Gun Control Laws On Gun Violence In America

The swelling number of gun violence in the United States, is an alarming situation faced by this great nation, that has led to many innocent civilian, getting affected by it. According to Amnesty International, every year, nearly 30,000 people are killed due to the escalation of violence with firearms. In 2017 alone, more than 39,000 people died from firearms. This has been the highest since 1968. In 2020, in the first month itself, there have been plenty of people who have died and the numbers are still increasing. The reasons leading to the increase in number of violence are many, but no proper background checks before the sale of the weapon, is among the prime reasons. Serious incidents in 2019, like in El Paso incident in Texas, where 24 people were killed; Dayton, Ohio, where 17 people were wounded, etc. have spurred the debate on stricter gun control laws yet again, and it is necessary for this House to deliberate upon them.

Vermont, the state from which the Senator represents, has been in 2018, on the Annual Gun Law Scorecard undertaken by the Giffords Law Center, ranked 21 out of 50 on the Gun Law Strength in the state and 34 (11.8) out of 50 on the Gun Death Rank (Rate). The country faced a major problems with gun suicides, with 9.55 suicides per 100,000 people, and Vermont ranked 18th in the USA, at a rate of 44% above the national average in 2018. Another problem that the state has faced, is the gun theft. From 2012 to 2018, close to 122 firearms were stolen from arms dealers. Earlier, the state’s weak gun laws, made the state a favourite state for illegal gun trafficking. But today, this is not the case. The deaths have been steadily reduced to 6.8 (only 44 deaths in 2018-19). This was possible due to the state's stricter legislation, for example, enacting comprehensive background tests, issuing a severe risk protection order, banning a large-capacity magazine, and raising the minimum age to buy weapons to 21, so that adolescent violence could reduce .

This was just the case of Vermont. We need to work together, to bring in stricter laws in the whole country so that violence and innocent lives are not affected. The Senator believes it is very necessary, to immediately curb upon the sale of semi-automatic firearms (often called “assault weapons”). At the outset, the Senator believes that there has to be instant background checks, something which was not proposed in the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, that established some background checks and a waiting period, which did not speak about instant checks and a ban on sale, hence modifying it is necessary. The Senator had always supported a legislation in favour of an immunity to manufacturers, as it would not hold the manufacturer, responsible if a murder is committed using their gun. But with changing times and opinions of the American society, it is necessary that certain responsibility should be taken by the manufacturers.

The Senator, has been highlighting upon the important role of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and need to increase its funding for studies in firearms violence. But the Senator, holds his objections on the functioning and is critical against the National Rifle Association, that is biased towards real issues and comes out in support of those, who openly support the gun violence in USA. The Association, has totally failed to back on politicians, who are debating on the real issue like that of banning certain important assault weapons nationwide. The Senator respects the obligation being made under the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, that people do have the right to buy guns, but certain sensible regulations must be made. More than half of the population of Vermont own guns, but there must be stricter and sensible safety regulations for the people, both at state and national-level.

Hence, to reduce the already deteriorating situation in the United States of America on the issue of gun violence, the Senator would like to propose the following solutions that can help in curbing the increase:

1. A comprehensive legislation is necessary, to properly eliminate loopholes of arms supply, which allows people to purchase weapons without checking the correct background. Thus, universal background verification must be created.
2. It is important that weapons produced for military purposes (offensive weapons) do not, in any way fall into the hands of the civilian population. The Senate, must draft legislation prohibiting it entirely from selling to the American people.
3. It is also important that mental health is properly handled. The Senator believes, that if people suffer from a nervous or suicidal breakdown, they must get the care they need immediately, so that such incidents can be minimized.
4. There is a need to bridge the cultural divide between the American countryside and the urban America and come up with some logical legislation that accommodates and is equal to everyone, across states. There is a need for a national dialogue to express the demands of the masses.
5. States should be given more authority over the federal government to decide on the waiting period for the purchase of a gun and that federal government, should not indulge in background checks, and rather leave it to the state governments.

Therefore, it is in the best interest for the people of this great nation, that a comprehensive one law is drafted for the entire country, that can reduce the gun violence in different states for which the Senator would like the above proposed solutions, to be taken into serious consideration by this House and drafted into a legislation.