Gun Control: What is the Answer?
In Chapter 12, LaFollette (2007) discusses gun control. In recent years, we have witnessed many tragedies concerning guns in the workplace. Do citizens have a right to bear arms? Answer the question in your reflection blog. State your opinion and follow up your position with supporting documentation. (MSLD 634 - ERAU)
When bearing arms and gun control is debated, contest lines are usually drawn around the Second Amendment. This topic is one of the most controversial subjects discussed in the past years. Many people favor gun rights, considering the Second Amendment as their constitutional authority to bear arms. On the contrary, some individuals support tightening gun laws to possess more control over them. The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ensures all citizens the right to bear firearms. My personal opinion on the matter is also positive, and I firmly support the second amendment.
"Each of us has a fundamental right of non-interference: we should be allowed to live our lives as we wish, so long as we do not harm others" (LaFollette, 2007). I firmly believe that the Second Amendment has a positive effect on lowering the crime rate and increasing public safety. These two topics are the government's primary objectives as all forward-looking, backward-looking, and blended punishments explained in chapter 11th of LaFollette's (2007) book, The Practice of Ethics, support the idea.
The government employs various ways of punishment such as deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, and retribution to merely achieve the goals above; lessening the crime rate and improving public safety. As LaFollette (2007) asserted, each punishment method incorporated into the government's public safety plan can be easily justified. After justification, we realize the nature of each punishment method that strictly opposes the definition of moral and ethical standards. However, because they seem necessary to provide the public with the safety and security they need, it is okay that "the end justifies the mean."
Contrary to the Second Amendment opposer who believes possessing guns adversely affects public safety and hence is unethical, I genuinely think the vacuum of such policy would result in tremendous tragedy in the U.S. It is noteworthy that people die due to criminal acts regardless of having or not having gun control in place. Consider nations where bearing arms is not allowed and is a criminal act. Don't people get killed because of illegal activities? I am not referring to any third-world country in which public safety is compromised anyway. I am regarding the so-called developed states like Germany, Italy, Spain, France, and so forth.
If ethics is not practiced and embedded in a society, people who relate to the community would commit a crime and carry out their plans to kill and hurt others utilizing any weapon, not particularly guns.
I have witnessed three kills in my life. In the first incident, a person was killed due to a strike of a steering wheel lock to his head after a road rage. In the second accident, the victim was deliberately run over multiple times by a truck, also after a road rage. And in the third misfortune, the victim was killed by a machete after a street quarrel. No guns were used on any of these occasions. As a matter of fact, from the police's perspective, two of these killings could have been avoided if the victims possessed a gun to defend themselves. Per personal experience, I can tell that having a firearm in possession prevents disagreements and verbal altercations from getting worse. A 2018 poll by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal found that 58% of Americans agree with the statement "gun ownership does more to increase safety by allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves" (Weida, 2021). Another research conducted by Pew Research Center released that 65% of men and 71% of women gun owners state that protection is the primary reason for carrying guns. The high possibility of having a firearm by an individual can bring hesitation for a criminal who tends to commit a crime. And this uncertainty and the second thought by a predator can provide enough time and chance for a potential victim to escape into a more protected place, and therefore, a possible crime or tragedy is avoided.
References:
Lafollette, H. (2007). The practice of ethics. Blackwell.
Weida, Kaz. “Pros and Cons of Gun Control: Gun Safety and Security.” SafeWise, 2018, www.safewise.com/resources/guns-at-home/.
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