Issue Overview: Guns in America

Issue Overview: Guns in America

Every time there is a mass shooting in the United States, people start arguing over the right to own guns. Americans own more guns than anybody else on Earth. Firearms are involved in the deaths of more than 30,000 people in the United States each year. About 20,000 of those are cases of people killing themselves. Guns also played a big part in the story of America. The National Rifle Association (NRA) is the main pro-gun group in the country. For many years, it has successfully convinced courts and lawmakers to let more people own and carry guns. The Situation On June 12, 2016, a gunman killed 49 people in a bar in Orlando, Florida. The week after the shooting, lawmakers proposed laws that would keep guns out of the hands of suspected terrorists. They all failed to pass Congress. President Barack Obama has become frustrated. In January 2016, he announced several orders aimed at reducing gun violence. They required that more gun sellers check out people wanting to buy guns. The gun sellers have to make sure that the buyers aren't dangerous. Gun-rights supporters have asked judges to cancel Obama s orders.

In 2012, there was a mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. After that, Congress tried to pass a law to make guns harder to buy, but it failed. Since then, more states led by Democrats have outlawed assault weapons. These are guns that can fire many bullets at the same time. California passed a new law meant to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. But most states made their gun laws weaker. They allowed guns in more places, including schools, restaurants, churches and public buildings. People can carry hidden guns in all 50 states. The laws about who can carry guns are very different by state, though. Many states have increased the rights of people to defend themselves with guns. The U.S. has a higher per-person rate of murders committed with firearms than any other rich nation. Harvard and Northeastern University researchers say mass shootings have been increasing since 2011. The Background The U.S. is one of three countries whose constitutions let people own guns. Mexico and Guatemala are the two others. The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution talks about the right of the people to keep and bear arms. The amendment was written more than 200 years ago. It lets states form militias to protect themselves against the government. A militia is a small army made up of citizens, instead of full-time soldiers. In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the amendment permits people to carry guns,

not just militias. Beyond that, the gun has had a big role in U.S. history. It was carried by soldiers in the Revolutionary War and by cowboys in the Wild West. People in the U.S. own as many as 310 million guns. One-third of Americans own at least one gun or live with someone who does. Once, that number was higher. In the late 1970s to early 1980s, half of America's citizens owned a gun or lived with someone who did. Shootings in other countries also lead to arguments over gun laws. In Switzerland, for instance, a large number of people own guns. Yet Switzerland has a very low murder rate. Then it had two mass shootings in 2013. Switzerland started to think about new gun laws. The Argument The NRA argues that gun laws only hurt gun owners who follow the laws. They don't hurt criminals, who just ignore them. The NRA says that since Congress allowed assault rifles in 2004, violent crime in America has gone way down. Shootings, in general, are also down slightly. On the other hand, gun law supporters want to make it tougher for people to own guns. They say this will reduce crimes committed with guns. Australia passed strict gun ownership laws after 35 people were killed in 1996. Since then, there have been no mass shootings in Australia. Also, far fewer people have been killed by guns. The Annals of Internal Medicine is a magazine for doctors. It said the amount of gun violence in the U.S. is a health crisis.