Guns and Violent Crime, Essay Example

The causes of gun related deaths in the United States are a contested topic.  There are those who believe that a lack of adequate control coupled with a culture that not only allows but approves of the possession of guns.  Going beyond this, many see it as an essential right that all free people must have in order to keep government overreach in check.  However, it is argued that the legal framework for obtaining a gun is too weak and allows those with a violent disposition to obtain them.  Furthermore, the culture that surrounds guns in the U.S. does a poor job of relaying the potential dangers that guns can have.  Finally, gun violence has been linked in many cases to use of alcohol or drugs, which cause inhibitions that exacerbate social situations, making situations much worse than they would be otherwise.

Although violent crimes affect everyone, they are disproportionally related to younger minorities.  “Among US residents ages 10 to 29, homicide is the fourth leading cause of death for non-Hispanic Whites, the second leading cause of death for Hispanics and the leading cause of death for non-Hispanic Blacks.” (Gun Violence…) In this way, violence is directly related to the circumstances of a person’s gender, class, or ethnicity. Those who live in less wealthy communities are shown to be more susceptible to gun violence than others.  This is not simply because these people have less money. With less structured environments, it becomes easier to obtain illegal firearms and drugs, which, as we will see, are contributing factors to gun violence.

Furthermore, a lack of access to certain knowledge, specifically knowledge of the dangers of firearms, can also lead to a higher amount of gun violence. “Violence is contagious and can become epidemic within a society” (Gun Violence…).  It is argued that violence leads to more violence.  It becomes a cycle that is harder and harder to get out of. The best way to break this cycle is with an education.  Giving people, especially young people and minorities in these areas, a better education can help give them the critical thinking necessary to make better judgment when they find themselves in situations involving violence.

One of the major roots of gun violence in the United States is the ease of access to ownership. It is logical that the more availability that something has the more proliferous it will become, and it becomes harder to show that they are dangerous as well.  An argument against stricter control is that some laws would have the effect of excluding certain classes or races from being able to obtain a gun. “The facilitation hypothesis suggests that increasing gun availability can increase total rates of assault and robbery when the availability of a gun provides encouragement to someone considering an attack or someone who normally would not commit an attack.” (Altheimer)  According to this idea, the excessive availability of guns is a cause of violence, as it encourages people who would otherwise be discouraged under more strict laws.

Another major factor leading to gun violence in the U.S. is the embedded relationship with guns that exists within the culture of American people.  While many argue that this thinking is essential to freedom, as this line of thought keeps the overreach of government institutions in check.  The problem is that this relationship can cause people to forget the dangers of guns, which can lead to accidents.  Furthermore, the integration of guns into culture has led to mental dissonances that can create a sense that guns aren’t necessarily dangerous.  This is mainly rooted in the country’s wild development, from the old west to wars with Indians tribes to slave rebellions guns have always been embedded in our culture.  Although since the beginning of the twentieth century the country had become much more civilized, it seems that “Americans seem reluctant to address the issue.” (Suter)

Finally, the use of alcohol or drugs has been shown to be a cause of gun violence.  As these substances can lead to inhibitions in mental faculties, they can ultimately cause people who find themselves in violent situations to act with less sound judgment. “Experimental studies have also shown a consistent relationship between use and aggressive behavior, especially in the presence of social cues that would normally elicit an aggressive response” (Parker).  In this way, drugs and alcohol become contributing factors to gun related violence, as they tend to aggravate situations that could otherwise be alleviated by more sound judgment.

It has been shown that causes of gun violence are linked with a person’s situation and of their relationship with society as a whole. The lack of education in some lower income areas has also been a leading cause of gun violence, as the inability to access certain types of knowledge leads to misunderstandings of the dangers of firearms.  Ease of access to firearms as well as their standing in the minds of people within the country as a good and essential thing has also caused further violence. Ways to prevent gun violence include community involvement, changing gun designs for safety, limiting flow of illegal guns.

Works Cited

Altheimer, Irshad. an exploratory analysis of Guns and Violent Crime in a Cross-national Sample of Cities. Wayne State University. 2010.  April 2014.

American Public Health Association. Gun Violence Prevention. Articles from the American Journal of Public Health on GunViolence. http://ajph.aphapublications.org/topic/gunviolence. April 2014

Parker, Robert, Auerhahn, Kathleen. Alcohol, Drugs, and Violence. Presley Center for Crime and Justice Studies, and Department of Sociology. 1998. April 2014.

Suter, Keith. The Global Gun Culture. Global Directions. 2012. April 2014.