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Gun Control: A Sociological Analysis

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Everyone in the world has a theory about why something happens or how it happens, but in sociology there are many different types of theories that often contradict each other. Theory is defined as “a statement of how and why specific facts are related” (Macionis, 2013). Most theories explain why people act in certain ways and explains why a person in a group may act different than someone that is alone. When building sociological theories most sociologist ask their selves two different questions: “What issues should we study?” and “How should we connect the facts?” (Macionis, 2013). By answering these questions the sociologist is led to a road map, or a theoretical approach. Theoretical approach is described as “a basic image of society that …show more content…

When considering the structural-functional approach the society as a whole has to consider the pros and cons of strict vs. loose gun laws. The United States currently has loose gun laws meaning that anyone with a clean background can purchase a gun to protect their self and their property. Without any regulation on how many guns you are allowed to own there are many speculations that there are many guns just laying around which can lead to more accidents within the household. However, if we were to establish stricter gun laws people would be less likely to hurt themselves or others, but it would increase the black market on guns. A black market is where goods that are supposed to be regulated are sold freely amongst the community which tends to put weapons into the hands of criminals. Moving on to the social-conflict theory, the laxity concerning gun laws in the United State is leading to an increase in the countries suicide rate. With most law-abiding citizens allowed to purchase as many guns as they please there is a surplus just laying around which makes it easier for mentally unstable people to get ahold of them. Finally the symbolic-interaction theory is probably the biggest influence on the gun control issue since most Americans link patriotism to having ownership over guns. It also expresses individuality and

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