7 Ways to Improve Gun Control in Latin America
17 September, 2020Gun control refers to a legal measure given by the government that intends to restrict firearms possession. This includes all kinds of weapons and certain weapons within the firepower limit. Other countries strictly prohibit civilians from possessing guns of any sort, but other developed countries, such as countries in Latin America, hold this issue debatable.
It is a fraught political issue between the argument of being necessary for public safety and dangerous infringement of personal liberty. In our own opinion, here are seven ways on how to improve gun control in Latin America.
1. Buyer Qualifications
The buyer must be 21 years old and above. You don’t want 16-year-old teenagers wandering around carrying a Glock 42 or a Glock 43 handgun in your neighborhood. When you put it into the perspective of buying a gun, the buyer must have a complete license and must be fit to use any sort of weapon.
Buying something as dangerous as a gun should be treated with the same qualifications as to when you want to buy a car. To buy a car, you need to have a professional license to prove that you have already studied and are fit to own a car. The same goes for owning cars, gun ownership must have a specified age restriction.
2. Implement Laws That Can Reduce Gun Violence
Laws that are made related to guns must be to reduce gun violence and not create more possibilities of gun incidents. Not all gun laws are created equal. For some countries, some statutes allow licensed gun owners to acquire military-grade rifles and high powered firearms. The government must make laws, like prohibiting underage to own a gun, which can reduce gun violence.
3. Listen To Doctor’s Advice
Politicians aren’t the only ones who can reduce and improve gun control in Latin America. Doctors can actually take part in this. Doctors can educate families about gun safety, particularly when it comes to keeping guns out of young children’s hands. Doctors can inform their parents and tell them the risks that might happen once their teenagers can possess firearms. Sadly, other countries prevent doctors from talking about guns with patients, even though it is inline with educating a person about health risks.
4. Upgrade Into A Smart Gun Technology
The late President Barack Obama actually came up with a solution of upgrading the regular gun into a smart gun. He stated, “You cannot unlock your phone without your own fingerprint, so why not apply that to guns?” By doing this, stealing or borrowing a gun may be prevented. If a smart gun is possible, guns will only be used in the hands of a licensed and professional person.
5. Gun Checkup
To improve Latin America’s gun control, the government must assign persons in each state to check each registered gun owner every month. Through this, the government can monitor, check, and control each gun owner. Confiscate guns that are unregistered in the state. The gun shop must also be registered so that the government can easily monitor the persons who acquire guns.
6. End Legal Immunity For Gun Manufacturers
In order for the government to really improve gun control, they must first go to the leading cause of the problem, which is the manufacturers. If the manufacturers have no discipline and do not care about public safety, then they will do anything to earn money. Ending legal immunity for different gun manufacturers allows them to be part of every gun-related crime forcing them to follow all specific rules to prevent gun accidents from happening.
7. Government-Approved Gun
As stated earlier, other states approve high-powered guns and military-grade rifles, which are already dangerous enough to cause a massive gun incident. Banning assault weapons, bump stocks, and high-capacity magazines should be taken into consideration.
As individuals aware of the risks of gun ownership, there is the responsibility of promoting awareness and proper usage of firearms. It is essential to educate others to reduce incidents from happening. Having handguns as a hobby and for recreational activities is alright as long as it will not cause harm to others.
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