Universal Background Checks

Every day innocent lives are taken away by individuals who obtain and use guns for violent purposes. Majority of killers who use a firearm have a past criminal history, unstable home life, or a mental disability. Besides thorough backgrounds being done, the individual should also be questioned as to what is their intent to purchase the gun. Not everyone should just be granted the right to buy one. If a person has no ill intent reasons for the use of his/her gun; then there should be no argument for a background check on that person. If they have a past history of using a gun illegally then they should by no means be able to use or possess a firearm. More lives would be saved if gun control laws were universal. I strongly feel that universal background checks should be mandatory for anyone purchasing, handling, or carrying a gun.

Gun control is a controversial debate across the country. Many argue that everyone should have the right to bear arms. However, that doesn’t make as much sense in today’s reality as it has in the past. We are now seeing more and more gun crimes on the news, and in our daily lives. More tragedies are occurring across the nation. With each tragedy legislators devise new restrictions and plans for gun control, instead of crafting one bill that will solve the entire problem (Rostron 513). Today, gun regulations are a sore subject. Americans disagree on whether there should be more laws implicated or not. The government is at a stand still because of the American people’s constitutional right the bear arms. So, the only thing that legislation seems to do is pile new regulations on top of old ones. This doesn’t get the job done. It just makes things more confusing, and with more confusion comes easier ways for criminals to gain access to guns. This is because gun control laws are different state-by-state.

With gun laws changing at every state line, it becomes easier for criminals to get ahold of guns. It is easy enough to research what specific states gun registration laws are. The Internet makes it extremely easy for criminals to find out which neighboring state they will be able to obtain a gun in. According to Rostron, a police spokesman stated that it is easy to buy a handgun from a neighboring state (543). If a criminal was turned down in one state they could easily get to another state and purchase a firearm. This would not be the case if all states required a universal background check. A universal background check would make it impossible for a criminal to be turned down in one state and not another. This would ultimately lead to fewer gun crimes.

If there were stricter laws on gun purchases more lives would be saved. Firearms are used in 60 percent of murders committed in the United States (Roth). Just imagine how many lives that would save if murderers were not able to obtain guns as easily. Once an individual commits a crime they are no longer able to be in possession of a gun. However, that doesn’t stop criminal’s form getting their hands on firearms. Criminals can gain access to firearms by either going to a neighboring state and retrieving a gun, or going about it in an illegal manner. Either way, having accessibility to guns only increases the chances of crimes taking place. Roth also suggests that the greater availability of guns coincides with a higher murder rate and chances of felony gun use. Universal background checks would help to decrease murder rates across the country.

Having regulated gun control laws and universal background checks would improve homicide and suicide rates. Firearms aren’t just used in crimes against others. Often times individuals with some form of mental problem, whether depression or disease, are able to easily purchase a firearm. They then use the firearm to commit suicide. If there were stronger gun regulations and background checks, this wouldn’t be the case. Loftin et. al. conducted a study on the results of restrictive licensing laws; they found that there was a definite decrease in suicide rates, as well as, homicide rates when the restrictive licensing was in place. Making it more difficult for individuals to gain access to guns helps to decrease gun violence rates. These results can be used as evidence that universal background checks would help to decrease crime across the country. Firearms in themselves carry certain intent.

Firearms are dangerous weapons. They can be used in many different ways to commit crimes. Firearms carry intent into a criminal act more so than any other assault mechanism (Zimring). Once someone has decided to commit a crime, having a firearm available to him or her only makes the situation more dangerous for those involved. A firearm is less personal and less intimate than a knife, or anything else that can be used to commit a crime. This can make committing the crime seems like less of a thought and more of a reaction to the criminal. A firearm lets an individual stay a safe distance away from the victim and still hold power over them. Firearms carry intent by their sheer ability to have power over others.

