Does the U.S. need tougher gun-control laws?

• Author: Everitt, Ladd
• Position: Debate - Discussion

Even with the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 2008 ruling giving individuals a constitutional right to own guns (see "A Smarter Gun?," p. 6), the issue still deeply divides Americans. Some believe we need stricter laws limiting the kinds of guns that are legal to own and making it harder for criminals to get their hands on a weapon. Others argue that most gun-control laws violate the right to "bear arms" that the Framers laid out in the Second Amendment. Below, two experts weigh in. One represents a pro gun-control group, the other a gun-rights group.

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YES We lose more than 32,000 Americans to gun violence every year in this country. That's an average of 87 deaths a day. These tragedies range from gun accidents and suicides to horrific mass shootings like those at Columbine High School in 1999 and at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.

There is no other wealthy, democratic nation in the world that experiences this level of gun violence. That's because they've all implemented tough gun laws to deal with this problem. The United States is the outlier.

The U.S. has more guns per capita than any other country in the world. It's estimated that Americans own more than 300 million guns. Guns certainly do not cause crime, but the fact that they are so easily available does make crimes more lethal. Simply put, when more people have guns, the odds go up that they'll be used.

Part of the problem is who has the guns. We're all tired of reading stories about shooters who legally purchased firearms despite displaying one or more red flags that should have prevented it: a history of violent behavior, mental illness, or drug abuse. Currently, about 40 percent of gun sales are conducted without any background check at all. That gives convicted felons, domestic abusers, and those with a dangerous history of mental illness a free pass to arm themselves.

The solution is to require background checks on every gun sale--with a potential exception for individuals selling to immediate family members--and to strengthen the screening process to detect obvious warning signs in people who are trying to buy guns.

Here's the good news: Every other democracy on earth has already dealt with this problem successfully. America has always been capable of doing great things; it's in our DNA. There's no reason in the world we can't take sensible steps to keep guns away from dangerous...