A shooting incident happened in Brooklyn, New York last July 27th, two shooting incidents also took place in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio in August. The absurd manifesto of the incident in El Paso, Texas, expressed the suspect’s strong anti-immigrant propensity with a fear that Hispanics would overtake Texas and turn it into a ‘Democrat Stronghold’. Due to the shooting incidents occurring in succession, a total of about 30 died and a number of people were injured and this has shocked the whole U.S. Yet these incidents are not the first. So then, when will America be safe from the guns?

Why Does the U.S. Allow the Gun Ownership?

     

▲ https://steemit.com/guns/@motoengineer/just-logic-gun-control-regulation

      There are 35 countries across the world that have legalized gun ownership and among them, the U.S. is one of the only 3 countries that clearly state the gun ownership of civilians in the Constitution. However, the number of civilians owning a gun is a serious issue of the global community not only in America. According to the ‘Small Arms Survey(SAS)’, there are more than 1 billion small guns around the world as of 2018. Of that ‘billion’ guns, about 857 million guns are owned by civilians, not by government military or paramilitary organizations. What’s important here is 393 million guns, which are nearly half of the number of civilian-owned guns, are said to be owned by Americans, suggesting the fact that the U.S. has a much higher percentage of civilians owning guns than other countries.

           For which reasons does America allow gun ownership? First, the power of the lobbying of the National Rifle Association(NRA) in the U.S. is very strong. The association exerts relatively large influence to the U.S. Congress. It is the group that has put forth a contrary opinion to the public whenever there has been a shooting incidents in the U.S. The association exercises its power with huge amounts of money. In fact, last year in 2018, the total amount of money it spent on lobbying is said to be around 107.9 billion won and based on its financial strength, it is likely to control, at least parts of, the U.S. government. Because of the lawmakers who are sponsored by the association, the bills about controlling gun ownership is often unable to be passed even when it is proposed. Second, Article 2 of the U.S. 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.’ In 2008, the Supreme Court upheld the judgment of federal’s appeal case which ruled against Washington D.C.’s strict gun restriction that bans gun possession for personal protection. In addition, there were controversial opinions over whether the subject of rights mentioned in Article 2 of the Second Amendment is a member of the militia or general public. But it ended up with adjudication that ‘the people’ are all individual citizens of U.S. As a result, every time gun control becomes tightened, the advocates of gun rights reinforce their arguments saying it is overturning the Constitution to regulate gun ownership.

How is the U.S.A. reacting towards gun control?

           Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, said “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” Like this, American people take a serious view on freedom. As one of the founding principles of the nation was ‘freedom’, they still consider gun ownership as their right. However, since the gun shooting incidents are threatening the everyday lives of citizens, the controversy on gun control is gaining more attention, also considering the need for Article 2 of the Second Amendment.

  

         On February 25th, 2018, CNN commissioned a polling agency SSRS, and surveyed 1,016 adults and found out that 70% of the respondents supported stronger gun control laws. The percentage is said to be the highest record in 25 years in the U.S. In addition, in recent society of America, there is a ‘#NeverAgain’ campaign which is against gun violence. American society, which is already at the forefront of gun violence, seems to try to stop making another victim through   surveys and campaigns. But there are also some worries that considering the huge number of guns across the whole of the U.S., it is irrationality to completely prohibit gun ownership. Also, as an exceptional case, Texas has taken steps to ease gun control, and now allows gun owners to bring their guns into religious facilities, including chapels and synagogues. This kind of movement of Texas has raised a lot of questions as opposed to the Florida and Ohio which have reinforced gun-related regulations.

The shooting incidents of El Paso and Dayton caused a lot of innocent casualties and injuries. However, we must know that there are even more shooting incidents taking place all over the entire U.S. other than the widely known incidents on the news. Given the historical characteristics of America, such as the independence and western exploration, guns were thought to be the best tool to protect themselves and their private property. But today, a long time has past, so now it is time to redefine the meaning of guns and think about what gun values to the current society of the U.S. and its people.

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