Criminology

Gun violence is one of the most heavily politicized issues in the United States of America. Out of all weapons used to perpetrate felonies, guns, particularly handguns are responsible for most of these crimes (National Institute of Justice, 2010). Gun violence increased rapidly in the 1980s but has significantly slowed down from the early 1990s but the levels are still alarming. In the year 2005 alone, over 12000 people lost their lives because of gum violence and almost half a million were victims of crimes committed using a firearm (National Institute of Justice, 2010). The next year in 2006, 68 percent of all murders occurring in the United States were committed using a firearm (National Institute of Justice, 2010). While almost fifty percent of all robbery cases were reportedly accompanied by gun use, 22 percent of all aggravated assaults involved the use of a firearm, with handguns again being the most reported culprits (Selvon, 2009). With these statistics, gun ownership has become a matter that needs to be urgently addressed. But the question is whether barring citizens from owning firearms will offer a solution to this problem.

Even though statistics show that gun violence is diminishing in the United States, opponents of firearms ownership readily argue that the rates are actually increasing. It is important therefore to analyze the dynamics of the entire cycle to determine actually where the problem lies. Most crimes perpetuated using firearms happen most frequently in poor urban neighborhoods which are commonly characterized by small-time juvenile drug dealers wanting to portray a macho outlook and later join the bigger ranks in drug cartels (Jacobs, 2002). Small arms often find a way to proliferate most in Hispanic and African American males living in poorer neighborhoods (Jacobs, 2002).

The rates of homicide in the United States of America are between two and four times above the rates in countries having a similar economic and political system to it (National Institute of Justice, 2010). The rates are almost as high as they are in developing countries suffering from chronic political instability. Looking at the statistics, gun related homicide and violence is highest in urban areas (National Institute of Justice, 2010). For example, statistics obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigations show that in 2005, rates of homicide averaged 6.1 for every 100000 in metropolitan counties and 3.5 in non-metropolitan counties (National Institute of Justice, 2010). Cities in the Unites States with a total population of over a quarter of a million individuals had mean homicide rates of 12.1 per every 10000 in the same study (National Institute of Justice, 2010).

The primary source of information regarding gun ownership in the United States is provided by the General Social Survey. In the year 2004, a study conducted by the GSS found out that 37 percent of all American citizens owned guns (National Institute of Justice, 2010). 25 percent of all adult citizens owned at least one firearm while 40 percent of all households owned one. The total number of guns in private hand was 192 million, out of which 65 million were handguns (National Institute of Justice, 2010). The guns owned by households were used as defense against crimes. Another study conducted indicated that every year, almost 3 million crimes including attempted assault, robbery and rape are thwarted every year in the United States by homeowners who own firearms and in most of the cases even a single shot did not have to be fired (National Institute of Justice, 2010).

Even though several other research exercises have indicated that ownership of guns intensifies the rate or occurrence of crimes, it is actually the landing of unlicensed guns in wrong hands that is responsible for the high rates of gun violence witnessed in the United States today (Huemer, 2003). Public policy in the country regarding the ownership of guns approaches the issue from a perspective of finding ways through which law enforcement bodies and gun regulatory agencies may intervene to solve the gun issue. Intervention may be necessary when a gun is acquired and also in preventing individuals with a criminal record from purchasing firearms and also preventing juveniles from acquiring firearms (Huemer, 2003). Restrictions are also put in place to regulate who may or who may not carry concealed weapons, illegalizing people from bringing guns to crime scenes and stipulating stiff sentences for those who use guns in violent crime.

With more efficient regulation, guns can actually reduce the rate of gun violent in the society (Stein  Johnson, 1999). Firearms are widely used in recreational activities but if placed in the hands of responsible and law abiding citizens, they can be very effective in deterring violent crimes like burglary, rape and carjacking (Huemer, 2003). Since people with recorded crime histories are most likely to use guns to commit criminal offences, their access to firearms should be limited while law abiding citizens should be allowed to own firearms under license for the purpose of self defense. Easing the channel through which convicted felons can gain access to firearms only makes law abiding citizens who happen to be unarmed more vulnerable to armed gangsters (Huemer, 2003).