All weapons carry some sort of power over those who are weapon-less. However, when firearms are involved the intent to commit a violent crime increases. The use of a firearm instead of a knife, or other weapon increase the probability that a violent crime will take place and be completed (Wintemute 46). When a criminal brings a firearm with them to commit a crime, it is likely that they are planning to use it. Firearms carry with them a sense of security for those who hold it in their hands. It also can make a criminal feel more powerful and more untouchable when they are committing their crimes. When a criminal has a gun in their possession and something unexpected happens they are more likely to reach for their gun and use it. Firearms have the ability to take away the lives of others. This is the biggest reason why guns need to have higher restrictions when it comes to owing one. When guns get into the wrong hands terrible things can happen. Universal background checks would make it harder for individuals with intent to commit a crime to purchase and posses a firearm.

Having universal background checks across the country would help to unite the nation on the issue. Majority of those who are against gun control laws are against them because they believe it will have an impact on their use of guns. Those who think they would be most affected are hunters, and others who collect and use guns for purposes other than criminal. However, having universal background checks and gun control laws could be achieved without interfering with hunters, sportsmen, and others if the regulations focused only on handguns (Jacobs 62). Handguns would be the main focus because they are the most used firearms when it comes to crime. Legislation has not found a way to unite America on the gun control issue. If they would focus on handguns and having a universal regulation there would be more of a chance for people to agree on the issue.

The problem with gun control is that it is more than an issue we face as a nation. Over the years it has become a political problem. There has always been controversy over the issue, because gun control goes against the second amendment. Everyone has the right to bare arms. Taking this right and trying to control it on a government level seems to cause problems. People don’t like when their constitutional rights are taken away from them. However, that is not the idea behind having gun control. Gun control is put into place in order to make the country safer for those who live here. There have been numerous attempts to change gun laws, and there always seems to be the same problem; politics. It is extremely difficult for legislation to pass even modest gun control laws, and it takes monumental effort plus some luck, but imposes heavy political cost (Jacobs 62). Even when legislation wants to pass a bill that controls gun laws, they have to deal with politics. It is not easy to get government on the side of gun control when they know how big of a controversy it is across America. Availability of firearms is another issue to focus on.

The simple availability of firearms to individuals increases the likeliness a crime will take place. It is no coincidence that most homicides occur under the same circumstances, and this suggests that there is a link between the accessibility of firearms and the homicide rate (Seitz 598). If it were more difficult to get access to a firearm, there would be less crime. Seitz also suggests that strict gun control laws reduce gun ownership, and increases the effort an individual has to put into obtaining a gun (601). This is a positive when it comes to gun violence. People like when things are easy for them, and criminals are no different. Laws that make it more difficult for criminals to have access to guns only help to decrease the violence across the nation. Every time an individual is denied, or doesn’t want to put extra effort into getting a gun, it makes for one less armed person to threaten others.

The reason why accessibility is such a big issue behind gun violence is that accessibility makes the act of a violent crime more likely. Meaning that if an individual is able to easily obtain a firearm, they are more likely to use it in a crime. Having access to firearms leads to specific types of crime, such as robbery and murder (Wintemute 46). Firearms lead to more serious crimes. When criminals and individuals who have ill intent have easy access to firearms nothing good can come of it. Those who already have the intent to commit a crime are more likely to use a gun when they commit those crimes. Crimes that are committed using a gun usually end very badly. Innocent lives can be lost. However, if accessibility were limited because of universal background checks, it would be less likely for these crimes to take place. The nation already has gun restrictions in place for a reason, but those restrictions are not enough.

Specific gun regulations and laws are in place for a reason. Not everyone is suited to have a gun. The simple fact that restrictive licensing exists suggests that guns are dangerous items and should be restricted (Vizzard 157). People understand that guns are dangerous, and that there needs to be a way to restrict individuals that shouldn’t have access to guns. Certain groups of people should not have access to firearms, and restrictive licenses help to control that. These groups of people include felons, the mentally disturbed, and children. Although it seems like it wouldn’t be a problem to keep guns away from these individuals that is not the case. No matter how hard we try to keep these individuals away from firearms it is still a possibility that they will gain access somehow. When guns fall into the hands of those groups of people that’s when tragedies happen. Regardless of if it is an accident that occurs or a planned out crime, keeping firearms out of their reach is extremely important. A set of universal laws for gun control would help to avoid those individuals from getting their hands on firearms.

