US Gun Control and Surrounding Policymaking, a conclusion

“Synthesizing Research on US Gun Control”

Source: The Atlantic

The economic principle I researched was: Institutions are the “rules of the games” that influence choices.

What sparked my interest in the research of gun control were the recent events of the Las Vegas “Pulse” Club shooting and the Parkland School shooting. My synthesis will focus on the structure of US Government and how this shapes and influences policy making around the topic of guns.


Current news and political climate under the Trump administration can tell you that the Republican-dominated Congress has not been taking any real legislative action in terms of gun control, to prevent future acts of terrorism and murder. The “rules” or structure of the institution, Congress, can be partly attributed to this lack of action. The pace of change in Congress is deliberately made to be slow, given the many different opposing perspectives. In 2013 the Senate voted on increased background checks and increased ban of more semiautomatic guns-- but these efforts failed even with a democratic-controlled Congress (1).

Furthermore, divisions in party affiliations help contribute and influence legislative issues and debates over gun control because it shows how the differing behaviours exhibited by gun-lovers and gun-controllers clash. My research has found that in the wake of acts of terrorism, many opinions of America are highly polarized (2). Also, those who advocate gun rights are much more passionate and are around 15% more likely to contact their public officials in favor of gun rights instead of those who are pro-gun control. Although the long term trend is towards saving future victims by implementing harsher gun laws, right now, the conservative forces are too strong for any effective action on gun control to take place.

Next, I looked at the groundwork and background of both the effectiveness of protests and the history of gun control. By political science, Congress members are single-minded seekers of reelection: Congress members influence policy important to constituent interests and are willing to accept resources that enable policy making and encourage reelection from interest groups. Research has shown that bigger political protests helps spur political activity and to signal changes in legislation to Congress members (3). There have been some laws and court cases that have shaped the Second Amendment. Since 1776, the US government allows for the freedom of speech and the freedom to protest. In 1934, the NFA imposed a tax on the manufacturing, selling, and transporting of firearms listed in the law. Furthermore, following the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., Lyndon B. Johnson pushed for the Gun Control Act of 1968. This act, overall, tightened restrictions on gun ownage. In 1986, with the American conservative backlash, the Firearm Owners Protection Act loosened restrictions for gun owners. By loosening the definition of what a gun is and the business of, and loosened restrictions on the sale of guns. And lastly, in 1993, Bill Clinton passed a law that criminal checks were mandatory in purchasing a gun. It established the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) (4).