Background Checks

One of the biggest issues within the gun control debate in America is the ease of which someone can purchase a firearm. Most states have certain restrictions in place including background checks and registration forms, however these are not always completed in entirety or falsified and in some cases ignored. This means that criminals or mentally deranged individuals can obtain firearms. The laws in place should be enforced and there should be new laws added in order to keep guns out of the hands of criminals without affecting American’s privacy.

News programs show the horrifying outcome when firearms are put in the hands of unstable individuals. Aurora and Sandy Hook were terrible tragedies and pressured the public to take sides on gun related issues. Gun control supporters continuously try to promote legislation that will add more gun laws. If they were to do a little research, they would realize that there are already laws in place that are not being enforced properly.

In the case of Sandy Hook, Adam Lanza was known to have a past of mental illness. Even with knowledge of her son’s illness, Mrs. Lanza had firearms in her home with no form of lock box. If her weapons would have been locked away properly, the mayhem may not have occurred. The shooter in Aurora had obtained his weapons legally, as there was no law preventing the sale of firearms to the mentally ill. The legislators should work on providing a bill that will prevent anyone with a past of mental illness from owning firearms.

However, the background checks should not invade the American people’s privacy. The database that houses information about mental illnesses and criminal backgrounds should also include owned firearms. This information should remain private in efforts not to single out non-gun owners. If it was public, criminals could use this database to plan out robberies on houses without guns.

With these checks being performed regularly, firearms will stay out of potentially dangerous people’s hands, in turn decreasing the amount of gun-related crimes.