Nowadays, people have often faced the manifestation of different social justice issues. One may distinguish many problems. However, one may divide them into two categories. The first category includes international problems related to climate, wars, refugees, and so on. The second one is characterized by internal social justice issues of the country, for example, racial inequality and gun violence. The latter is one of the urgent problems in relation to which one wants to “make some noise.” The aim of the paper is to describe the issue, analyze the reasons for the problem and propose a possible solution.
In recent years, the number of gun violence incidents has increased. These are suicides, murders, robberies, or mass shootings; in other words, this problem is characterized by deliberate harm. The motivation for such actions may be explained by two groups of reasons. The first part includes financial stimulation: using weapons to get hold of money or other objects. The second part is formulated by mental problems, namely the desire to harm other people. It can be caused by both mental health problems and the effects of substances such as alcohol or drugs.
Furthermore, one may characterize the reasons for this problem by both general large-scale problems and internal political ones. Common problems are expressed by the growth in the psychological pressure that people are faced. It can be explained by the tension in political relations between the countries, but to a greater extent due to the pandemic and social isolation. All these reasons have a similar principle of action: the general negative background enlarges the psychological tension in individuals. Further, it leads to a desire to express aggression, and sometimes people who have access to weapons may use them. An easy approach to guns formulates an internal political reason: namely, the legislation.
Thus, most people are free to buy and own weapons; in modern realities, for some people, it is necessary as a self-defense tool. Moreover, for the possession of a firearm, it is needed to provide documents confirming mental health. However, it constitutes a problem since no one can claim that there will be no unforeseen circumstances that will lead to aggression. In other words, more sophisticated access to weapons would seem to reduce the incidence of gun violence. Moreover, the person who provided the documents may buy a weapon for its resale. Thereby, the people to whom one will sell weapons may have the goal of committing a robbery or mass shooting: it is impossible to control.
Accordingly, a possible solution to the problem would be the revision of the gun ownership policy. One may suggest the creation of a special category of people who need it. For example, businessmen who can become the target of an attack or farmers who need to control their territory. However, the process should be complicated for citizens from poor conditions or who do not have a solid reason to purchase weapons. Moreover, it is necessary to introduce careful monitoring and severe penalties for the resale of weapons. Preventive measures for reselling weapons could be special trackers that show whether the gun is still near the buyer or a monthly check for the availability of purchased weapons in random order.
As a result, one may conclude that gun violence is a social justice issue, due to which one would get into “necessary trouble.” It was possible to determine that the problem lies both in international aspects and in internal reasons. The main reason was the increase in psychological pressure and social isolation, which intensified the effect. Likewise, current gun ownership legislation formulates a controversial issue: it leads to easy access and subsequent use of weapons for criminal activities. One may propose a possible solution: strengthening control over the procedure for buying weapons and punishment associated with illegal handling.