Gun Policies in USA: Identifying Chances of Firearm Homicide Rates due to Gun Ownership

This research proposal aims to identify the relationship between gun ownership and firearm homicide rates in the USA. It discusses the need for stricter gun laws and ways to reduce gun violence in the country. The literature review highlights the prevalence of firearm ownership in the USA, the relation between gun ownership and firearm homicides, and the rising need for stricter gun laws. The research gap is identified, and the research question is formulated.

Running head: GUN POLICIES IN USA 1
Research Proposal on identifying the chances of firearm homicide rates due to Gun
Ownership in USA

GUN POLICIES IN USA 2
Literature Review
Introduction
According to Monuteaux, et. al. (2015), one of the biggest issues in the Unites States
today seems to be gun ownership and its control. The Unites States of America has been
chipping away at the rights of the law-abiding citizens of the country from owning guns. The
motive behind this responsible step of the government is to minimize the chances of firearm
homicides rate in the country. In the past 25 years, there have been some valuable researches
conducted on gun violence and gun policies. However, the ultimate result of gun violence in the
country has been very less significant as there is a need for building robust and transformative
gun policies for people holding gun ownership. As suggested by Dulude (2018), a defenseless
person would be easier to control and therefore, in order to reduce any type of homicide gun
control measures are highly needed. The following research has identified this topic important
and something that will make a unique contribution to the human knowledge. As identified by
Morral (2019), Americans have debated all these years about crafting policies that could
contribute to reducing violence, deaths and other forms of homicides. But as the statistics suggest
that nearly three quarters of gun injuries are caused by assaults, firearms and domestic violence.
First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs Shooting, Texas, in 2017
As stated by Carissimo (2017), the Sutherland Springs Texas is one of the most
unfortunate gun violence events in the USA. On November 5th, 2017, a gunman name Devin
Patrick Kelley open fire at the Sutherland Springs Church in rural Texas killing at least 26
people. The shooter was clad in all black clothes with a ballistic vest strapped to his chest opened
fire at a Sunday service on parishioners. Being one of the deadliest mass shooting in Texas, and
5th deadliest shooting in the United States, indicates the gruesome picture of gun ownership
leading to higher chances of firearm homicide rates. This cold-blooded murder killed victims
ranged in age from 5 to 72 which included the pastor's 14-year-old daughter, several other
children, pregnant women and old people (Montgomery, 2017). The motive behind such a
gruesome act did not involve any racism or prejudice against religion but the gunman had
disputes with his mother in law that triggered his anger to take up such action. The criminal was
prohibited by law from possessing any kind of firearms and ammunition as he was convicted for
domestic violence on his wife and child. He also served 12 months confinement with an

GUN POLICIES IN USA 3
unsatisfactory discharge conduct in 2014. The assault rifle used for shooting was a Ruger AR-15
variant which is generally used by American military. However, as opined by Branham, et. al.
(2017), this deadly attack indicates that it is easy to have a gun ownership in the name of
personal safety. After the lift of ban from keeping federal assault weapons in 2004, people
started legally selling or possessing these assault weapons. In the case of Kelley, he purchased
different variants of guns and semi-automatic rifles with prior license to own and buy them. This
gruesome shooting at the place of worship forced the officials to turn their heads and pay
attention to the gaps in reporting to the federal background check system to ban any convicted
person from purchasing guns.
As opined by Zurcher (2019), even when the motive of the shooting was unclear,
President Trump suggested that convicted criminals like these can possibly have mental health
issues. However, according to his understanding the problem lies within non-arrangements of
stricter gun control measures in the country otherwise not have been such incidents. The officer
investigating the crime scene, Stephen Willeford, also possessed a gun but the difference is, he
keeps a gun to tackle such situations and the criminal had completely opposite motives. There
have been several reports of firearm related homicides in the United States and are frequently
associated with cases of domestic violence, gang violence and suicides. From this incident, it can
be understood that gun violence has been claiming thousands of lives each year. The easy access
and unflattering guns laws has made it easier for people to take their own lives and lives of
others. According to Giffords Law Center (2018), in the same year, the gun violence deaths
reached their highest level with more than 39,773 deaths which indicated an increase of 14% in
only 3 years. These deaths have been accounted due to gun homicides, gun suicides and all these
disproportionately impact the communities of color residing in the United States. Massacres like
the Sutherland Springs shooting was a result of hate and bias-driven attack but could have been
prohibited if the laws were much more strengthened after cases like the attacks of 9/11.
Relation between gun ownership and firearm homicides
The prevalence of firearm ownership in United States is still an abstract picture as there
are several unaccounted weapon ownerships. Even though the database of firearm ownership is
not vague, there is still no clear accounting systems available in the country of how many
firearms are available with people. According to Statista (2018), majority of households in the

