Gun Control
Differing Positions on Gun Control
The American public is presently divided in their views on gun control policies in the country. Generally, a considerable percentage of Americans continue to show support for some gun policy proposals such as the restrictions on gun sales to the mentally-ill and extensive gun background checks. Nonetheless, the attitude towards guns and respective policies have caused divisions among the owners-and non-owners, Republicans and Democrats and the residents living in urban, suburban and rural areas. Republicans and Democrats have sharp differences concerning gun control plans where the former believe in having fewer gun control regulations believing in the nature of freedom and individual responsibility (Republican Views, 2013). Democrats want strict gun control as they link it to increased gun violence in the country.
52% of Americans state that gun control regulations need to be more strict than they are currently while an estimated 30% indicate the current laws are right. In comparison, an estimated 18% suggests that the regulations need to be less strict (Parker et al., 2020). The people also differ on who should own guns, the legal permissions and the types of firearms that need to be legally available. An estimated 64% of Americans support the notion of having many people having the capacity to own guns legally but not everyone (Parker et al., 2020). There is also minimal agreement on the areas in which guns are to be legally permitted together with the types of firearms that should be legally available. Currently, most individuals will take a middle-ground approach on the two issues such that 5% of them indicate that guns need to be allowed in most places while other places should consider off-limits in terms of guns (Parker et al., 2020). An estimated 28% indicates that guns should be permitted in some areas but not in most areas.
The Media’s Views on Gun Control
Research has proven that media coverage on gun control does have a massive influence on the public’s perspective and actions in relation to guns. Nonetheless, statistically-principled analyses indicated that the acquisition of guns had been influenced by the media covering gun control regulations compared to how the purchase has been affected by the occurrence of mass shootings (Dolan, 2019). The impact is extensively felt in the state that has less restrictive legal environments in relation to gun laws. Following this vein, persons may seek to purchase guns after a mass shooting has occurred since they also fear the regulations could become stricter to prevent any further purchases.
This phenomenon does illustrate a causal relationship between the media support towards the public owning guns due to their insistence on covering gun control policies, especially how strict they could become (Nakayama, 2019). The media knows that they can influence a particular agenda; they will cover topics in specific ways. The media is continuously covering gun control regulations which creates a specific fear among its audience. Considering the American people love their freedom and individual responsibility, they will not want to be left out from owning guns, especially for self-protection. Also, when the media is covering the relation of gun violence to people with serious mental illness, at times they fail to acknowledge other causes of gun violence that people will want to own guns to protect themselves from the latter (Ordway, 2018). Their coverage illustrates a platform that is not in support of stringent gun control laws.
References
Dolan, E. W. (2019, October 13). New research indicates media coverage of gun control causes a spike in gun purchases after mass shootings. Retrieved from https://www.psypost.org/2019/10/new-research-indicates-media-coverage-of-gun-control-causes-a-spike-in-gun-purchases-after-mass-shootings-54652
Nakayama, S. (2019, June 24). Mathematics ties media coverage of gun control to upticks in gun purchases. Retrieved from https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-06/ntso-mtm062419.php
Ordway, D. (2018, October 16). How the news media portray gun owners: Research to consider. Retrieved from https://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/news-media/gun-owners-portray-news-media-research/
Parker, K., Horowitz, J., Igielnik, R., Oliphant, J. B., & Brown, A. (2020, May 30). Views on gun policy in the U.S. Retrieved from https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2017/06/22/views-on-gun-policy/
Republican Views. (2013, December 27). Republican views on gun control. Retrieved from https://www.republicanviews.org/republican-views-on-gun-control/