There have been cases of juveniles gaining access to firearms and using them to commit serious offenses. Additionally, people with unstable psychological characteristics have been known to commit horrendous crimes if they gain access to firearms. A good example is the case of Charles Whitman who fatally shot 14 people and wounded 23 others around the University of Texas on the 1st of august 1966 (Lott, 1998). More recently in 2007, an international student from the Republic of South Korea named Seung Hoi Cho fatally shot 32 people in Virginia Tech University (National Institute of Justice, 2010). This was the deadliest shooting rampage in the modern history of the United States of America.
Gun control opponents secured a significant victory in June 2008 when the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the proposition that the Second Amendment to the United States constitution does in fact stipulate for strict gun control measures, effectively rejecting the interpretation that such control measures are limited to militias (Selvon, 2009). However, the issue of gun control is not new in American politics. In the year 1934, the House of Congress enacted the first major firearm control that placed regulations on the sale of fully automatic firearms like machineguns (Ludwing  Cook, 2000). Hot on the heels of this act, a new federal law was passed in 1938 requiring all merchants who dealt in guns to be registered and licensed. The 1938 act further prohibited individuals who had at some point in their lives committed violent felonies from owning firearms (Ludwing  Cook, 2000). The Congress did not pass any other gun control acts until the year 1968 when the Gun Control Act was passed to regulate imported firearms and increase the requirements one had to fulfill before being licensed to deal in firearms. This act also expanded the context of people who were not legally allowed to own a firearm to include individuals who at one time were convicted of committing any non-business related felonies, minors (those under the age of 18) mentally unstable or incompetent individuals and those who, with evidence, were at least once used illegal drugs (Ludwing  Cook, 2000).

A Federal Legislative Act was passed in 1986 that stipulated a set of mandatory penalties for all those who would use a firearm to commit a federal offence (Ludwing  Cook, 2000). The use of heavier bullets that are capable of penetrating bullet proof vests like those worn by police officers was also prohibited through this Act (Ludwing  Cook, 2000). But the most effective gun control legislation yet was passed in 1994 by the United States Congress, enforcing a five day waiting period for all those who would apply to purchase firearms (Jacob, 2002). Local law enforcement institutions were also given the mandate to conduct background checks on all people intending to purchase any type of firearm that fits the description of those a civilian can own.

Gun control legislative acts have managed to keep the levels of gun violence down by minimizing the probability of guns landing in the hands of felonies. Even though since the inception of the 1994 gun control act (known as Brady Bill in honor of Brady Bill, President one of Ronald Reagans press aides who was shot and seriously injured in the failed attempt to assassinate the president) only 3 percent of all gun applications have been declined, the penalties imposed on illegal weapon possessors has deterred the proliferation of small arms in the United States (Jacobs, 2002).

Still, gun control activists have maintained that it is way too easy for criminals to acquire guns and use them to perpetuate acts of gun violence (Stein  Johnson, 1999). A worrying trend is the increase in the number of shootings occurring in schools. To curb this violence, parents need to keep all guns, especially loaded guns, away from juveniles. These young people have not matured enough to fully understand the consequences of some of the decisions they make (Selvon, 2009). In addition, there needs to be a deliberate effort to understand students, their special needs and the conflicts they go through while growing up and brood them to develop into responsible and law abiding citizens.

Conclusion
Gun violence is a threat to the safety of people not just in the United States but in most other countries of the world. Whether or not strict control of guns is implemented through legislative acts, the most effective way to counter gun violence is to eliminate or at least minimize the proliferation mainly of small firearms (Lott, 1998). It is an issue requiring the participation of the community, law enforcement authorities, the federal government and international partners in fighting crime. The rate of gun violence is highest in poorer urban neighborhoods, so this would be a perfect avenue of waging the war on illegal arms possession (Lott, 1998). Even if law abiding citizens are barred from possessing firearms while the channels through which small arms proliferate to gangsters and mobsters are still available, the rates of gun violence would still remain the same if they would not escalate. The trade in illegal drugs like marijuana, cocaine and crystal meth is one factor contributing to the high prevalence of gun violence since gangs usually illegally arm themselves to protect their interests and their turfs (Jacobs, 2002). These are the guns that end up killing innocent people and robbing banks and other business. The gangs must therefore be crushed if gun violence is to be halted.