Why Does America Have a Gun Problem?

Why Does America Have A Gun Problem?

With forecast firearm deaths in 2020 likely to exceed 40,000, America clearly does have a gun problem - but why?

In a nutshell, this can be explained by the following chart:

Obviously, if there are more guns in circulation there will be more firearm-related deaths and injuries, for the simple reason that guns are designed to make it easy to kill.

So why are there so many guns in America?

This can be explained by the following 3 factors:

1. A high demand for firearms
2. A ready supply to meet the high demand
3. Relatively few firearm regulations

So why is there such a high demand for firearms?

The high demand to purchase and own firearms can also be explained by 3 main factors.

1. The 2nd Amendment - 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.

These 27 words enshrined in the Bill of Rights as the Second Amendment are considered sacrosanct by the majority of Americans and many citizens will proudly accumulate firearms in the naive belief this may help overthrow a tyrannical government. Also, the words shall not be infringed seems to resonate e.g. many gun owners will brag about possessing semi-automatic weapons and stating it is their right to own these weapons as the right to bear arms shall not be infringed.

2. The need for protection -

A majority of Americans believe that owning guns protects them, although, in reality, access to guns actually has the complete opposite effect. A detailed review of scientific literature conducted by researchers at UC San Francisco and published online by the Annals of Internal Medicine in January 2014, found that someone with access to firearms is three times more likely to commit suicide and nearly twice as likely to be the victim of a homicide as someone who does not have access[i].

[i] Kurtzman, L. (2014, January 21). Access to Guns Increases Risk of Suicide, Homicide. Retrieved from https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2014/01/111286/access-guns-increases-risk-suicide-homicide

3. Culture - The culture which encourages gun ownership and glorifies guns is unique to the United States and is covered in more detail in another post.

The second reason why there are so many guns in the US is because there is a very efficient supply system providing a high volume and variety of well-marketed firearms readily available for purchase, thus ensuring the supply meets the demand. 

The third reason why there are so many guns in the US is that there are relatively few firearm regulations on both the types of weapons that can be sold and who is allowed to purchase firearms. 

The ease of purchasing weapons can be summed up using the example of Stephen Paddock, the gunman who perpetrated America's deadliest mass shooting in modern times at the Las Vegas Harvest Music Festival in October 2017. He was legally able to buy 33 firearms in the year before the crime, twelve of which were semiautomatic rifles that were rigged with legal devices allowing the guns to fire like an automatic weapon. Nevada, where Paddock lived, does not impose any waiting period on gun purchases and does not limit the number of guns a person can purchase in a single sale. It is extremely unlikely that this level of firearm purchasing would be allowed in any other highly developed country. 

The reason why there are so few firearm restrictions in America are varied and complex and include the following.

The 2nd Amendment and in particular the District of Columbia v Heller Supreme Court decision. The influence of Gun Rights Advocacy Groups, particularly the NRA. Political Lobbying, Money & a ban on firearm research by the Centre for Disease Control (CDC).