Question

Are guns a public health crisis? Explain. What groups are most at risk of injury or death from firearms. Discuss why these groups are at risk. Discuss ways that we could mitigate firearm deaths in the US. When we consider the individual right versus the societal benefit, where do you think gun ownership belongs? In other words, do the supposed benefits of gun ownership outweigh the societal risk that guns bring? In the three articles by Dowd-Arrow and his co-authors, were there any individual benefits? What were they? What is the role of research in understanding and solving this particular public health issue? How does the Dickey Amendment impact this research? Should the Dickey Amendment be repealed?

Answer 1

One of the most important debates that ‘s going on in the American society for a while is whether or not bring strict laws on gun control. When we look at the history of America, it was a vast land and when settlers came, they had to own guns in order to fight the harsh conditions both humans and animals as they lived far away from each other. Secondly, when the war of independence was confirmed, people were asked to bring their own guns to fight because the government was not in a position to provide arms to everyone. Thirdly, there were not enough conditions to prevent people from owning fire arms. However, today the situation is entirely different as there are more gang crimes and random shooting that occurs every now and then thus remaining a great threat to people in the society. Gangs have become a law and order issue and public health and safety issue. Although there are individuals who own guns with proper licence, it would only lead to many black markets to sell guns to the gangs which would lead to more violent events. The Dicky Amendment that was passed in 1996 suggested that funds allotted for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shouldn’t be used to promote gun control. This would mean that gun crimes are not taken into account as public health issues that lead to more conflicts further. This is because those who get injured through gun crimes also come under the public health crisis. So, in my opinion, a better gun control policy at the wake of the sophisticated policing system is the need of the hour.

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