The Culture of Guns in the US

The gun debate in the US is not new and it has been ongoing for several decades now. The matter of bearing guns and using them is related to the American culture itself and enhanced and protected by the American constitution. Guns, in other words, have a cultural aspect in American society, and bearing them has become a social phenomenon that has visible consequences in society. Mass shootings and constitutional rights are often terms used in this debate by both sides, pro-guns groups and anti-gun groups. However, there is no right or wrong answer in the gun debate but rather a social reality and a legal aspect of the matter to be discussed and developed upon. 

On the one hand, the social consequences of the right of bearing guns in the US got a lot of attention after all the deadly mass shootings that happened there. That is, many people lost their lives because of this constitutional right which facilitates getting a gun by individuals in the society and eventually using it (Hughes, 2019). Anti-gun politics aims to reduce the possibility to bear guns and eventually use them in society by limiting the accessibility to guns by the public and giving authorities a legal basis on which they can control guns in society. That is to prevent or at least reduce the number of mass shootings that cause deaths and serious injuries to individuals. 

However, this is not as easy as it seems even though it is rational to solve a social problem that causes deaths in society. The second amendment of the American constitution gives all citizens a constitutional right to bear guns for self-defense purposes. The second amendment reads as follows:” A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” (Constitution of the United States). This article of the US constitution imposes a legal obligation on authorities to not infringe this constitutional right (Lang & Selin, 2021; Legal Information Institute). Pro-gun groups frame their debate based on the argument that this legal obligation imposes on authorities. Furthermore, they claim that the solution is not by restricting gun laws but rather other solutions are more effective such as increasing the number of police per capita and working on reducing crime rates. They suggest that such solutions would give better effects in this regard (Lang & Selin, 2021). 

However, the matter has been presented before the legal bodies in the US and we can find some precedents that indicate how the legislators are tackling the issue. In almost all cases the pro-guns debaters won and the decision came to their side. That is because the American constitution does not specify further about bearing guns but rather it emphasizes the right of bearing arms (legal Information Institution).

However, the whole debate is focused on whether it should be allowed to bear guns or if the authorities should control guns on a legal basis. The cultural and societal aspect is never tackled in this debate. That is, it has been several centuries since Americans have gotten this constitutional right which indicates rooted social and cultural phenomena in American society. In simpler words, bearing guns is something that, to some extent, belongs to American culture. Changing this culture will impose a long-term process by authorities or anti-gun debaters. Furthermore, this constitutional right has an economic aspect in the US as the weapon industry there would not just allow a restriction of the law.  

Regardless of which standpoint we take in this debate, the main issue remains unsolved. That is, the balance between the constitutional right on the one hand and the social phenomena that have deadly consequences, on the other hand, is yet to be discussed and debated further to achieve an acceptable solution by pro-gun debaters and anti-gun debaters. 

Sources

Lang, Z. and Selin, J., 2021. In gun debate, both sides have evidence to back them up. [online] the conversation.com. Available at: https://theconversation.com/in-gun-debate-both-sides-have-evidence-to-back-them-up-158118 [Accessed 21 October 2021].

Hughes, R., 2019. US gun debate: Four dates that explain how we got here. [online] bbc.com. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42055871 [Accessed 21 October 2021].

LII / Legal Information Institute. n.d. Second Amendment. [online] Available at: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/second_amendment [Accessed 21 October 2021].

Cong. Rsch. Serv., Constitution of the United States: Analysis and Interpretation, https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-2/ [Accessed 21 October 2021]