-

GUN LAWS – BOON OR BANE
In the words of Wayne Le Pierre ‘The only thing that can stop a bad guy holding a gun is a good guy holding a gun’.

Gun Laws have been one of the most controversial and debatable aspects of a country’s constitution ever since its first mention. Many countries have implemented the gun laws very strictly while some are hindering from doing so due to various reasons.

Now coming to the point let us discuss about the various pro’s and con’s of gun laws. Gun laws are basically a set of rules or guidelines governing the ownership or acquisition of guns not just by the law enforcement agencies and the army but also by the citizens. So, now the most controversial aspect of the law comes into light. Should citizens have the rights to own ammunition or not? Well, many superpowers in the world such as USA, Russia, United Kingdom (UK) etc believe that the citizens can be trusted and the respective governments can be sure that the arms they supply to them are not in wrong hands. Some other nations like Philippines, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan etc too follow the same ideology. However, all the nations mentioned above also agree upon proper checks and precautions to be taken before handing over a gun to a civilian. But agreement and implementation are 2 different things and unfortunately in the current situation the expectations and the implementations are poles apart from each other with the latter being neglected upon in many countries (USA and Pakistan being 2 major examples). However, there are some positive points about some countries that do not agree with Gun regulations overshadowing of which would be quite unethical. What the statement mentioned above portrays is that some countries (like Russia and Sweden) which don’t mind giving citizens arms have taken ample measures to ensure minimal risk regarding the misuse of arms provided. For example in Sweden there would need to be a valid reason for ownership of more than one firearm. It is stipulated that all firearms are to be stored/kept in an approved gun safe. It is illegal for a civilian in Sweden to carry a firearm, unless for a specific, legal purpose; such as hunting or attending shooting ranges. Also, before owning ammunition a citizen should attend gun safety classes and a compulsory background check is also required. However, failure in proper implementation of the precautionary laws mentioned above can lead to disastrous, unexpected and shocking consequences as in the Parkland School shootout in Florida, USA on 15 February,2018 that shocked the entire world.

Other countries like India and China believe that other than very rare exceptions firearms should not come to the hands of civilians. Illegal trafficking of ammunition in China could lead to lifetime imprisonment. The Indian constitution clearly clarifies that it shall not provide firearms to the public unless the citizen is a license holder and this license is extremely tough to obtain.
Finally to conclude with, in some cases total ban of ammunition among citizens cannot be a solution as some sensitive zones which are prone to terrorist attacks as it is for the sole, unfiltered purpose of self defense that the citizens require guns. However, no restrictions placed on the purchase of guns can also lead to dire consequences. So, a country allowing firearms to citizens  but with enough safety procedures and precautionary measures is best suited for Universal Peace.

By: Eshwar
Russian Times (SC)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
(editorial 2)                        Pros about keeping a gun August 30, 2018                     - by Shreya LN and Yamini R V Mohite First of all, in Qatar, possession of a firearm without a licence is punishable by a jail sentence of up to fourteen years. In committee, the pros and cons of civilians owning guns was being spoken about and the delegate of Afghanistan had quite a lot to say. In Afghanistan, firearms are provided to the civilians, or bought by the civilians with a license. The delegate of Afghanistan strongly stated that ‘most’ of the citizens use these guns for self-defence. It is very much possible that the civilians themselves may become non state actors by the influence of these firearms. But, this would not really happen if the background of the person the firearm or the licence for the firearm is being sold to is first checked and only then the licen...
Read more

The last session

-
Image
The two Superpowers, China and the United States of America made two separate blocs. These blocs made two working papers as a draft to make a resolution. These two blocs were the only two blocs in the DISEC general assembly. The working paper of the bloc headed by the delegate of the United States of America was sponsored by the delegate of South Korea, the delegate of Germany, the delegate of the United Kingdom and the delegate of France. The working paper of the delegate of China was sponsored by the delegate of Russia, delegate of Iraq, delegate of Iran, delegate of Nepal and delegate of DPRK. The working paper of the delegate of China stated the need for an international organization like the ITU to help curb Cyber-warfare. The delegate of USA stated that that the UN Security Council can make a sub-body who's members would be elected by the general assembly and would create an international cyber-code. This will enable cyber-criminals to be caught. The bloc led by the delegate...
Read more

United States; Divided Thoughts

-
Image
It is a widely acknowledged fact that the United States conducts itself in a hypocritical manner, and contradicts itself repeatedly in international forums. The Disarmament and International Security Council proved to be no different, and the press conference revealed the double standards the government has for its citizens. The United States has conducted itself in an entirely unfit manner, but somehow, it remains unsurprising. When asked informally, the delegate of the US said that she would refuse to answer any questions in the press conference, so it came as a surprise when she spoke on gun control regulations within the US. The delegate stated that the American government believes that the ownership of guns gives its citizens much needed peace of mind, and protection. When a member of the press quoted the horrifying statistics of gun violence in only 2018 within the US- Total number of incidents being 38,451; number of deaths being 9,650; number of children below the age of ...
Read more