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Of the many words synonymous with America - freedom, wealth, components of the coveted American dream - gun violence, unfortunately, is one of them. In the year 2022 alone, there were over 45 thousand gun-related deaths on American soil. Suicide has accounted for more than 50% of these deaths and more than 40% of gun-related deaths have been attributed to murder and homicide.
In 2021, death by gun-related injuries reached a historic high; nearly 50 thousand individuals. The United States gun homicide rate is over 26 times the amount of deaths in other high-income countries. Why has gun violence in America reached such terrible heights?
The Second Amendment
Perhaps the most significant document in America is the U.S. Constitution, from which the ultimate decisions the Supreme Court has to make about the largest, most controversial lawsuits in America stem from the question of whether they are 'constitutional' or not. The purpose of the Constitution, when drafted and published in 1989, was to govern a government with enough power to lead and act on a national level, while being unable to restrain fundamental rights. The Constitution was originally comprised of 7 articles, known as amendments, of which the Supreme Court judges. Of these 7 amendments, it is the Second Amendment the gun violence problem is concerned with; "...the right of the people to bear and keep Arms, shall not be infringed."
This amendment was written after the American Revolution, in which the entire American population had only recently overthrown a tyrannical government. It was written with the purpose that if the American government were ever to turn corrupt and infringe on the fundamental human rights of the Americans, the people had the power and weaponry to overthrow the government and fight for their own rights.
The idea was that the government should never have enough power to destroy the democracy that has been put into place and that Americans had the right to protect themselves from a dictatorial government, or any other entity that might trespass on their basic rights.
The Gun Problem
Although the Second Amendment was written with good intentions, it has led to the inevitable rise of gun violence with little restraint on possessing guns. As death tolls rise and mass shootings become increasingly common while the Supreme Court still holds a strong grip on gun rights being Constitutional, the federal government and states find it difficult to adhere to the call of the general public to pass gun restriction laws. The paradox becomes the idea of no one wanting gun violence, and yet unwilling to give up their own guns at the risk of their own lives.
With the support of the Supreme Court upholding the Second Amendment, gun organizations such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) have rejected any compromise to the rights of owning guns. Although the general public advocates for gun restriction laws such as background checks and age limits, with powerful organizations such as the NRA and the Constitution backing them, it is nearly impossible to pass any policies.
According to the Pew Research Center, 40% of American adults say they "live in a household with a gun". Over 70% of these gun owners say their main reason for owning a gun is for self-defense and protection. Other reasons include game hunting, gun collection, or job-related activities.
The American population is evenly divided into whether or not gun ownership increases or decreases safety in America, with 'decreases safety' holding a slight majority. However, 60% of Americans believe that gun violence is a huge problem in America, while 23% believe it is only a moderately large problem. The conclusion? Although the majority of Americans believe that gun violence is a significant problem in society, many are unwilling to accept the idea that guns are the problem, or rather that the ownership of guns must be given up in order that the gun violence problem can be solved. They believe in the illusion that gun violence can disappear without guns leaving the picture. Owning a gun makes them feel considerably safer, but why would you need to be safe when there is nothing to be afraid of in the first place?
The Solution (Not Really)
However, solving the gun problem with stricter gun laws and gun policies is not so simple. Although, in other countries, severe laws on guns have been put in place for a long period of time, the idea of America being the land of liberty is imprinted strongly in the minds of Americans. This can be clearly seen with the recent COVID-19 pandemic in which many Americans refused to wear masks, insisting that the government mask policy was an infringement of fundamental rights.
The idea that America was the land of the free where the government could not violate human liberties and that one of those liberties is the ownership of guns, makes writing stricter laws on the American people increasingly difficult. What is the balance of true freedom? What are the fundamental human liberties, how far do they extend, and until what point does the government govern that will violate these rights? Or perhaps the ultimate question is; can a government truly govern a country full of individuals who are fully independent?
It is clear that America is in dire circumstances in terms of gun violence problems. In 2021, there were over 6.7 gun murders in every 100,000 people. Suicide by guns is also at an almost historic peak, with an estimated 7.5 gun suicides per 100,000 people.
In the year 2022 alone, over 6,000 children were killed or injured by gunfire and either intentional or indirect use of guns. Gun violence has recently surpassed car accidents as the greatest threat to American children in causes of death. The gun violence death rates per 100,000 people in America surpass the second and third-highest death rates by gun income countries (France and Spain) by over 5 times.
Although the problem is apparent, the laws and policies are almost impossible to change due to the inherent mindset of Americans; that of freedom. Through this dilemma, we can observe a distinct battle between freedom and life. What happens when America must choose between sacrificing some of its citizens' freedom to save the lives of tens of thousands of people across the nation?
