America at Gun Point.

America and Guns, these are two words that are seemingly intrinsically linked, not only by Americans but by the entire world. America and guns have a very deep-rooted history of love, lust and pain. It is difficult to talk about America without the topic of civilian gun ownership coming up. Whilst the right to bear arms has been enshrined into American society, could the very symbol of American freedom be its greatest downfall?

Whilst it is general knowledge that gun violence in America is causing a vast number of deaths, the extent of this problem is less well known. Whilst the media and society have normalised gun violence in America, the level of violence that America faces is anything but normal. The media fails to capture the extent of the problem as it usually focuses on mass shootings, which make up less than 2% of the total deaths attributed to guns. This is not to say that mass shootings are not important, they underline the issues relating to gun violence on a larger scale.

To start with mass shootings, in the 14 years between 2000 to 2014, there were 133 mass shootings in the USA. For comparison, the top 10 countries in terms of human development combined only equated to 12.78% of America’s total mass shootings in the same period. The country with the second-highest number of mass shootings, Germany, only had 6 mass shootings between 2000 and 2014, a mere 4.51% of that of America.

Whilst America has a much bigger population when compared to the top 10 countries in terms of Human Development, America still has more mass shootings per 1 million people when compared to any other country within its bracket. Finland has the second-highest rate of public mass shootings with 0.375 mass shooting per 1 million people which can be compared to America which has just above 0.4 mass shootings per 1 million people.

With 284 mass shootings taking place in 2019 alone, not only is the number of mass shootings in America alarming, but the frequency at which they are taking place is also very alarming. The number of American mass shootings that take place on an annual basis has taken a huge leap in the last decade. Before 2011, a mass shooting, resulting in 4 or more fatalities would take place on average every 200 days. But since 2011, a mass shooting takes place on American soil on average every 64 days. This seems to indicate that not only does America have more mass shootings than any other “developed” country, but these mass shooting are taking place on a more frequent basis.

Whilst the political pro-gun right-wing individual might argue that America simply has more violence than other developed nations, this is not true. The UN ranked America 6th in terms of burglary and assault when compared to the top 10 countries in terms of Human Development. The issue is not that America has more violence than other countries; the issue is that violence in America is much more lethal than other countries. This can mainly be attributed to the number of guns in America which increase the chances and causes of death.

Whilst mass shootings are the most notable aspect of America’s gun problem, they only scratch the surface of the overall issue. In America, the average daily death toll attributed to guns is 92 deaths. On average 30 of the 92 deaths are homicides, and a mere 1.5 of these 30 homicides are considered to be mass shootings. 58 of the 92 deaths are suicides and the remaining deaths are classified as accidents, police action or undetermined incidents.

What is notable from the above statistics is the number of gun-related suicides in America, which is a statistic that is often overlooked. When comparing America to the top 10 countries in terms of Human development, America has the highest suicide rate, the majority of which are done using guns. The number of gun-related suicides per 100,000 people in America is higher than the suicide rate of the second-worst country for suicide, Germany, when considering all means of suicide put together. America has a suicide rate of 6.3 suicides per 100,000 people using guns alone, whilst Germany has a suicide rate of just 1 death per 100,000 people when considering all means of suicide put together.

This statistic shows the prevalence of mental health on the issue of gun violence. Whilst there is a widely argued point that if someone is going to commit suicide “they would do it one way or another”, the method that is used is extremely important. This is as attempts to commit suicide usually stems from a temporary crisis. The vast majority of people that survive the first attempt do not die from suicide, but guns make it almost impossible for people to survive the first attempt and to thus get a second chance at life.

Gun violence in America is being exacerbated by the diminishing state of mental health in American society today. In 2017, an estimated 46.6 million adults aged 18 or over had a known mental health illness in the United States, this equates to 18.9% of the U.S. adult population. Young adults aged 18-25 had the highest prevalence of mental illnesses with 25.8% of adults within this age range suffering from some type of mental health illness. 22.2% of those aged 26-49 were reported to be suffering from a mental health illness and only 13.8% of adults aged 50 and over were reported to have some type of known mental health illness. These statistics, in part, explain why so many young adults are carrying out shootings and partaking in gun violence. They may be suffering from untreated mental health illness’s which in part drives them to do these deadly crimes.

Not only are people with mental illness’s carrying out gun violence towards others, but they are also using guns to harm themselves. There is a clear positive correlation between the number of guns in an American state and the number of suicides acted out in that state. In New York, household gun ownership sits at 19% with 7.7 suicides per 100,000 people. This can be compared to Alaska which has close to 60% household gun ownership and has 25 suicides per every 100,000 people. This shows that statistically more guns lead to more suicides.

This decrease in the state of American mental health is amplified by the American health system which is relatively unaccommodating to mental health treatment. This can be attributed to insurance companies who try to avoid, and find loopholes to avoid, the cost of covering for the mental health treatment of their clients. Due to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which was passed by Obama, American insurance companies are forced to treat mental health illnesses in the same manner as physical injuries.

