While referring to strengths and weaknesses of gun control opponents and proponents, both sides present solid argumentation that can yet be perceived as controversial. Proponents of the strengthening of gun control regulations refer to such facts as “With 5 percent of the world’s population, the United States has 50 percent of the guns.” (Zakaria, 2012). Historically, gun possession has also been a known factor of the US history. Moreover, the United States provided a favourable legislative basis for the adoption of the gun control laws that were not that harsh in comparison to the legislation of other countries that takes a stricter approach in gun control. Besides that, a political rhetoric chosen by each of the dominant political parties in the US also contributes to the debate, given that the politicians use the argument of gun control regulation in order to raise the electorate. No less important is to mention that the proponents of stricter regulations also refer to the fact that the US “has the highest rate of homicides among advanced countries” (Farley, 2012). On the contrary, those who are in favor of gun ownership refer to the fact that homicides do not necessarily correlate with the gun ownership. Besides that, the purpose of gun ownership may also be used for protective measures of individuals who might suffer from danger.
The arguments presented in Factcheck.Org shall be considered as not necessarily viable, as they are often torn out of contexts. Even though the journalist piece presents an overview of the recent legislative updates with regards to the given issue, it is still questionable whether these arguments were tested in practice. Yet, there is still a grain of truth in the argumentation, as statistical data is also listed among the sources.
While referring to the potential effects of the current debate, there are still doubts what type of approach the US should perceive in order to take a balanced position. On one hand, in the light of the recent massive shootings for the past several years, the debate was taken to a new level, where the politicians of both sides mentioned the scope of implications among others. Moreover, the upcoming elections put the question on gun ownership into the political agenda of candidates, too. Therefore, there is no clear answer what kind of legislative and a political turn will it take in the upcoming years.
Personally, I would presume that a harsher position on gun ownership should be expected in the coming years. With the recent instances, the issue of massive shooting often correlates with the potential effects related to gun ownership. Therefore, one shall consider these aspects in the potential scope of political activities. Moreover, the number of victims suffering from shooting is also striking. People become more and more concerned about the effects of gun ownership, too. Therefore, I would presume that besides a deep analysis and a thorough research on the given topic, politicians will have to listen to the opinions of people even better, especially if they want to save their electorate. On the other hand, the proponents of gun ownership would have to seek alternative arguments in order to prove that the fact of gun ownership does not necessarily correlate with the massive instances of shootings that occurred recently. Therefore, there is still a long way for improvements on the political, legislative and people-to-people level, so that measures would be imposed respectfully. Personally, I think that in the light of the massive shootings, proponents of stricter legislation would have a bigger chances to push their agenda on the legislative level.
- Granderson, L. (2016). Opinion: Gun control is not the answer – CNN.com. CNN.
Retrieved 7 July 2016, from http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/17/opinion/granderson-gun-control-fail - Farley, R. (2016). Gun Rhetoric vs. Gun Facts. Factcheck.org.
Retrieved 7 July 2016, from http://www.factcheck.org/2012/12/gun-rhetoric-vs-gun-facts/ - Zakaria, F. (2016). Fareed Zakaria: The solution to gun violence is clear. Washington Post.
Retrieved 7 July 2016, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fareed-zakaria-the-solution-to-gun-violence-is-clear/2012/12/19/110a6f82-4a15-11e2-b6f0-e851e741d196_story.html
