Essay Sample on Gun Control: Advantages, Disadvantages, & Ethical Concerns

Introduction

Gun control is one of the debated issues in the world today because of the varying arguments concerning its advantages, disadvantages, as well as ethical concerns. Laws supporting or denying gun control are analyzed differently by lawmakers and activities based on their perceptions concerning the need for gun control policies or withdrawing policies that control the possession of guns (Milligan 3). Some activists and lawmakers demand the withdrawal of gun control policies because they view it as defending people's lives. The ones supporting gun control, on the other hand, argue that free circulation of guns is unethical because it increases violence, homicide, and suicide incidences. Research has shown that the possession of firearms threatens people's life by five times due to their misuse of violence, murder, as well as suicide. The number of shooting in the USA has increased by 10% from 1990 up to date because of having laws that promote the circulation of guns in the country (Smith and Jonathan 15). Though gun-rights supporters have tried to defend the possession of firearms for defense purposes and as a constitutional right, the outcome has been their misuse that causes unethical actions which put people's lives at risk. As seen in the argument of this essay, gun control has some pros and cons that require assessment for an appropriate decision for whether to allow free circulation of guns or not.

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The Pros, Cons, Values, and Ethics Concerning Gun Control

Gun control has some pros, cons, ethical concerns, as well as values. First, concerning the pros, guns control has the advantage of reducing violence. Having laws that control the possession of guns will help in reducing violence in the country (Martins 1812). Criminals will not have access to firearms easily when gun control policies get implemented. The other advantage of gun control is having a reduction of incidences of homicide. The cases of murder will also be low because the possession of firearms will get control. Most of the murder incidences are due to gunshots. Reported killings at the family level, for example, occur mostly because of people having guns in their houses. Therefore, the free circulation of arms increases murder occurrences as intentional or unintentional. Gun control is also advantageous because it lowers the incidences of suicide (Milligan 3). Today the highly reported suicide incidences happen by the use of gunshots. Failure to control gun possession is life-threatening because people use firearms to commit suicide.

Gun control is also of benefit because it upholds morality and values in society. Having a situation where people's lives are not threatened because of reduced incidences of violence, murder, or suicide is morally acceptable (Martins 1812). Gun control will be a way of upholding ethics in society by creating an environment where people's lives are not under risk. Though violence, murder, and suicide are inevitable, having weapons that enhance such actions is not morally correct. Therefore, gun control is of importance because it helps in upholding acceptable moral values in society. Besides, gun control also enhances moral values among people through the use of peaceful and healthy means of solving conflicts and stress. The negative thought or idea of shooting another person occurs when there is ease in accessing guns. Values like forgiveness, love, and mercy can be promoted if people are not accessed to firearms to shoot others for revenge or hatred purposes (Smith and Jonathan 17). As a result, gun controlled should be imposed because it upholds moral values in society.

In spite of the advantages of gun control, the action has some disadvantages. One of the demerits of having gun control is that it is against the constitution. Gun control breaks the rights to defend citizens against as stipulated by the law (Milligan 4). According to the Second Amendment of the Constitution, people are allowed to bear arms for security and defense purposes. The provisions of the constitutions allow citizens to possess guns; therefore, having laws that impede the bearing of firearms is unconstitutional. The other disadvantage of imposing gun control laws in possession of weapons is that it is against democracy that requires the actions of safeguarding the lives of all people. Limiting some people from possessing firearms is a way of going against the principle of democracy that requires the safeguarding and defending all people in the country (Smith and Jonathan 17). Therefore, gun ownership should not get controlled because it will limit the level of some citizens safeguarding themselves against violence.

The Solution and Possible Outcomes for Gun Control

Gun control will solve the issue of increased crime, murder, and suicide leading to outcomes that indicate security and low life-threatening actions. First, gun control will save lives as uncontrolled ownership of firearms leads to increased killings today (Martins 1812). People who lose their lives because of either intentional or unintentional shooting will reduce because of not allowing free circulation of guns. Reducing the number of people owning firearms will also lower the threat of people killing others in case of conflicts (Milligan 3). For instance, Incidences like family members killing each other or students shooting fellow learners because of disagreements are on the rise today. Therefore, having gun control will reduce such incidences leading to safe and secure living.

The other outcome that will emerge due to gun control is a reduction in crime incidences. Uncontrolled ownership of guns assists criminals to commit their criminal offenses (Smith and Jonathan 18). Firearms facilitate crimes like theft with robbery, murder, rape, as well as assault. Having a situation where the possession of guns is not limited to just a few people, it will increase the chance of criminals having an opportunity to use firearms to perpetrate crimes. Serious crimes like mass shooting will get avoided due to having policies that control guns ownership. Gunshots are also used in crimes to harm or impose fear in victims by criminals who intend to offenses. Therefore, gun control will reduce the ease of committing crimes in the society. Research also indicates that firearms get misused for crime purposes which lead to increased actions of violence (Martins 1812). As a result, gun control will lead to reduced crime incidences as criminals will find it challenging to own firearms.

My Opinion of the Gun Control Outcomes

From the discussion above, it is evident that gun control is of benefit to both the citizens and the government. As a result, I am in support of gun control because it saves lives by reducing firearm killings. The number of people who die due to uncontrolled ownership of firearms will reduce (Milligan 3). I also have an opinion about gun control because it reduces crimes. Criminals will not be in a position to own guns easily because the government will be controlling the circulation of firearms. Saving lives and reduced criminals incidences in society due to having policies that govern firearms possession, morality, and values will get upheld. People will resolve to use peaceful means of solving conflicts or frustration instead of using guns to shoot other people or themselves. Since the incidences of misuse of firearms are on the rise today, there is a need for coming up with a strategy that will help in reducing murders, violence, and suicide associated with gunshots (Smith and Jonathan 18). Therefore, I am for an opinion of having policies that control the ownership of guns for safe living and reduced crime community.

Works Cited

Martins, Sun. "Gun Deaths And The Gun Control Debate In The USA". The Lancet, vol 390, no. 10105, 2017, p. 1812. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(17)32710-1.

Milligan, Susan. "We Need Gun Control To Stop More Than Criminals". US.News, 2019, https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/susan-milligan/2014/01/16/we-need-gun-control-to-stop-more-than-criminals. Accessed 5 May 2019.

Smith, Jacob, and Jonathan Spiegler. "Explaining Gun Deaths: Gun Control, Mental Illness, And Policymaking In The American States". Policy Studies Journal, 2017. Wiley, doi:10.1111/psj.12242.