The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects Americans' right to keep and bear arms. It specifies that the government cannot infringe upon this right. However, the amendment does not extend this protection to violent felons or individuals who are likely to misuse weapons. In recent years, there have been numerous instances of this right being misused negatively, like concealed carry in public spaces and domestic violence.
There is no fundamental way to put complete control on guns because of the Second Amendment. However, in the state of Indiana, gun laws could be implemented more to ensure the safety of its residents, particularly since gun violence affects Hoosier teens in profound ways.
Indiana was one of the first states that took the initiative with the Extreme Risk law, which allows law enforcement to temporarily prevent someone in crisis from accessing guns. However, according to Everytown Research, “It lacks all other foundational laws and recently repealed its concealed carry permitting requirement.”
Although there might not be a way to control the distribution of guns, measures could be set in place to buffer the critical issues we face with gun violence.
Everytown Research observes Indiana’s gun law strength at 18.3%, in comparison to the national gun violence rate of 13.7 %. There are 50 key policies in the 2025 “gun checklist” of laws enforced in various states, and Indiana currently only enforces 11 of these measures, which are often put in place to ensure safety and security.
It’s a commonly understood reality that the more distributed guns are the higher the frequency of gun violence cases.
According to Johns Hopkins Public Health, more than 200 Americans, on average, visit the emergency room for nonfatal firearm injuries every day. Nearly 20,000 people died from a firearm homicide, 463 died from an accidental gun injury, and 643 were shot and killed by law enforcement in 2022.
The distribution of firearms also significantly contributes to suicide rates, as evidence shows that access to guns increases the likelihood of suicide. More than 27,000 died by firearm suicide in 2023.
Additionally, according to Johns Hopkins Public Health, “Access to a firearm in the home increases the odds of suicide more than three-fold. Firearms are dangerous when someone is at risk for suicide because they are the most lethal suicide attempt method. Eighty-five percent of suicide attempts with a firearm are fatal compared to the most widely used suicide attempt methods, which have case fatality rates below 5%.”
Accidental shootings contribute significantly to firearm distribution, particularly among minors, resulting in the tragic deaths of many children.
According to the BulletPoints Project, a research center in California, children and teens from 10-19 are at the highest risk of unintentional firearm death out of any age group, and nearly half of accidental gun deaths at this age are caused by the victim or someone else playing with the gun. Other deaths happened when someone thought the gun was unloaded while hunting or while cleaning the gun.
The same research center also found that male children are generally at higher risk than females.
The Second Amendment right is important; however, there are several factors that the government should take into consideration. The government has implemented measures to ensure that other amendments do not override the system, and the Second Amendment should be treated in the same way. The system requires checks and balances to protect the people of this country.