Americans and Guns

Differing perspectives

The United States has more guns than people. Few issues are more divisive than gun violence and the right to bear arms. Yet there may be more common ground than initially appears. In a five part series, VOA's Deepak Dobhal profiles gun owners, people affected by gun violence, and a scholar who sees the contradictions and, perhaps, a way forward.

Part 1. Common Ground

Finding Common Ground

A professor in Ashland, Wisconsin, brings pro- and anti-gun forces together at the community level, hoping to move beyond the often strident national debate. | Watch it now

Part 2. Defense

Defense

A gun owner in Minerva, Ohio, defends his own and others’ right to bear arms. | Watch it now

Part 3. Suicide

Suicide

After her husband killed himself using a legally purchased handgun, a woman in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, began a mission to stop the rising tide of gun suicides, which make up the majority of gun deaths. | Watch it now

Part 4. Hunting

Hunting

Hunting is a tradition for a family in Roca, Nebraska, who have embraced safe gun ownership for generations. | Watch it now

Part 5. Violence

Violence

The streets of Wilmington, Delaware, are plagued by gun violence, as one family knows all too well. | Watch it now

America’s Gun Laws

“A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The Second Amendment and other freedoms spelled out in the U.S. Constitution were intended to calm fears that the new government could engage in tyranny. Some legal scholars believe the amendment was meant to protect the right of states to use militias for self-defense, but the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment establishes gun ownership rights for private citizens.

 

Project credits

Deepak Dobhal
Reporter, Cameraman, Producer

Elizabeth Arrott
Editor

Brian Williamson
Designer and Developer

Special Thanks to Yolanda Lopez