Many Americans believe that gun control is only an issue in the United States of America, but they are mistaken. Gun control is not only an issue in the United States, but around the world as well. The United States of America and Britain share similarities and differences when it comes to the issue of gun control. Both countries have taken action against gun control and are continuously looking for ways to improve their laws. This paper will demonstrate the actions that each country has taken over the years, the issues that they are facing, and what else could be done to improve gun control. .
Gun control seems to be a never-ending debate in the United States of America. The policy debate over gun control is one of conflicting government policies and ideological extremes (True 216). Powerful ideologies and emotional images have energized but not explained the delayed seesaw nature of national policy making about guns in America (Sherman 154). Since the end of World War II, gun control policies have changed three times In the United States. .
The first change in gun control policy was The Gun Control Act of 1968. This act essentially replaced the Federal Firearms Act of 1938, placing new controls and restrictions on the sales and shipment of guns and ammunition (217). Dealers, manufacturers, and importers were of the select few that could receive foreign and interstate shipments of weapons. This prohibited the shipment of handguns, long guns, and ammunition to private individuals (217). The act prohibited the selling of rifles, shotguns and ammunition to anyone under the age of 18, and prohibited the selling of handguns and ammunition to an individual under the age of 21. The policy forced dealers and collectors to keep complete records of all sales. Failure to do so could result in a federal punishment. The change resulted from congressional and presidential efforts to rebalance political conflict after public and elite pressures for greater controls grew following the 1963 assassinations of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