When the wrong individuals get possession of firearms, bad things tend to happen. Crime rates increase, and people lose their lives. The idea behind gun control is to keep this from happening. If stronger gun control laws were put into place, such as, universal background checks, the crime rate would also decrease. Using a gun to shoot and kill another person is, in itself, considered to be a crime. Therefore, controlling guns would ultimately be aimed at limiting criminal activity (Goss 108). When violent crimes, such as murder, take place there is almost always a firearm involved. If there were stricter laws put on firearms there would be a significant drop in crime rates. People would not be as scared that the wrong individuals would be able to get access to firearms.

Some may argue that there are already gun control laws in effect that keep guns out of the wrong hands. An example of one of these laws would be the federal “felon-in-possession” law. This law makes it illegal for any individual who has been convicted of a felony to posses a firearm; however, this law also applies to individuals who are drug users, formal mental patients, and illegal aliens (Jacobs and Potter 94). This is indeed a helpful law for gun control. However, some people still slip through the cracks. If an individual has committed a crime on a state or federal level, or has ever been a mental patient that would have to show up on a background check. Therefore, if universal background checks were mandatory throughout the country it would be nearly impossible for those individuals to purchase a firearm. However, it is known that not all of those individuals get their guns from the primary gun markets that would be required to use universal background checks.

It is known that individuals who cannot pass background checks are still able to find and purchase guns. They typically are obtained from secondary gun sellers, or black markets. The sellers in these secondary markets do not typically have the ability to run background checks. Also, they do not take the same precautions as sellers from primary markets. It is not in their best interest to make sure the people they are selling to are stand up citizens. As a matter of fact, it is in their best interest to ask as few questions as possible. Secondary markets are known for selling firearms to individuals who otherwise not be able to obtain guns. It is more of don’t ask don’t tell kind of transaction. Sellers are more worried about making their money than they are worried about what the firearm will be used for. Having greater market regulations for primary markets would lead to a reduction of firearms from the primary to secondary markets (Vizzard 158). This is extremely important for the reduction of criminals with access to firearms. Therefore, if universal background checks were mandatory, there would be a significant decrease in gun flow to secondary markets. Americans have their own opinions when it comes to gun control laws.

Gun control laws and issues seem to find their way into the media more often than not. Regardless if people feel one way or another about gun control, they care that innocent lives are being taken away because of gun violence. There have been numerous surveys conducted on how Americans feel about gun control, and guns in general. In a recent study, one out of three individuals shared that they knew someone-friend or relative- that had been shot (Goss 2). If you do the math on that it means that about 63 million individuals have known someone who has been a victim of gun violence. That is an astonishing number. It also suggests that the current laws in place for gun control are not doing their job.

Many Americans can’t seem to come to an agreement on their views on gun control. However, public opinion polls regularly reflect that crime and violence are at the top of peoples list when it comes to problems facing the nation (Goss 3). The message behind this is the fact that people care. Regardless if they can come to an agreement on different views on gun control, people care about violence and crime. Americans want to see a decrease in these problems. People want to feel safe when they are outside of their homes. Guns play a huge role in both crime and violence across the nation. It is obvious that more needs to be done to help people feel safe.

Having strict regulations that are universal to every state is one way to solve the problem at hand. Over the last 70 years, Americans have favored stricter government regulations on firearms as a way to control the violence problem (Goss 3). Universal background checks across all states would help to regulate who is able to possess a firearm. The only individuals that would have a reason to be against this regulation would be those who cannot pass a background check. Having universal background checks would help to decrease the violence across the country. Firearms are very common when it comes to the problem of violence.

