Introduction
The question of gun control is crucial for every country taking into account the rise of international terrorism and repetitive cases of shooting in public places. People fear and admire weapons. Children and adolescents watch films and play computer games with lots of weaponry, learning that murders are a common thing in society. Adults collect firearms and hunt. Although there are certain benefits for civilians in carrying weapons, robbers, gangsters, and killers use their rights to commit crimes. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the benefits and limitations of gun control.
How Popularity of Guns Affects The Society
In every country around the globe, any place or person can become notorious as soon as a shooting is involved (Spitzer 15). Nowadays, weapons are available to anyone who can provide all the necessary approvals. Therefore, the question is only in obtaining the papers needed. The cases of people shooting in malls, schools, and movie theaters are numerous. They demonstrate that even people with a serious mental illness can easily find weapons. The constant threat of terrorism pushes people to buy firearms even if they do not know how to use them. This results in many cases of self-shooting and accidental murders.
Modern mass media support the demand for pistols, revolvers, and rifles of all sorts. Gun owners are presented as famous successful people with lots of money. Guns are closely associated with power. This image is very attractive to adolescents who become very famous in their cities once they decide to use their firearms. It is not a big surprise that children and teenagers can carry weapons. They can buy them illegally, steal guns from their parents or make their barrels. The video instructions are open to watching online. Some people even present guns to their children as a gift.
Weapons play a significant role in the cultures of many countries. The gun is a symbol of conquering as well as a sign of protection. For centuries long, people have stayed their ground using firearms. This is still true for those who live on an international border. Illegal immigrants and smugglers trespass the border carrying weapons to meet also armed citizens on the other side. The circulation of firearms, in this case, ends only with the death of participants. New means of self-defense should be introduced to protect those who live near a national border.
Nevertheless, the majority of people build their image of guns on the information from news, films, and books. The amount of firearms in society has increased since World War II, but it is still a relatively rare case even for police officers to use their guns (Woldoff et al. 57). Mass media remains the main source of information about weapons and contributes to the popularity of firearms in society. All abovementioned speaks strongly for strict gun control and elimination of weapons among civilians.
How People Can Protect Themselves in the World of Guns
Mass media can easily overestimate the threat of weapons in civil society to attract more viewers. Citizens with allowed guns do not normally go rampage and shoot everybody around them as soon as they acquire their weapons. Lott claims that “in the entire United States during a year, only about 30 people are accidentally killed by private citizens who mistakenly believe the victim to be an intruder” (2). The events concerning shooting are often overdramatized. In many cases, journalists intentionally omit the details to underline the threat of weapons.
The number of stories about people protecting themselves with firearms is largely outnumbered by colorful examples of brutal murders (McGinty et al. 495). The mass media is interested only in those cases when weapons are used. Therefore, no one knows how often people save their lives by showing their guns to intruders. The publicity does not pay attention to these cases because people do not speak about them. Citizens fear gun-control laws and underreport the effective use of allowed firearms.
Discussion
Nowadays, there are two contrary views on firearms in modern society. People fear guns and those who use them. The stories about shooting at schools, in hospitals, and in shopping malls confirm the threat of guns. At the same time, people are fascinated with weapons. They watch films and read books about gangsters and detectives killing each other. The image of a gun is associated with power and influence. Children shoot each other in video games. The mass media supports both of these views to attract all kinds of viewers.
The statistics show the increase in weapon sales after the attempt of the Obama Administration to initiate new gun-control legislation (Jones and Stone 3). People fear gun control, but many of them try to protect themselves with weapons. This opposition of intentions is evident at a national border. Illegal immigrants, smugglers, and drug traders use firearms and can assault civilians. The people living at the border can protect themselves only with firearms. The same situation is in places demonstrating frequent terrorist activity.
Therefore, it seems useless to prohibit firearms among civilians. People will find a way to buy weapons illegally, and the government will not be able to track the gun trade. Nevertheless, strict gun control should be wisely implemented to decrease the use of guns in society.
Conclusion
The question of implementing strict gun control is crucial for every country around the globe. People simultaneously fear and admire firearms. The mass media supports both of these views trying to please everyone. Modern films and books demonstrate strong attractive characters shooting everybody around them. Shooters are among the most popular video games among children and adolescents. People do not hesitate to use firearms for defense as well as for an assault. In the meantime, the news is largely exaggerated. Civilians underreport the cases of successful weapon use for protection. Therefore, the public knows only about accident murders and crimes. The use of weapons by civilians is crucial at a national border. Many citizens can protect themselves only by owning firearms because smugglers, drug traders, and illegal immigrants can assault them while trespassing a border.
It is of no use to prohibit guns in civil society. People need to feel protected. They can find a way to buy firearms. This will lead to an increase in crimes and the weapon black market. A wisely implemented gun control should be implemented to achieve visible results. It is of great importance to decrease the impact of the mass media on the image of firearms in modern society. New types of self-defense should be introduced to decrease the number of weapons sold to civilians.
Works Cited
Jones, Michael A., and George W. Stone. “The US Gun-Control Paradox: Gun Buyer Response To Congressional Gun-Control Initiatives.” Journal of Business & Economics Research, vol. 13, no.4, 2015, p.167.
Lott, John R. More guns, less crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws. University of Chicago Press, 2013.
McGinty, Emma E., et al. “Effects of News Media Messages about Mass Shootings on Attitudes toward Persons with Serious Mental Illness and Public Support for Gun Control Policies.” American Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 170, no.5, 2013, pp. 494-501.
Spitzer, Robert J. Politics of Gun Control. Routledge, 2015.
Woldoff, Rachael A., et al. “Unpacking Heat: Dueling Identities and Complex Views on Gun Control among Rural Police.” Rural Sociology, vol. 7, no 34, 2016.