Joe Biden’s position on gun control

Gun violence is a controversial topic in today’s politics, heightened by mass shootings in public gatherings like schools. Such tragedies are mostly followed by hard anti-gun positions from politicians and a push for gun control measures. Joe Biden has been on the front row trying to execute action to control guns (Paloglou & Block, 2022). Concerns for American citizens’ safety usually inspire gun control advocates. The advocates believe the regulations will reduce aggressive crimes and take firearms off the streets, eventually leading to a safer state. Biden believes that gun control is an effective measure in reducing the crimes associated with gun possession in the US.

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Regarding the Second Amendment

Biden thinks that America’s issue is one of common sense and conscience. Biden stresses that he respects the tradition, culture, and concerns regarding gun control, but it is not about taking away people’s guns or vilifying gun owners. However, he believes that every gun owner should be responsible enough. Joe Biden urges states to keep enacting and implementing commonsense policies to make citizens and communities safer from gun violence (Shear, 2022). He references Justice Scalia’s statement that the Second Amendment is not unlimited and absolute. For centuries, states have regulated who may possess or buy weapons, the types of weapons and the places to carry them. The courts have always upheld these policies.

In the United States, there have always been limitations on the weapon types to carry. For instance, Biden states that machine guns have been federally regulated for almost nine decades (Parsley, 2022). He argues that the regulations on gun control do not involve taking away people’s rights but promoting children, families, and community safety. It is about safeguarding the people’s freedom in churches, schools, and stores where they are being shot and killed.

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Policies to Implement

Joe Biden proposes policies and strategies to implement in order to promote gun control. Firstly, he suggests banning high-capacity magazines and assault weapons (Shear, 2022). If the regulatory bodies cannot ban assault weapons, Biden recommends raising the age to buy and own them from 18 to 21. In Uvalde, the shooter was 17 years old the first time he asked the sister to purchase an assault weapon, knowing he would be denied for being below the recommended age (Cross Hall, 2022). The sister refused. However, as soon as he hit 18 years, he bought two assault weapons. Notably, this happened because, in Texas, one can purchase and possess an assault weapon at 18 years, although you cannot buy a pistol until you hit 21 years old. For this reason, Biden suggests raising the age of possessing a weapon to 21 if assault weapons cannot be banned (Cross Hall, 2022). Further, people should not compare ordinary citizens to the 18-year-olds who join the army and possess weapons, as that happens with supervision and training by the best-trained professionals worldwide.

Biden also suggests expanding and reinforcing background checks to keep guns out of fugitives, criminals, and those under restraining orders. Most Americans, including gun owners, agree on stronger background checks before purchasing weapons (Cross Hall, 2022). He suggests eradicating the loophole that permits the completion of gun sales after three business days, even before finalizing background checks. Thirdly, Biden advocates for safe storage and red-flag policies (Bustillo, 2022). He believes there should be safe storage policies and personal responsibility for not keeping guns safe. Gun owners should be responsible for securing it, locking it up, and having trigger locks to prevent access by other people. However, careless gun owners should be held accountable if something bad happens.

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Besides, the country should have national red flags. The red flags are for guardians, teachers, or even counselors to flag for a court that a student, child, or patient is showing aggressive behaviors, threatening others, or having suicidal ideas that make them a threat to others and themselves (Bustillo, 2022). Lastly, Biden suggests repealing the immunity protecting gun producers from liability, destruction, and death caused by their weapons (Bustillo, 2022). He calls upon the Senate to do something on gun control as the American citizens have had enough destruction and deaths associated with gun purchase and possession.

Conclusion

The gun control topic is controversial and one-sided internationally as very few countries permit private gun ownership. The United States is unique in this, and the issue should be taken with utmost seriousness. Some people consider gun control a regression as it would not make the states safer nor stop the sales and violent crimes, including mass shootings. However, Joe Biden calls upon the Senate to enact gun control measures as this will significantly reduce its violent crimes. Biden’s recommendations include strengthening and expanding background checks to cover almost all gun sales. These include online and physical sales, safe storage requirements and policies, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, raising the age to purchase and possess assault weapons from 18 to 21, and promoting federal red-flag policies.