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Running Head: Gun Control and Violence

Gun Control and Violence in the United States

Victor Esteves
Professor Victoria Estrada
RWS 1302
University of Texas at El Paso

Abstract
Gun violence in the United States is rising to an all-time high. The government is limited
to the action they can take to stop the increase of gun violence because the citizens are backed up
by the second amendment. The second amendment states that the United States citizens have the
right to bear arms, so if the government intervenes with that right that the citizens are born with
it will be classified as an unconstitutional law. The two sides to the argument are the people who
are for a stricter gun control laws, and the other side are the people who are against it. A bill was
passed that allows students and faculty in college campuses the right to carry concealed guns.
The pro to that bill is that if a shooter was ever to be in a college campus, anybody with a
concealed gun can take down the shooter and potentially save lives. The con to the bill is that it
would change the whole environment to the college campus and possibly even increase violence
because of more people having weapons. The government is in a difficult situation to find
answers to reduce gun violence in the United States.

Literature Review: Gun Control and Violence in the United States

The United States leads the world most guns owned by civilians in a developed country,
while also having more gun deaths than any other developed country in the world. The United
States deals with a gun issue as there is gun and crime every day. The solution to decreasing the
problem isnt clear because all citizens of the United States are entitled and have a right to bear
arms. The right for civilians to bear arms is backed up by the second amendment in the
constitution. The government cant just simply fix the problem by taking the citizens guns away,
so that creates a complicated issue because it would be considered unconstitutional if that was to
happen. The two sides of the problem are the people which are for tighter restrictions and gun
control, while the other side are people that are against gun control and are backed up by the
second amendment. Its a stalemate that has politicians and lawmakers scratching their heads
trying to find an answer.
Gun violence is a problem that couldnt have been avoided since when the founding
fathers gave U.S citizens the right to bear arms. Between 1966 and 2012 there were a total of 90
mass shootings in the United States, according to a study posted by CNN. Mass shootings are
defined for the study as having four or more victims and don't include gang killings or slayings
that involve the death of multiple family members. There were a total of 292 mass shootings in
the world from 1966 and 2012, so the 90 U.S. mass shootings are nearly a third of the 292 such
attacks globally for that period. The U.S populations is only 5% of the total world population,
but the 5% accounted for 31% of mass shootings in the world. For these statistics and reasons the
argument continues to see if the government can enforce a gun control or if there is even an
answer to solve this problem. The conflict of gun control deserves serious consideration and
attention through the review of these four questions:

1.
2.
3.
4.

What is the current state and federal gun control laws?

What are the two perspectives that civilians have?
How are campuses and affected?
What solutions are there to stopping gun violence and placing a gun control?
What is the current state and federal gun control laws?
The second amendment states, A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security

of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
FindLaw.com. If the state violates the citizens right to bear arms, then the law is unconstitutional
and invalid according to Texas Gun Control law. The second amendment has been modified and
does have some restrictions, such as not allowing citizens to own every type of firearm. Some
commonly known, and prohibited, firearms include machine guns, short-barreled firearms,
silencers and silenced firearms, armor piercing ammunition, zip guns, and explosive weapons.
There are also citizens that are not allowed to own any firearms. The citizens that are not allowed
to own firearms are convicted felons within five years of release or parole, minors owning
firearms without parental permission, and those confined to a penal institution. In the state of
Texas it is prohibited to carry firearms on or near school grounds, but recently that has been up to
debate since people are allowed to carry firearms in college campuses.
Under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, people cannot carry a gun if;
1. Were convicted of a crime punishable by being in prison for more than one year; 2. Are a
fugitive from justice; 3. Are addicted to, or illegally use, any controlled substance; 4. Have been
ruled mentally defective by a court, or are committed to a mental institution; 5. Are an illegal
alien living in the United States unlawfully; 6. Received a dishonorable discharge from the U.S.
Armed Forces; 7. Renounced your U.S. citizenship, if you are a U.S. citizen; 8. Are subject to a
court restraining order that involves your 'intimate partner,' your partner's child, or children; or 9.

Were convicted of domestic violence in any court of a misdemeanor. Federal Gun Laws
(FindLaw.com). With all those restrictions of Federal Gun Laws, the National Firearms Act
(NFA) also does place restrictions on the selling or purchasing any short-barreled shotguns,
machine guns, and silencers. Some states have prohibited the purchase of any of those devices or
firearms, such as Texas, California and New York for example. If citizens want to purchase any
of those fire arms or devices and theyre in a state that doesnt prohibit it, they must owners
must go through an extensive background check, purchase a tax stamp for the manufacture of the
firearm or device, and register the weapon with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives' NFA registry. Federal Gun Laws (FindLaw.com)
What are the two perspectives that civilians have?
Citizens have two perspectives in this topic, theres the side that is for gun control and
restrictions, then theres the side thats against gun control and want to keep the regulations and
gun laws the way they are. There are the people who are for gun control or any type of
restrictions on the gun laws because of images and charts such as this one:

Source: American deaths in terrorism vs. gun violence in one graph. By Julia Jones and Eve
Bower, CNN
The graph goes to show the big difference of American deaths each year because of gun
violence compared to American deaths to terrorism. Terrorism sometimes takes away the
attention the gun violence in the United States should have. The real opinion and voice that
matters is what the citizens of the U.S feel and if they are concerned with the gun violence
increasing in their country. YouGov/Huffington Post ran a survey of 1000 US adults interviewed
April 9 - 11, 2014 on gun control. The results show that Americans tend to support stricter gun
control. One of the polls they ran was:

