The right to bear arms has been under attack lately in the news and other sources of media. With so much gun crime, especially in inner cities, people think that stricter gun laws could be the answer to lessening gun violence. Hawaii has put in place many regulations on buying guns to try to limit violent crimes, and due to Hawaii’s restrictions, such as taking a gun safety course, the approval of the local chief of police for the permit, and a 14 day waiting period on purchasing firearms, it is easier to purchase a firearm in Pennsylvania than Hawaii.
In Pennsylvania, in order for a person to purchase a firearm they must be at least 18 years old. A person cannot buy a gun if they have committed a violent crime, are an undocumented immigrant, if the court has declared him or her as having a mental illness, are a drug addict, wanted by the Justice Department, have had three DUI charges in the past five years, or have “an active protection from…show more content… In terms of firearm deaths, the CDC says that the rate of firearm death in Pennsylvania is 10.5% while Hawaii is only 2.6%. The overall national average per state is 10.3%. This shows that Hawaii’s stricter gun laws do help keep the gun death rate lower than Pennsylvania. (CDC) As far as firearm related crime goes, Pennsylvania ranks 30 out of the 50 states in overall gun related deaths. Pennsylvania is ranked sixteenth for the number of homicides by gun out of every 100,000 people. Unfortunately, 79% of all of these take place in African American Communities, and 43% of those were shot with a high capacity rifle. (Center Am PRogress -PA under the Gun) Gun Homicides in Pennsylvania ranks near the top of the country especially in African American city
