Gun violence is taking too many lives in America. Liberal gun laws and the Second Amendment right to own gun has made America a very dangerous society to live in. Gun violence is disproportionately affecting the African-Americans and the people at the low socio-economic level. The debate around the Second Amendment is mindboggling “politics almost always takes over common sense.
Studies have found; the United States has by far the highest rate of gun deaths “murders, suicides, and accidents ” among the world’s richest nations. Japan had the lowest rate.
In 2004, there were 29,569 gun-related deaths in the United States, including almost 12,000 homicides, more than 16,750 suicides and approximately 650 unintentional deaths. Every day, more than 80 Americans die from gun violence – almost 2.5 times of the number of persons killed at Virginia Tech each day. (Coalition to Stop Gun Violence).
The rate of firearm deaths among kids under age 15 is almost 12 times higher in the United States than in 25 other industrialized countries combined. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) American kids are 16 times more likely to be murdered with a gun, 11 times more likely to commit suicide with a gun, and nine times more likely to die from a firearm accident than children in 25 other industrialized countries combined (Centers for Disease Control).
There were also approximately 70,000 non-fatal gun shot injuries in 2005 serious enough to require at least an emergency room visit. In addition, there were 477,040 victims of gun-related crimes in the United States in 2005. In a single year, 3,012 children and teens were killed by gunfire in the United States, according to the data released in 2002.
That is one child every three hours; eight children every day; and more than 50 children every week. And every year, at least 4 to 5 times as many kids and teens suffer from non-fatal firearm injuries (Children’s Defense Fund and National Center for Health Statistics).
America is losing too many children to gun violence. Between 1979 and 2001, gunfire killed 90,000 children and teens in America and in one year, more children and teens died from gunfire than from cancer, pneumonia, influenza, asthma, and HIV/AIDS combined (Children Defense Fund).
We live in a society where access to gun is clearly responsible for so many deaths. So it makes sense to restrict that access. The Second Amendment was designed to protect individual right in a manner that was consistent with the need of that time. Democracy was not institutionalized and our freedom was in danger from the British Empire in late 18th century.
Freedom was linked with people having access to guns. At the dawn of the 21st century that paradigm does not exists. We don’t have to worry that another country making us a colony nor do we have to worry about America becoming autocratic nation.
Even if the Federal Government becomes an autocratic nation “we have to fight that struggle in a different way “our guns can’t math our mighty federal power. We have to keep in mind, our constitution is institutionalized – and so is our democracy and freedom.
Having access to gun is not making America more or less democratic or for that matter more or less free. Linking gun with freedom and democracy is rather silly “it reflects one’s lack of understanding of the world we live in “particularly in a seasoned and matured democracy like the USA.
Studies have found strong correlation between access to gun and violence again and again. Household with guns are more likely to experience violence, suicide and death by using guns.