Gun crime is an act that involves using a firearm to cause disturbance to the community. Such action may not be regarded as a crime unless the gun or firearm was used in a homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, or suicide. Some countries are notorious for having recorded the most number of deaths by use of weapons. For instance, Brazil has recorded the largest number of deaths resulting from malicious use of guns, with over 43,000 lives claimed yearly (Resnick et al. 432). The United States comes second, having recorded 37,200 deaths. This paper aims to explore the problem of illegal gun usage in the United States, the possible change, and an appropriate course of action to resolve it.
A number of individuals have died in the United States as a result of illegal use of firearms. According to the survey carried out by Pew Research Center, 44% of American citizens have reported that they are aware of someone who has been shot, and another 23% has confessed that a gun has been used to intimidate them (Resnick et al. 432). From 2008 to 2017, at least 342,439 individuals lost their lives due to gun violence in the United States (Cook 1382). This statistic implies that in the United States, a person loses their life every 15 minutes (Resnick et al. 435). The U.S. should therefore find ways of preventing further loss of lives as result of firearm violence.
However, the rate of gun violence in this country varies as per the state. Some places are recognized for gun-related homicides, while others are notorious for gun suicides. Among the leading four territories with lives lost are Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, and Mississippi (Resnick et al. 432). In contrast, some places such as Rhode Island, New York, Hawaii, and Massachusetts have low firearm death rates. While the government can play a vital role in addressing the menace of firearms, a community-based intervention can also contribute to the entire process of alleviating this menace. Therefore, the United States government should find new ways of addressing this menace in each state.
The Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive is a federal unit in the United States that administers and enforces laws relating to illegal use of firearms and other deadly weapons. (Cook 1385). This agency specializes in protecting Americans from criminal organizations and illegal gun usage (Cook 1372). Since this is a prevalent issue in the United States, community and individual initiatives can address this predicament. This law enforcement unit can ensure guns trafficking is investigated while also detecting and counteracting illegal sale of weapons to address random shootings in public.
Creating awareness of illegal gun use by organizing and mobilizing the youth to participate in peaceful demonstrations is significant. The teams responsible for this would use the banners conveying the message to the AFT agency to keep the masses safe. These peaceful demonstrations would involve the groups of people marching around the streets and various places in cities to communicate with the people. Such protests would be held to inform the government, AFT, and other relevant bodies to adopt a different strategy of addressing this matter. The second step would be to use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to create awareness of this issue. The social media message would inform the AFT and other relevant bodies to enforce sensible gun laws to minimize and limit easy access to deadly weapons. When social media is used to create awareness of arms use, the youth can be mobilized to take part in addressing the menace of firearms use.
The third step would be to write an official letter to the main governing body, the ATF, to offer different strategies which can be implemented to approach the menace of guns use. The message should point out various ways, limiting firearm access to youth and other individuals. It should also inform the AFT and the government to develop stringent measures of holding individuals responsible for gun violence accountable (Resnick et al. 432). The letter should also notify these bodies to enforce compulsory training and licensing for weapon owners. The ATF should therefore work with the government to ensure that the problem of guns in the U.S. is tackled.
Moreover, the letter should also seek comprehensive solutions from the ATF to support community planning and incorporate safety plans for prevention and intervention. Since gun violence is a problem which affects the entire country, community-based initiatives are significant. For instance, the expansion of access to high-quality health assistance will help manage the consequences of trauma associated with unlawful use of weapons (Resnick et al. 432). The letter should also request the ATF to sponsor gun violence research to find ways of incorporating safety plans.
The fourth step would be to educate the community on gun usage safety practices to minimize guns’ immediate threats. Education will be useful in reducing risks and increasing community, family, and individual resilience. The initiative will use social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram to communicate with the community. For significant results on safety practices, the initiative proposes using hospital-based intervention strategies, Advance Peace, and other related models. Strategies such as youth employment should be substantial enough to reduce illegal use of firearms in the community. Therefore, educating the masses on safety practices of arms use would help solve the problem of firearm violence.
In conclusion, gun use remains a critical problem which affects all spheres of life. Therefore, the government should work closely with the ATF to tackle this predicament from an individual, public, and territorial levels. However, for illegal firearms use to be solved, families, communities, and countries should take a step to alter their culture to break this cycle of violence. While gun violence continues to remain a challenge to the community, critical steps to resolution start from an individual.
Works Cited
Cook, Philip J. “Thinking about Gun Violence.” Criminology & Public Policy, vol. 19, no. 4, 2020, pp. 1371-1393.
Resnick, Shelby, et al. “Firearm Deaths in America: Can We Learn from 462,000 Lives Lost?” Annals of Surgery, vol. 266, no. 3, 2017, pp. 432-440.