Firearm violence is common across the country. In 1998, about 700,000 violent crimes took place that involved the use of firearms (Wintemute 45). It is more than 10 years later, and it is far easier to obtain firearms. Once again, the availability of firearms makes it that much easier for individuals with mal intent to possess guns. Today people don’t fight or talk things out when a problem arises. They use violence with firearms to solve their problems. This can be seen through the past, and more recent tragedies that have occurred. If you look at instances such as, the Columbine school shootings and the tragic Sandy elementary school shooting you can see how gun violence is getting worse as time goes on.

Gun violence is a problem that only seems to be getting worse. When criminals have access to guns, it is likely that a victim will be injured or killed during the crime. In robberies and assaults, those who were victims were more likely to die when the criminal was armed with a gun, rather than when the criminal had a different weapon or was unarmed (Roth). Gun violence has destroyed many lives across the world. Guns take away lives faster than any other weapon used in crimes. Gun violence has seen all time highs, and seems to be in almost every story on the news. Without strict regulations on guns these rates will continue to increase. Gun control laws walk the fine line of trying to protect the people guns would otherwise be used against. Limiting gun accessibility would only save lives, not take more away. Having universal background checks, as a stricter gun control law, would help to get the nation on the same page. It is not enough to just have gun control laws at the state level. The ability for gun control laws to change state-by-state only makes it easier for criminals to gain access to firearms. Gun control is not meant to keep guns out of everyone hands, but simply keep guns out of the wrong people’s hands. Handguns are the most commonly used firearms when it comes to gun violence.

People feel more comfortable with a handgun than they do with a riffle or any other firearm. Handguns are easy to conceal and are easier to handle. In 1994, American households contained over 65 million handguns (Wintemute 45). Consider that statistic as 65 million handguns that didn’t get purchased under strict gun control regulations. Who’s to say that those handguns all went to individuals who had no criminal background? It is also important to consider that more guns have been made since then, and gun availability has increased as well. The more guns there are available to people, the more gun violence that occurs. This is especially true when there are not mandatory universal background checks for all of the guns that are available. More people are likely to be injured or killed with guns that are purchased without strict regulations.

In conclusion, it is my strong belief that universal background checks need to be mandatory across the nation. There are many different reasons as to why universal background checks should be implemented across the nation. The sheer fact that over 60 percent of all murders are committed with a firearm is one very strong reason. Although there is controversy over the issue, gun violence is at the top of American’s list of problems facing the nation. Not everyone should be able to own and handle a firearm. Previous felons, the mentally disturbed, and those with unstable lives should not be allowed to possess a firearm. If mandatory universal background checks were put into place, it would be nearly impossible for those individuals to purchase a gun. With today’s laws, and the availability of firearms, it is far too easy for individuals with ill intent to purchase a firearm. Therefore, if universal background checks were implemented, lives across the nation would be saved.

Works Cited

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Jacobs, James B. Can Gun Control Work?. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Jacobs, James B., and Kimberly A. Potter. "Keeping Guns out of the "Wrong" Hands: The Brady

Law and the Limits of Regulation." Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, vol. 86, no. 1, 1995, pp. 93-120.

Loftin, et al "Effects of Restrictive Licensing of Handguns on Homicide and Suicide in theDistrict of Columbia." New England Journal of Medicine, 1991.

Rostron, Allen. "INCREMENTALISM, COMPREHENSIVE RATIONALITY, AND THE FUTURE OF GUN CONTROL." Maryland Law Review, vol. 67, no. 3, 2008, pp. 511-569.

Roth, Firearms and Violence. United States. National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Firearms and Violence.

Seitz, Steven. "Firearms, Homicides, and Gun Control Effectiveness." Law & Society Review, vol. 6, no. 4, 1972, pp. 595-614.

Vizzard, William J. Shots in the Dark: The Policy, Politics, and Symbolism of Gun Control. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2000.

Wintemute, Garen. "Gun and Gun Violence." Trans. Array The Crime Drop in America. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000, pp. 45-47.

Zimring, Frank. "Is Gun Control Likely To Reduce Violent Killings?." Chicago Law Review, vol. 35, no. 721, 1968.