Summary Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Summary - Article Example This helps in demonstrating the speciousness of gun control policy in the reduction of the deaths resulting from homicides. While bearing in mind that the public is reluctant to give up their guns, Zimring proposes that stigmatizing guns is the only sure way of reducing the rate of possession of guns among the population. He suggests that this should entail the inclusion of the practice in the legislation. He associates the high rates of deaths resulting from homicides in America as related to the rampant use of guns for assaults. The article alludes that what matters in the successful application of the gun control policy is the consideration of who owns the guns, how these guns are used and the impact of the policy in relation to its implementation. Zimring’s makes reference on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) statistics that indicates that guns are used in the 70% of the reported criminal killings. Additionally, other proponents of gun control policy such as Philli p Cook opine that the criminals determine the type of weapon they use. However, they discount the contribution of perpetrator factors in the enhancement of lethality in favor of the instrumentality effect. Fatality is viewed as an almost accidental outcome of a large number of assaults resulting from guns and knives. Zimring claims that in many cases, the perpetrator is also a victim of circumstance as well as the person he kills; just luckier because the gun was pointed in a different direction. It is obvious that some of the deaths that occur due to gun assaults cannot occur if less lethal weapons are used. The article stipulates that the perpetrators of assault are normally aware of their prior plans of inflicting lethal injuries on their victim. The author makes reference to the Behavior modification theory that suggests that the criminals transfer their intimidation levels to the guns they are carrying. The article disputes the idea that gun handlers are innocent people who pos sess the gun and respond whenever they are provoked. This is because most of these killers posses below-average cognitive ability, mental retardation, brain dysfunction or alcoholism (Stell 42). Professor Zimring opposes the use of gun in self defense, arguing that people who offer resistance when attacked are at a higher risk of getting hurt than those who submit. Additionally, his experiments proved that those who resisted attacks through the use of guns performed better than those than those that did not resist (Stell 44). This implies that legalizing the use of firearms for any reason enhances violence. The article recommends that the ethical complications occur when the proponents of gun control practices subscribe to certain practices that enhance violence. Such practices include the failure to recognize the right of the states for self defense, failure to provide minimal protection to the citizens, and the police department possesses the rights to prosecute and charge those p ossessing firearms for self preservation. ARTICLE 2 Congressional Digest. White House Plan to Reduce Gun Violence: Administration Proposals to Strengthen Firearm Laws and Protect Citizens. March 2013. Print. According to the article, tragic mass shootings have been witnessed in America despite the fact that most firearm holders are perceived to be