Do you think gun control laws should be made more or less strict than they are now?
More strict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49%

No change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24%
Less strict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7%
Retrieved from YouGovUs. The website for the polls can be found at
https://today.yougov.com/news/2014/04/11/poll-results-gun-control/
The poll was ran in 2014 and the result of the poll are from two years ago, but with the
recent increase in gun violence and mass shootings, one can infer that the number of people who
want stricter gun control laws has gone up. From another point of view are the citizens which see
the number of gun deaths in the United States increasing every other year, which that convinces
people that its maybe time for them to buy firearms to feel safe. This issue is seen as a tug of
war game with each side pulling for their concern and opinion but neither side can win.
How are campuses affected?
A recent bill has been passed that will allow students and faculty to carry concealed
handguns into class rooms and campuses. The bill takes effect in August 2016 in universities,
and August 2017 in community colleges. The question and debate in this new bill being passed is
if it will make campuses a safer place/environment or if it will raise fear within the students and
faculty in the campuses. The two sides of the debate are the supports which state, Supporters
say it will make college campuses safer by not preventing licensed gun owners from defending
themselves and possibly saving lives should a mass shooting occur, such as the one that unfolded
at Virginia Tech University in 2007. according to an article in the NY Times Texas
Lawmakers Pass a Bill Allowing Guns at Colleges. The points made from the supporters about

having concealed gun owners in campus and potentially saving lives if a mass shooting occurs
sounds reasonable, but there are people who are opposed and say that wont be the case.
The opposing side which doesnt want students and faculty to be armed in campuses are
against the bill because, Opponents say the notion that armed students would make a campus
safer is an illusion that will have a chilling effect on campus life. Professors said they worry
about inviting a student into their offices to talk about a failing grade if they think that student is
armed. And Democratic lawmakers and some university leaders worry about increased security
costs and the bills effect on recruiting potential teachers and students from other states.
according to an article in the NY Times Texas Lawmakers Pass a Bill Allowing Guns at
Colleges. The points made could be valid because knowing that there are people with concealed
weapons could bring an uneasy and unsafe feeling to the students and faculty that dont carry
weapons and change the environment of the college campus life.
What solutions are there to stopping gun violence and placing a gun control?
The solutions for stopping gun violence and placing a gun control are very vague and
seems like there isnt many solutions to this problem. The reason to why putting restrictions on
gun laws or having stricter rules about firearms is because the citizens of the United States have
the right to bear arms. The second amendment states, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary
to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be
infringed."-(Law Cornell Edu) Therefore just taking away weapons from the US citizens would
be considered unconstitutional and against the right that the citizens are entitled to from the bill
of rights.
Solutions to gun violence were stated by the preventioninstitute.org were to establish a
culture of gun safety. As the United States being the leading nation on earth with the most guns,

insist on mandatory training and licensing along with safe-and secure-gun storage. This training
should not be a one-time affair. Gun owners should be required to regularly refresh their training
and renew their permits, with requirements at least as stringent as those governing renewal of
your driver's license. Prevention Institute. The second reason that is stated is that with the
increasing amount of guns, the number of mental health services across the country have been
reduced. A solution to the problem is to have better background checks or institutions for people
with mental health conditions. A possibility of why gun violence is rising is because, "Our
children are experiencing and witnessing violence on an alarming scale. Prevention Institute.
The solutions listed are solutions that are not described as just taking peoples guns, they are
solutions which are actions to lower the risk of people with guns using the weapon incorrectly or
for bad purposes. That is why solutions are not very clear, the government is handcuffed and
limited to their actions because of the second amendment.
Conclusion/Synthesis
In conclusion, the conflict of gun control makes the case for the four research questions.
Each question had its own purpose, whether it was to inform what were the current state and
federal gun control laws, or the two perspectives that the US citizens have on this issue, show
how college campuses are affected, and potential solutions or why there arent many solutions.
Gun violence is increasing in the United States and doesnt seem to be slowing down, this is an
issue that wont disappear any time soon and will be brought up time and time again. The
government being limited to the restrictions they can place will make this an interesting situation
in next years if gun violence and deaths continue to increase.
References
"American Deaths in Terrorism vs. Gun Violence." CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 09 Apr.

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2016.
Fernandez, Manny, and Dave Montgomery. "Texas Lawmakers Pass a Bill Allowing Guns at
Colleges." The New York Times. The New York Times, 2015. Web. 09 Apr. 2016.

Finds." ABC News. ABC News Network, 2013. Web. 09 Apr. 2016.

"Front of Package Fail: Labels Tout Healthier Foods for Kids, 84% Studied Flunk Nutrition
Standards." Prevention Institute. Web. 09 Apr. 2016.
"Gun Laws - FindLaw." Findlaw. Web. 09 Apr. 2016. <http://injury.findlaw.com/productliability/gun-laws.html>.
Lupkin, Sydney. "U.S. Has More Guns - And Gun Deaths - Than Any Other Country, Study
"Poll Results: Gun Control." YouGov: What the World Thinks. Web. 09 Apr. 2016.

"Texas Gun Control Laws - FindLaw." Findlaw. Web. 09 Apr. 2016.