Research Paper on Gun Control Movement

Introduction

There has been an establishment of social movements that seek to impinge on the rights of the people and the communities as a whole and violating the ability of people to function as a community. For example, the gun control movement is amongst the most developing social movements today as they strive to deliver points regarding the use of guns. Through the campaign, it seeks to explore the ways through which the laws are excluding the people from the activities in the social life and actions and taking the necessary measures in the mobilization to claim the rights. In other incidences, the social movements not only provide a way to ensure that the society remains in harmony with the delivered laws but also ensures that none of the human social rights are violated by any chance.

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Through the activities of the social movements, they consider various occurrence that takes place in the society that could harm the social livelihood of the people. For example, the movements seek to explain how the social rights are framed, how the given rights in this case the gun control rights challenge the status-quo, mobilization, among other happenings that deliver an involvement between the state's exercise of power through legality and illegalities, and how they provide a violation of the social rights of the people. Primarily, the social movement strives to outline and seek to bring a social development of change through the law (Mukherji, 1977). However, in the detail of this paper, I will provide arguments concerning the "Gun Control Movement" which seeks to change more meaningful statutes and regulations concerning guns. Also, within the article, I will consider the different aspects through which the gun control movement is enacting the social change through law and consciousness of the law.

The United States gun control movement is one of the functional and successful social movements that have delivered a significant impact on the social life of the society. Through different pushes, the United States gun control movement comprises a political action committee for the gun control that settles for advocating tight regulations that prevent the development of gun-related crimes or rather the gun control violence. The social movements, which can be termed as "Never Again" was formed by a group of students in the aftermath of a shooting in which 17 students and staff members were gunned down by a former student (Gomez, 2018). In the course of the actions by the social movement, it has staged numerous protests that deliver demands regarding the need for legislative measures that will ensure the life of people are protected and give them a feeling of safety as they undergo their social activities. In most cases, social movements develop as a result of an issue in the society or laws that may be implicating the people. Thus, in the case of the gun control movement, its primary aim is to take a legislative action that will prevent similar shootings in the future. In other occurrences, some of the activities are done in an attempt to deliver political movements (Kleck, 2017).

According to Goss (2010), the social movement theories deliver important explanation on various occurrences regarding the existence of a movement. Although Goss (2010) does offer arguments concerning the different challenge that renders non-existence of gun control movement, he points out that, the issues raised concerning gun controls are majorly politicized which represent a different track to the social movements. In other aspects, since the social movement theory is based on a gathered census based on numerous case studies that suggest of collective efficacy, political opportunities, and mobilizable resources, the gun control movement has managed to deliver the relevant atmosphere especially in the success of social movements to bring social changes through the law. The gun control movements have offered strategic occurrences especially in pointing out the different occasions through which politics have been used in either supporting or barring the activities of the social movement. In some of the occurrences, we have seen the social movement use various social media platforms such as Twitter to influence happenings in politics. For example, the gun control movement derived politics from changing the 2018 US election as they involved and embarked on a multi-city tour to encourage and motivate the young individual to register as voters. Although the social movement intends to ensure a legislative action, most of the legislative efforts are based on political activities. Following the different occurrences within the involvement of gun violence in the United States, there have been various events of gun violence throughout U.S history. However, there has been minimal changes on the gun policy laws since, in most of the occasions, there is an uproar of politics that impact the movement in various ways. Therefore, one of the underlying reasons as to the uprise of the gun control movement was as a result of the frequent cases of gun violence that have affected the society in distinct ways. Furthermore, the different claims of the rights have been influenced by the politics covering the gun policy.

