The US Government is the main authority in providing the necessary laws and policies in order to regulate all the spheres of the public’s life in the country. The leadership of the government is realized in its ability to create the safe environment for the public where laws and policies have the real power. The problem is in the fact that definite laws can be discussed as threatening for people because of their controversial character.
Thus, according to the principles of the democratic society, the US population has the right to protect their life and property with the help of guns. From this point, the right to own guns can be considered as the accentuation of the Americans’ civil liberties. However, there is the other side of the issue. Nowadays, gun assaults become typical for the American society, and the situation requires its immediate regulation with references to the government’s leadership.
If the question of gun control policies was not actively discussed several years ago, today the situation is quite opposite, and the first attempts to control gun violence are observed. Thus, the task of the government is not only to provide laws and policies to follow the democratic principles but also to focus on the public’s security and citizens’ right to live which can be violated with references to the ineffective gun control laws.
Laws and policies often require their further improvement in order to respond to all the aspects of the definite social situation. The concentration of the US government on changing and improving the gun control policies is caused by the challenging tendency of increasing a number of tragic events associated with gun assaults and teenagers’ violence.
It is important to note that the incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was not unique, but the number of the similar incidents became unusually high during the last decade. Lawrence and Birkland are studying the tendency during several years. In their research, the authors refer to the situation of 1999. Thus, “in April 1999, two students at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado shot and killed 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves” (Lawrence and Birkland 1193).
The incident in Colorado shocked the American public. In more than ten years, the number of victims and the frequency of similar incidents are higher, and this tendency should be changed with the help of improving the government’s approach to controlling the usage of guns by citizens.
The US citizens have the right to purchase guns to protect themselves. This right is debatable because of many negative consequences which are not regulated with the help of the law or certain restricting measures. According to Stell, “gun assaults are 5-7 times more likely to result in death than non-guns assaults … 70% of American homicides are committed with guns” (Stell 38). Thus, “carefully-crafted, well-enforced firearms control policies can contribute to marginal reductions in criminal violence” (Stell 38).
That is why, the authorities should pay much attention to regulating the situation and preventing the development of the tendency. From this point, the US government is obliged to provide restrictions in order to control the gun violence. Mass shootings at schools can be discussed as the evidence to support the debates on the necessity of the restricting laws and measures to cope with the issue of gun violence, and teenagers’ violence particularly.
The US policies are traditionally developed with references to the principles of the democratic society. Nevertheless, the accentuation of some freedoms and rights should be balanced avoiding the violation of the other citizens’ liberties.
Effective gun control laws are necessary to prevent such situations when twenty innocent children become the victims of the ineffective law and the lack of necessary regulations. Thus, the debates on the development of the gun control laws have a long history. However, the first steps to restrict gun violence with the help of the concrete actions were made only in January, 2013.
Several states reacted to the situation in Newtown with providing the restricting measures to the gun policies and laws. Thus, Andrew Cuomo, the Governor in New York, was the first governor to sign the restricting law on gun control. The new law is focused on the definition of “what is considered an assault weapon and reduces the permissible size of gun magazines to 7 rounds, from 10”, and this law also emphasizes provisions “to better keep firearms away from mentally ill people” (Kaplan).
The above-mentioned details can be discussed as important to regulate the current situation and to overcome the problem of gun violence. It is important to pay attention to the fact that the rate of mass shootings is based on the public’s access to guns directly, and any restricting laws and gun control measures can be effective to change the negative tendency.
The first restricting law signed in New York is the first attempt to prevent the mass shootings and incidents at schools in the future. The effective legitimate steps are necessary to provide the secure environment for the US citizens without violating their civil freedoms and rights. From this point, the US government’s task is to continue to improve the laws on gun control in order to decrease the rate of homicides and teenagers’ violent attacks.
Works Cited
Kaplan, Thomas. Sweeping Limits on Guns Become Law in New York. 2013. Web.
Lawrence, Regina, and Thomas Birkland. “Guns, Hollywood, and School Safety: Defining the School-Shooting Problem Across Public Arenas”. Social Science Quarterly 85.5 (2004): 1193-1207. Print.
Stell, Lance. “The Production of Criminal Violence in America: Is Strict Gun Control the Solution?” Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 32.1 (2004): 38-46. Print.