Despite this Act, insurance companies constantly find loopholes to evade the cost of mental health treatment for their clients. One method that insurance companies use is to require a doctor of their choice to do a diagnosis on patients to determine whether the patient requires the treatment or medication claimed. This is a clear conflict of interest as the insurance companies are paying doctors to determine whether they will have to pay out large amounts of money for their client’s treatment. The doctors thus have an underlying incentive to decide as the insurance companies wish as they are employed by the insurance companies. This often means that these doctors determine that people do not require treatment when they clearly do. This means that a lot of people with mental illnesses are left untreated and as these illnesses can get worse with time they can often lead to violence as patients’ conditions began to deteriorate. This can in part explain why, with the decreasing level of mental health in America today, gun violence takes place on a more frequent basis.

However, it is not only insurance companies that make it difficult for patients, with mental health illnesses, to get aid. The whole mental health service sector in America is hugely understaffed. 51% of American counties have 0 physiatrists. In 2018, the 400 miles between Billings MD and Bismarck ND only had one psychiatrist. That is like having to drive from London to Edinburgh to get a therapy session.

Since the 1990s, the number of gun induced suicides has been steadily increasing which can in part be explained by the inherent difficulty of getting and funding the cost of treatment for mental health conditions in America.

On the issue of firearm-related homicides, statistics show an underlying disparity on how different racial groups are living in America. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention states that in 2017 the age-adjusted, firearm-related, mortality rate for non-Hispanic white males was 54.9% lower than that for non-Hispanic black males and 73.9% higher for Hispanic males. This shows that gun violence is disproportionately affecting minorities. If you apply Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, this disparity can party be explained.

Despite Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs being a business model, it can be applied to society in a border term. There are 5 levels to the Hierarchy: Phycological needs, Safety needs, Love and belonging needs, Esteem needs and self-actualisation. To progress up the hierarchy, and to reach self-actualisation, the lower rungs of the ladder need to be fulfilled.

In America, poverty disproportionately affects minorities. An estimated 20.8% of African American and 17.6% of Hispanics live under the poverty line in America. This helps link poverty to violence as the basic needs of almost a quarter of America’s minority population are not being met. The phycological needs of minorities, such as clothing, water and food, are not being fulfilled which means that the safety level of Maslow’s Hierarchy is not being met which detracts from self-fulfilment and sparks violence as these minorities fight for survival. As a result of this, gun violence rises as the state fails to offer adequate protection, and provide the basic needs, for these minorities.

In the period between 2000 and 2013, the number of gun-related deaths in America was greater than the deaths caused by aids, illegal drug overdoses, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and terrorism combined. This seems to indicate that America’s attention is on the wrong type of threat. The real killer in America is gun violence, however, the government at large refuses to accept this and fails to make any substantial change.

One possible explanation for the lack of change may be that the economic benefits of civilian gun ownership may be too great to warrant any substantial change. The revenue from gun sales in America equates to $11 billion per annum and ammunition manufactures have an average revenue of $17 billion per annum. Whilst this is a small amount, in comparison to America’s GDP, the secondary sources of income that come from civilian gun possession adds significantly to the American economy. The security alarm business alone brings in $25 billion a year and employs 1.1 million Americans. The American schooling system spends an average of $2.7 billion per annum on security measures and the government regularly spent $65 billion on security between 2002 and 2017. It can be argued that even the American healthcare system benefits from gun violence as it rakes in $2.8 billion per annum in surgeries, medication and patients’ wards, from firearm-related injuries.

Whilst guns alone cannot justify the whole of this spending, there is no denying that guns contribute significantly to these figures. The UK does not spend even a fraction of what America spends in these sectors which can be put down, in part, to the lack of guns in British society.

The second explanation for the lack of change is the inherent difficulty of changing the American constitution. To change the American constitution an amendment must pass through Congress, gaining approval from two-thirds of both houses (House of Representatives and the Senate), and must then be ratified by three-fourths of all US states. With, according to a 2019 Gallup opinion, 70% of the Americans being against the banning of handguns in America, it would be almost impossible for such an amendment to be introduced and ratified in America today.

Despite the American population’s opposition to the banning of handguns, this is not to say that America does not want change. A 2017 Gallup poll showed that 60% of Americans wanted stricter gun laws, 75% wanted a 30-day waiting period when purchasing guns and 96% were in favour of having harsher universal background checks on those purchasing guns. But despite this clear public consensus for significant gun control, there fails to be any. It would arguably cost the American economy too much to implement these changes and as guns have become such an integral part of American society there is a fear of what society would be like without them.

Whilst most of the world views the Second Amendment as outdated and dangerous, arguably they fail to see the social symbolism and societal importance of guns in America. Guns in America are not just a tool or an ornament, they are an integral part of American society. Their importance dates back to the independence of the country as the original 13 US colonies would not have been able to beat the invading British army without an armed civilian population. Thus, guns in America represent a strong sense of patriotism and liberty.

However, the history of guns in America should not get in the way of societal development. It is questionable whether the symbolic nature of guns outweighs the social and economic cost of civilian gun ownership today. Could the Second Amendment have outlived its means? Could guns in America be its greatest downfall? The answer to these questions really falls on one’s political stance on the issue of civilian firearm ownership.