Creation of Consciousness About the Law

With the different circumstances surrounding the creation of the gun control movement, the social movement has assumed different strategies through which it creates consciousness concerning the gun policies and laws. Since the issue pertaining gun violence deliver mass deaths, it means that most individuals are aware and are influenced by the results of the gun violence; however, most of the individual does not find the relevance in need for more legislation on the gun laws. The gun control movement has created the consciousness of the law through mass demonstrations. Since the occurrence of the mass shootings at different schools and social gatherings, the gun control movement has had significant presentations demonstrating the impact of the gun violence as well as the need stricter gun laws. For example, weeks after the parkland shooting in the United States, thousands of students demonstrated as they walked out of the classroom which is one of the most massive demonstrations in United States history. After the mass demonstration, there have been several demonstrations where hundreds of thousands of individuals demonstrate in towns across the continent as a part of an awareness step. Through the protests, they call the creation of more strict gun laws in the United States (Kleck, 2017). One of the primary ways through which social movements create consciousness about the law is through mass demonstrations. They increase the awareness of the law and establish the logic behind why the law needs to be changed and the ways through which the social lives of the people are affected by the underlying issues that render a need for the law change.

On the other hand, the gun movement has delivered a significant development in animating the law to ensure that the people recognize the rights implicated within gun control policies. In the attempt to provide this, there are various messages passed through the demonstrations for example with the use of posters among other clip arts that deliver symbolism to the issues. Through activism activities by the gun control movement, it has managed to generate extensive conversations concerning gun rights as well as chipping away the legislative gridlock concerning the issue of gun control. In various instances, the activism of the gun control movement is shifting the equation on the gun laws as the people can now understand the significant impact it has delivered in the society. Even though every individual has their thinking and perception concerning the gun laws, one underlying factor is that its use leads to one outcome which entails damage or loss of life.

With the different evidence concerning the issue that guns are causing to the society, the cases of gun violence are rising as well as the number of deaths in the aftermath of an attack. As individuals join in the demonstrations to derive the point conveyed by the gun control movement, they validate their point pertaining the need to change the law and deliver more laws that favor the social life in accordance to social movement theories. One could argue that the movements should touch on every side of the story; however, most of the underlying issues that affect the need to change the laws is not the argument on the importance of having guns, but rather the policies surrounding the firearms along with the different set gun laws (Coglianese, 2001).

Correspondingly, there are other occurrences by the gun control movement that render different questions especially on the shortcoming of the social movement. One of the significant questions revolves around the incident as to whether the failure to enact strict U.S gun control laws and policies reflect on the wiliness of the society and individual, or is it the power of different right groups and the power of the National Rifle Association (NRA). According to Carter (2006), a majority of the research pertaining gun use in the United States is contradictory as it does not offer sufficient information, which equally makes it difficult for the people to gain reliable information in objectively investigating the topic. However, Carter (2006) delivers a significant study and presentation on all aspects of the issue by giving a discussion about both sides of the debate creating tools for proper understanding. Of the numerous instances surrounding the issue of gun policy, in the question concerning the existence of a link between the prevalence of guns and violence. For many individuals, they assume that the connection between violence and guns prevalence exists; whereby, gun prevalence comprises the independent variable while the gun violence in the dependent variables. It signifies on the theory of social movement depicting on causes and effect.

According to Carter (2006), the proponents argue that guns have delivered benefits; however, various lessons from the experiences of gun use insinuate differently as the underlying occurrence on gun violence reveal the need to control guns. Through the circumstances, they deliver different historical, social and cultural perspectives regarding the issue of gun control. In most of the informed primary information concerning gun laws, most of the primary research dwells on the personal experiences developing from gun violence among other instance involving guns. For example, the gun movement comprises of several individuals who are survivors of the gun violence along with other members related to an individual that has been gunned down to death. As the debates revolve, a high number of involvements covers the politics which have for the longest time now hindered the associations of the gun control movement in achieving its core mission. Drawing back from the raised question pertaining the failure to enact stricter U.S laws as a reflection of individual preference or on the power of the NRA, it outlines the overall perspectives that the debates are siding on in as much the gun prevalence and violence are involved (Carter, 2006).

Pushing for Gun Control Rights

The step to examine the framing of rights is another occurrence that the gun control movement has maintained in the long run along with the mobilization of strategies and politics. Within this occurrence, it revolves on some of the significant consideration made by the gun control movement. Through the movement, it has delivered on ensuring that some of the arms are considered as it strives to provide a social change through the law. For instance, there was a bump stock ban. The U.S Department of Justice authorized a move to ban bump stocks, firearm equipment used to mimic automatic f...