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United States own at least one firearm which can be due to safety reasons, personal protection or
any differences in geographical locations. There have been several researches conducted in an
attempt to understand whether there is a connection between gun ownership and firearm
homicide crime (Moore & Bergner, 2016). Some of the researchers suggest that owning a gun
may increase the chances of criminal predation and there are also chances of misuse of guns by
owners or transferring them to dangerous people through a regulated sale. Statistics highlight the
fact that a large percentage of crime in the past years has been due to gun ownerships which
involved the use of shotgun, handgun, rifle and other firearms. When compared to other
countries, United States accounts to be highest in terms of gun homicides and gun suicide.
Giffords Law Center (2018) suggests that near about 35% criminal activities accounts to gun
homicides and 61% accounts to gun suicides. According to the geographical locations, Alaska
has some of the weakest gun laws which results in highest gun death rate among other states in
the US. On the contrary, Hawaii has the strongest gun laws which shows from its gun death rate.
Owning firearms can also result in accidental deaths and non-fatal injuries. Each year
more than 1500 children are exposed to domestic gun violence which results in psychological
distress, trauma and risk of committing suicide. According to Fairchild (2016), access to a gun
increases the chances of gun homicides. During situations of conflict and heated conversations,
or in case of self-defense, people are aware of access to their guns which ultimately results in
using them thereby either committing suicide or killing the other person. Situations of mass
shootings have been prevalent in the United States from a very long time claiming an average of
25 people in one incident. Till now United States has witnessed six of the deadliest mass
shootings and the country is more worried about shooting occurrences in public places like
schools, concerts and at religious places.
Several studies have tried to analyze the relation between the intention of owning a gun
and using it specific purposes. However, individuals having an intent to potentially harm or kill a
person, would find a way to do that. It is also believed that when people possess more firearms, it
could increase the chances of committing a crime and this is known as the weapon
instrumentality effect. This indicates that there is a positive relationship between owning a
firearm and violence to people around them. The positive correlation between firearm prevalence

GUN POLICIES IN USA 5
and firearm homicide rates has been difficult area to research as there can be multiple reasons for
people to kill other people.
The rising need for stricter gun laws
The debate over implementing strict gun laws in the United States has decreased over the
years but a series of mass shootings and firearm homicides have constantly been in news. In the
recent years, the United States has seen some of the worst mass shootings and several cases of
homicides in different states. These events have rekindled the debate over gun ownership and put
the country into deep thinking on how to curb the chances of firearm homicide rates. As
identified by Masters (2019), the US Supreme Court has restrictions over possession of certain
types of weapons and prohibited unregistered sellers. The gun Control Act of 1968 is still
prevalent along with the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act that mandates authorization of
unlicensed individuals. The federal laws have been stated as unconstitutional by states like
Kansas and Alaska. The then President Barack Obama tried his level best to include measures
that minimizes gun violence (Yuhas & Woolf, 2015). However, till this time, semi-automatic
assault weapons, handguns and large capacity magazines are still not banned making it a loose
link for unauthorized dealers and purchasers to enter. As mentioned in the Sutherland Springs
shootings in Texas, strict gun laws could have prohibited the event from killing so many
innocent lives. Currently, approximately has 46% of civilian owned guns which shows that the
country must be quick in enacting any major federal restrictions.
Ways to reduce gun violence in US
According to Fowler, Dahlberg, Haileyesus & Annest (2015), The United States of
America has the highest rate of gun violence when compared to other countries. People in
America are more likely to die of gun homicide than in any other country. The country needs to
acknowledge certain truths in order to reduce the toll of firearm homicides. As per the
constitution of the US, people have the right to bear privately owned arms and this perspective is
not going to change anytime sooner. The victims who have faced situations of homicide and gun
violence feel that there must be a considerable amount of gun control in the country and
emphasis must be given the impact of public health issue. The research funding for identifying
the real reasons behind gun violence is very less. However, lawmakers can act as saviors against
gun violence.

