Thirty-two thousand. That’s the number of people who lose their lives to a gun every year. Thirty-two thousand brothers and sisters lost. Thirty-two thousand children buried, their right to grow up cruelly taken away. Thirty-two thousand mothers and fathers, unwillingly leaving their children as orphans. Thirty-two thousand deaths that could have been prevented, if only we recognize that there is a problem in this country that we need to fix.

Many people are frightened by the words “gun control,” but they really shouldn’t be. To set the record straight, gun control does not mean getting rid of guns entirely. In simple terms, gun control is the act of limiting who has access to buying and owning guns. Our goals are not to rid citizens of their firearms, but to manage the weapons of those who can turn their means of protection into the reason someone must bury their parent, spouse, sibling, or child. We have the capability to stop these despicable events from ever happening. We can prevent a murderer from ever laying a hand on a weapon. We have the potential to save thousands of lives, in a virtually painless way. This country’s appalling death rates can only be fixed by enforcing stricter background checks on gun owners.

One major reason for implementing these tougher gun regulations is to close the gun show loophole. What is the loophole, you may ask? Well, the gun show loophole is the political term which refers to the private sale of firearms, more specifically those conducted at gun shows. It may not sound bad, but it can be possibly fatal. According to a study conducted by the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence in August 2015, 34 of our 50 states do not require any form of background checks (Gun Show Background Checks). This makes it that much easier to arm a convicted criminal or mentally ill person with a deadly weapon. In the few states that do conduct background checks, most of them take less than 2 hours. To make matters worse, some places have “instant” checks which can be completed in as little as 15 minutes (Mauser). Because of these insufficient checks, it is possible for important information to be overlooked. If this wasn’t bad enough, there is no waiting period, so a person can apply, purchase, and walk out the door with a gun all on the same day. Furthermore, studies have shown that between 25 and 50 percent of sellers at these gun shows are unlicensed, so not only can they not administer checks but also are breaking multiple other gun control laws (Mauser). Although less than 5% of firearm crimes are committed by guns from these shows, taking away the risk can save hundreds of civilian lives (Kopel). This evidence shows how the lack of requirements are dangerous and how the gun show loophole must be closed.

Mental health records are often inaccessible or deemed unimportant to those who conduct background checks. If a person deals with such mental disorders as psychosis (the mental and emotional detachment of one from reality) but has not sought the help of a professional, any paper background check will not fund these problems. We can make the process of purchasing a gun safer if we added a psychological examination, like an interview. With any information acquired during a meeting, a specialist can determine if the applicant is mentally stable and therefore should or should not be allowed to carry a firearm. Additionally, if someone has a history of depression or other severe illnesses, giving them a gun may be giving them a way to kill themselves. Over 60% of all gun related incidents are suicides or suicide attempts. In fact, suicide is the second leading cause of death of adults between the ages of 18-25, who are old enough to purchase guns (Board on Children). By running sufficient checks, we could make sure we are not helping a young adult, someone who hasn’t had the chance to fully live their life yet, in their wish die. In the words of President Barack Obama, if we take necessary precautions we can “spare more families the pain of losing a loved one to suicide”.

Background checks do not properly work, as criminals are able to obtain guns way too painlessly. There are no national laws that mandate states to conduct thorough background checks. In 2013, the Department of Justice spent $27.5 million whilst trying to convince states to strengthen their check systems. Criminals have easy access to guns since our government has little control or care for who we arm with deadly weapons. In President Obama’s recent gun control initiative speech he stated that there are online sites which allow criminals to purchase guns, no questions asked. In an inquiry performed on one website alone, it was discovered that 1 in 30 of these buyers were convicted felons, charged with such crimes as domestic violence and aggravated assault. In another study, it was determined that 71% of those convicted of homicide by firearm in Illinois had been arrested in the past and 42% had been charged with prior felonies (Stray). We must enforce background checks in order to save our civilians from dangerous criminals.

Mental health and criminal records are so commonly overlooked because there are many unresolved legal barriers prohibiting states from providing these records to those who conduct background checks. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, was put into effect in 1998. Some states, however, did not submit the valuable mental health records to the system because of issues concerning confidentiality and a lack of multi-agency data systems (Swanson). In order to resolve this issue, we must work towards creating an easily accessed interagency database. With this solution, we could make progress in keeping Americans safe.

Despite the abundant amount of evidence, many still oppose the institution of stronger background checks in the gun application process. These people say criminals will just go somewhere else for their firearms. Well, according to Daniel Webster, Director of the John Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, research has shown that stricter laws build a higher buyer and seller accountability, resulting in the decrease of guns on the illegal market (Sargent). Correcting these gun laws will ultimately result in making our nation a better place. Another common argument is the hassle the enforced gun buying process causes people. Those against background checks believe the stricter laws will only waste people’s time and money. All of the new requirements being proposed may seem bothersome, but it is just common sense. A firearms dealer would not willingly give a criminal or mentally unstable person a gun if they had known who they were at the time of the sale. All we wish to do is make sure citizens are kept safe. In the end, background checks only weed out those who are dangerous, and it can save thousands of lives.

Our government has ignored the problem at hand for way too long. It is our job, as citizens of the United States of America to take action and implement the essential gun control background check laws that our country needs. This small step could bring about the big changes we need. By making sure the people we arm don’t pose a threat to us, we can walk away knowing that there are people out there who now, because of us, get to live another day.

Works Cited

Board on Children, Youth, and Families; Institute of Medicine; National Research Council. “Improving the Health, Safety, and Well-Being of Young Adults: Workshop Summary.” Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2013 Sep 27.

"Gun Show Background Checks State Laws." Gun Show Background Checks State Laws. Governing: The States and Localities, Jan. 2016. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.

Kopel, David B. "The Facts about Gun Shows." Cato Institute. Cato Institute, 10 Jan. 2000. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.

Mauser, Daniel. "Daniel Mauser Memorial Web Site." Daniel Mauser Memorial Web Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.

Obama, Barack. "Watch President Obama Announce Gun Control Initiatives at White House." YouTube. PBS NewsHour, 5 Jan. 2016. Web. 11 Jan. 2016.

Sargent, Greg. "Why Expanding Background Checks Would, in Fact, Reduce Gun Crime." Web log post. The Washington Post. The Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2016.

Swanson, Jeffrey W. et al. “Mental Illness and Reduction of Gun Violence and Suicide: Bringing Epidemiologic Research to Policy.” Annals of Epidemiology 25.5 (2015): 366–376. PMC. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.

Stray, Jonathan. "Gun Violence in America: The 13 Key Questions (With 13 Concise Answers)."The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 4 Feb. 2013. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.