The appropriateness of the model is tested using F-test, and the results (p = 0.000) indicate that the model is appropriate, as shown in the Anova table above. The relationship between gun violence and male deaths is also found to be significant, as indicated by the alphas value (p = 0.000). The majority of the victims of gun violence are male. Based on these results, the study fails to accept the null hypothesis

Hypothesis 3:

The third hypothesis was analyzed through a review of secondary materials. The possession of guns by the population in the US was compared to other nations across the world. According to Henrik Pettersson (2019), the US accounts for about 46% of the guns estimated to be possessed by civilians across the globe. This explains the reason why there are more incidences of massive gun shootings in the US than any other country around the world (Aizenman and Marc Silver, 2018). Based on the results of data analyzed based on OECD data, the Americans are 51 times likely to be killed by a gun than people in the UK (Fox, 2017). While many gun owners in the US purchase guns for self-defense, the majority of the guns end up to self-harm. The US has eight times higher the number of gun suicides than any other high-income economy. The US also ranks first in the number of homicide cases resulting from the use of guns. According to a study by Fox (2017) 1% increase in gun ownership in the US, resulted in a consequent increase in 0.9% homicide cases.

Conclusion

Based on the results of the study, this study makes three major conclusions. Based on the first objective, the study failed to accept the null hypothesis indicating that there is a strong positive relationship between the number of gun ownership among the US population and the number of death incidences resulting from gun incidences. The higher the gun possession among the US citizens, the higher the prevalence of gun incidences and deaths.

Secondly, the study concludes that males are the major victims of gun incidences in the US. These results trigger an important question that needs further study. It is of great importance to understand the reason why males are the major victims of gun violence as such insight would also inform the strategies laid down in minimizing the prevalence of gun violence. Lastly, the study also concludes that US gun ownership is comparatively very high compared to many other high-income nations across the globe. The high gun ownership is attributed to the design of the US constitution on gun control. The high rate of homicide cases in the US is also attributed to the high gun ownership rate in the US.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that the US should institute more gun control. While gun possession is meant to enhance self-defense against armed criminals, guns have been used for other purposes and resulted in great harm than good. The US has become a hot stop of mass shootings and homicide cases. It is time that the US government considers amending the nation’s constitution and pass legislation to impose more measures to tighten gun control. Specifically, it is recommended that the minimum age to own a gun to be raised to about 30 years of age to minimize the number of people in the population owning firearms.

It is also recommended that a gun waiting period for gun purchasers to be extended to seven days to minimize cases where guns are bought for immediate assault or self-harm purposes. Gun owners should be subjected to stringent background checks. Any person with a record of criminal history should be restricted from possessing a gun. Gun purchasers must provide a convincing reason why they need a gun before they acquire the license.

References

Blake, Aaron (February 20, 2018). “Does gun control suddenly have real momentum?”. The Washington Post. Retrieved June 23, 2018.

And this new Quinnipiac University poll speaks to that. The survey shows 66 percent of Americans now support stricter gun laws, the highest that number has been since at least 2008.

Blanton, Dana (August 14, 2019). “Fox News Poll: Most back gun restrictions after shootings, Trump ratings down”. Fox News

Brian Duigman (2018). Gun Control in the United States. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/story/gun-control-in-the-us

Eltagouri, Marwa; McMillan, Keith (22 February 2018). “Marco Rubio and the NRA confronted by shooting survivors, grieving parents at tense town hall”

Khalid, Asma (March 2, 2018). “NPR Poll: After Parkland, Number of Americans Who Want Gun Restrictions Grows”. Morning Edition. NPR. Retrieved June 23, 2018.

Owens, David. “School Security Guards To Carry Guns In One Connecticut School District Beginning In The Fall”. courant.com. Retrieved 2018-11-01.

Park, Madison. “New Jersey is one of the latest states to enact new gun control measures.” CNN. Retrieved 2018-10-23.

Statista (2020). Number of registered weapons in the U.S. in 2019, by state. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/215655/number-of-registered-weapons-in-the-us-by-state/

Gun Deaths By State Population. (2020-03-09). Retrieved 2020-03-28, from http://worldpopulationreview.com/states/gun-deaths-by-state/

Nurith Aizenman and Marc Silver (2018). How the US compares with other Countries in Deaths from Gun Violence. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/08/05/743579605/how-the-u-s-compares-to-other-countries-in-deaths-from-gun-violence

Siegel, M., Ross, C. S., & King III, C. (2013). The relationship between gun ownership and firearm homicide rates in the United States, 1981–2010. American journal of public health, 103(11), 2098-2105.

Fox, K. (2017). How US Gun Culture Compares with the World.