In 2017, 39,773 deaths of people were related to gun injuries. This is the most recent complete data from the CDC, and it does not include deaths in which gunshot wounds are a secondary health issue. Note that the US has had gun control policies that date back to the Brady Act 1993. Nevertheless, these control policies seem inadequate to combat the gunshots and injuries epidemic due to the partisan makeup of the nation’s legislature, and the everchanging murder rates.

Since independence, it is inarguable that most policies are enacted or amended depending on their partisan by the congress or states. For instance, the Democrats have often pushed for tighter gun control policies, unlike the Republicans. Therefore, Republican administrations have continuously declined stricter policies. Besides, the NRA – the most active interest group in the US, has persistently supported that “that gun control measures would violate the “right to bear arms” that is contained in the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution” (Kornblum et al., 2019, p.191). That way, the NRA has established partisan support with the Republicans, and a strong grassroots community who vetoes strict gun control policies.

Over time, the wave of public demand for strict gun control changes with murder rates. For instance, in the 1990s, when murder rates had increased from 8 to 10 per 100,000 people, stricter gun control policies were popular, unlike in the 2000s (Kornblum et al., 2019, p.192). The change has created a push differential for strict policies by the public over time. For instance, I had not heard an intense recall for gun control policies until the mass killing at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. Since then, I have experienced waves of support and demand for strict gun control policies every time there is a mass killing. Therefore, murder rates and the partisan makeup of the legislature have influenced gun control policies by and at large.

References

Kornblum et al.,. (2019). The Issues of Gun Control. In K. McWhother, In Concert: An Integrated Approach to Reading and Writing (3 ed., pp. 191-192). New York: Pearson.