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The chances of firearm homicide rates can be reduced by banning the weapons. Such a
ban my take time to have an effect but can reduce crimes from the country. United States can
take highly effective lesson from Australia where the gun death totals got cut into half as the
country buy back weapons from the citizens. US can utilize certain buyback programs from
Australia in order to curb the use and sale of semi-automatic weapons and large capacity
magazines (Chapman, Alpers & Jones, 2016). Also, the country can limit the number of guns
people can buy at one time. Federal gun enforcers must responsibly identify laws that prevents
people from illegal guns from unknown sellers. The gun dealers can be held accountable for the
flow of guns into their shops. For instance, an incident from Milwaukee highlighted the
involvement of a gun dealer who apparently supported majority of the gun crimes in the city.
Licensed dealers must only be registered to sell permissible number of guns and regular record
keeping and inspection will reduce interstate trafficking of weapons (Koper, et. al. 2018). Under
the federal law, only licensed gun dealers will be allowed to background checks. The country
still has numerous unaccounted gun purchases that didn't undergo a background check. Lastly,
people must be aware and educated about gun ownership and legal implications of using firearm
for homicide purposes.
Literature Gap
The relationship between gun ownership and the chances of higher firearm homicide rates in
USA has reflected a positive relationship. However, it has been a difficult area for research due
to lack of database about actual count of firearms with civilians. Also, there are chances in the
future that better weapons would be available to people through cross country borders and this
world jeopardize the restrictions and laws framed to curb possession of illegal arms. While
conducting research in the social sciences area, there can be limitations of data accuracy and the
extent to which people have ownership of firearms. Therefore, this research has tried to identify
important details from gun crime activities and the implication of laws against these crimes and
the people behind it.
Research Question
How does higher gun ownership rate increases the chances of firearm homicide rates in USA?

GUN POLICIES IN USA 7
References
Branham, S. M., Abdolrahmani, A., Easley, W., Scheuerman, M., Ronquillo, E., & Hurst, A.
(2017, October). Is Someone There? Do They Have a Gun: How Visual Information
about Others Can Improve Personal Safety Management for Blind Individuals.
In Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers
and Accessibility (pp. 260-269). ACM.
Carissimo, J. (2017). 26 dead in shooting at church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Retrieved from
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-church-shooting-devin-patrick-kelley-first-baptist-
church-sutherland-springs-live-updates/
Chapman, S., Alpers, P., & Jones, M. (2016). Association between gun law reforms and
intentional firearm deaths in Australia, 1979-2013. Jama, 316(3), 291-299.
Dulude, D. (2018). Gun Control and Gun Free Zones. The Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement
Management Institute of Texas.
Fairchild, H. H. (2016). Gun violence in America. Re) Solving violence in America, 17-24.
Fowler, K. A., Dahlberg, L. L., Haileyesus, T., & Annest, J. L. (2015). Firearm injuries in the
United States. Preventive medicine, 79, 5-14.
Giffords Law Center. (2018). Gun Violence Statistics. Retrieved from
https://lawcenter.giffords.org/facts/gun-violence-statistics/
Koper, C. S., Johnson, W. D., Nichols, J. L., Ayers, A., & Mullins, N. (2018). Criminal use of
assault weapons and high-capacity semiautomatic firearms: an updated examination of
local and national sources. Journal of urban health, 95(3), 313-321.
Masters, J. (2019). U.S. Gun Policy: Global Comparisons. Retrieved from
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-gun-policy-global-comparisons
Montgomery, D. (2017). Gunman Kills at Least 26 in Attack on Rural Texas Church. Retrieved
from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/05/us/church-shooting-texas.html

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Monuteaux, M. C., Lee, L. K., Hemenway, D., Mannix, R., & Fleegler, E. W. (2015). Firearm
ownership and violent crime in the US: an ecologic study. American journal of
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Morral, A. R. (2019). Reducing Disagreements on Gun Policy Through Scientific Research and
an Improved Data Infrastructure. 3rd ed. California, USA: RAND.
Statista. (2018). Percentage of households in the United States owning one or more firearms
from 1972 to 2018. Retrieved from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/249740/percentage-of-households-in-the-united-states-
owning-a-firearm/
Yuhas, A. & Woolf, N. (2015). What happened to President Obama's plan to reduce gun
violence? Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/04/what-
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