America and Iceland are both gun-loving nations. However, America’s homicide rate sits at 30 for every 1 million people while Iceland hasn’t had any gun related homicides since 2007. So why is it that one of these countries has such a high amount of gun related violence while the other has none?
Iceland is taking careful precautions when giving guns to civilians, while the US fails to establish a safe and consistent system surrounding gun safety.
Before Iceland gives guns to its civilians, it makes sure that they are educated about guns by requiring them to attend a seminar that describes gun history, laws and safety, issuing background and mental health checks, and requiring them to pass a written test. In Iceland, it can be a six year process to get a handgun, whereas in the US, it can be only a matter of a few days before acquiring an automatic rifle (which are illegal in Iceland).
Because gun laws are state mandated in the US, it makes it difficult to enforce them nationally. For example, Wyoming, with the third highest rate of gun deaths in the country, removed a residency requirement for carrying guns in public without a permit or background check, while in California, there are requirements for age, carrying without a permit, and owning assault weapons. The fact that gun laws differ so greatly from state to state may be holding the US back from finding a nationwide solution.
National gun control laws could be a step forward in preventing gun violence, as this wouldn’t be removing guns as a whole but rather making a safer process when purchasing and owning them. This is an obvious solution, so why is no movement being made towards it?
Since the U.S. population is now desensitized to gun violence, less people acknowledge the issue at hand, and they don’t push for changes to be made. Today, when mass shootings occur, there is only a moment where news stations, social media, and American people talk about the tragic events and want to re-evaluate gun laws. Over the years, there has been no change.
Due to the fact that the media is more liberal, it’s possible that some Americans, who are practicing their freedom of speech, feel they are being alienated and unfairly represented. Both sides of this issue feel as if their rights are at stake, and there is much unresolved trust that is impeding a proper conversation. Before fixing gun violence, we need to fix the tension in our country between differing opinions so that we can propose a solution we can all agree on.