Running Head: POLICY PROPOSITION 1

Policy Proposition

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Date
POLICY PROPOSITION 2

Gun Control

The prevalence of violent criminal activities, especially in the United States and other

parts of the world, has facilitated significant measures to be enacted to control the problem. The

United States has been reported to experiencing the highest number of gun ownership among the

developed countries. Unfortunately, there is the absence of comprehensive regulations governing

the control, usage, and ownership of guns (Reeping et al., 2019). A number of cases associated

with mass shootings and the killing of innocent people have been widely reported in different

states. Unfortunately, the Federal government has done little in establishing efficient and

sustainable policies regarding ownership of firearms. Regardless of the Second Amendment that

aims at protecting people rights to "Keep and Bear Arms" alongside the Brady law, which

ensures that irresponsible individuals are not allowed to obtain or possess firearms, these

firearms have remained the primary killing machines as over half of American citizens have been

reported to own or possess firearm for protection purposes. Today, guns have become a standard

weapon among the Americans disregarding the dangers that it poses to their lives. As much as

they possess them for protection purposes, most of them are irresponsibly used in committing

criminal activities such as killing people; thus, gun misuse must be a serious problem that has to

be brought under control. Therefore, this paper seeks to identify the problems associated with

gun control and the possible solutions to this controversial policy issue. The federal government

of the United States should impose adequate control measures on ownership and use of firearms.

Hamilton and Kposowa (2015) say that despite the previous federal efforts to curb the

spread of gun violence with a high reliance on the criminal legal system, it has failed to control

the prevalence of gun violence. Due to this, it has become important to trace the root causes of

gun violence. One of the root causes of gun violence is the extent to which children have become
POLICY PROPOSITION 3

prone to violence due to the violent movies they watch and video games they play from

childhood to adulthood. In contemporary society, it has been reported that most of the parents

work; thus, their children lack sufficient time with their parents to learn and love. When parents

fail to express their love to the children and how they are cherished, such children will likely

grow with no love or affection towards other people. When they do not care about the lives of

others, any small misunderstanding might force them to pull a trigger and kill a person (Reeping

et al., 2019). Various studies suggest that the status quo has to be changed to allow parents to

spend much time with their kids and show them love and affection and educate them on the

dangers of misusing a gun.

According to Swanson et al. (2016), another serious cause of gun violence is due to drug

abuse. This has been reported to be the most influential cause due to the widespread of various

drugs such as Xanax and other related anti-psychotic or drug prescriptions that interfere with an

individual's moods. The use of such drugs interferes with the real being of an individual as the

influence of such drugs makes an individual lose the sense of humanity, and any minimal

confrontation results in shootings. The use of such drugs has seen America experience horrific

shootings since the mid-80s, with every shooter being diagnosed with certain kinds of such drug

descriptions.

Another root cause of gun violence is racism, where communities of color are heavily

affected by the structural inequalities derived from racism. Such inequalities promote gun

violence due to racist policies that adversely target people of color, thus creating an

underinvested and segregated neighborhoods. The black Americans are likely to reside in very

segregated and poorly maintained neighborhoods with limited social services, limited access to

healthcare facilities, and limited economic opportunities coupled with low employment
POLICY PROPOSITION 4

opportunities compared to their white counterparts (Swanson et al., 2016). With such limited

resources, there is a likelihood that most of them will acquire guns and rain their favored white

people, killing them to get their livelihood. Such unequal opportunities among different

communities living in the United States have been reported to be among the root cause of gun

violence.

Lastly, in the United States, firearms have been reported to be easy to acquire. There are

minimal restrictions towards the acquisition of a gun, thus allowing many people to obtain one.

Unfortunately, not all gun owners acquire them with a good intention, as others acquire them

with the purpose of committing a crime. Such easy acquisition of a gun is another reason for the

widespread gun violence in the United States. In addition, insufficient policies are governing the

usage of these guns.

Having taken a toll on the United States, it has increasingly become necessary that the

issue of gun violence be brought under control. One way of curbing gun control is through the

effective implementation of gun regulations and prevention of violence projects that can

eliminate this serious carnage (Cox, 2018). The first step is for the United States federal

government acknowledging that gun violence is a serious threat to human rights, particularly the

right to life, personal security, and physical integrity. With this, the government can establish

basic systems to regulate how individuals acquire and use ammunition and firearms in abusing

human rights. Ideally, a firearm license ought to be subjected to specific conditions being

achieved. For instance, a gun owner can be subjected to a comprehensive checkup to dispel any

risk factors such as state of mind, criminal records, and violent behavior both at home in the

community. This is likely to limit the uncontrolled acquisition of guns, thus preventing guns

from landing in irresponsible hands.

Through different agencies can reduce violence at a domestic level. For instance, through

Amnesty International, the state can institute domestic gun reforms and prevention of gun

violence by advocating for regulations based on firearms and their possession. The state can also

encourage evidence-based violence elimination community programs, especially in communities

experiencing high gun violence rates. Parents can also play a role in solving this controversial

issue at the domestic level by offering their children sufficient love and affection while instilling

good morals in them. In doing so, they will develop the art of caring for other people. Parents

should also teach children the dangers of gun misuse and keep firearms away from where

children cannot easily access them. Gun violence can also be incorporated into the school

curricula to teach all the students about the dangers of gun violence (Cox, 2018). Such education

is instrumental in reducing gun violence, especially among the young generation.

Finally, the state can enact strict laws on gun usage where those caught misusing guns are

instituted with tough legal remedies such as long sentences or even death sentences and heavy

penalties. This is likely to instill discipline concerning the usage of firearms among Americans.
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References

Cox, K. S. (2018). A public health crisis: Recommendations to reduce gun violence in

America. Nursing outlook, 66(3), 219-220.

Hamilton, D., & Kposowa, A. J. (2015). Firearms and violent death in the united states: gun

ownership, gun control and mortality rates in 16 states, 2005-2009. Journal of Education,

Society and Behavioural Science, 84-98.

Reeping, P. M., Cerdá, M., Kalesan, B., Wiebe, D. J., Galea, S., & Branas, C. C. (2019). State

gun laws, gun ownership, and mass shootings in the US: cross sectional time

series. bmj, 364.

Swanson, J. W., Easter, M. M., Robertson, A. G., Swartz, M. S., Alanis-Hirsch, K., Moseley,

D., ... & Petrila, J. (2016). Gun violence, mental illness, and laws that prohibit gun

possession: evidence from two Florida counties. Health Affairs, 35(6), 1067-1075.