Name

Professor

Course

Date

1 Unit of analysis

The unit of analysis in this study are states

2 Variables

By looking at the gun issue in the U.S. there are key indicators that are used as variant elements when studying the issue. One of the key aspects that paint the image of U.S. gun issue is the legalization and dependent factors for the gun use. One of the most outstanding variants in the gun issue is the difference between the registered and illegal guns. Perhaps it is hard to pinpoint the number but it is clear that there is a considerable number of people who carry guns illegally. The Tennessee’s 2014 decision to allow unlicensed individuals to carry guns is one of the most dynamic debating point in the issue of illegal guns in the area. Some people and law makers have argued that allowing unlicensed individuals to carry guns will only add fuel to the fire in an already sensitive issue of public security. The increase in robbery, killings, and even suicide was seen to increase dramatically in Tennessee with many claiming that the issue was not well thought. Digging deeper into the matter revealed that the aspect of vetting individuals to weigh out their mental stability and credibility of handling a gun plays a crucial role in the area of public safety.

The decision to allow unlicensed individuals to carry firearms in their vehicle was believed to lead to an increase in gun thefts from vehicle. A case in point is where the unregistered firearms were noted to be the most used in crime and other peace-threatening activities. Most importantly, permitting unregistered individuals to carry firearms was noted to lead to increase in crime. The use of firearms in most cases led to the individuals using the opportunity to even carry more than gun. The legal basis of this 2014 law was the increased cases of robbery and even theft of guns in vehicles. Most of the people who were interviewed on the viability and legality of allowing unlicensed individuals to carry firearms stated that the issue itself is a threat to local public security. As noted in many cases, the Tennessee firearms laws have a very unique outlook from other areas.

One of the underlying factors on firearms laws in Tennessee is the link between the legal basis and the individual rights. As seen in many areas, the gun laws in Tennessee have been revised occasionally to blend with changing aspects of legal basis. Within the past three years, Tennessee has made drastic changes in its firearm laws that are meant to bring sanity in the public. Tennessee issues permits for the concealed or open carry of handguns, but not loaded long guns. However, an individual is free to carry a loaded handgun or long gun in their car without a permit as part of the expanded “castle doctrine” self-defense law. The basic laws that restrict firearm ownership in Tennessee are fundamentally laid in line with the local legal backing. To add on this Tennessee has seen a drastic revision of the firearm laws that have made it possible to create a viable and strong public safety mechanisms. However, the permitting of unlicensed persons to carry firearms in vehicles has for most cases been criticized. One of the basis for the negative perception regarding the law is that it has restricted viable firearm limitation rules that are mostly needed in Tennessee.

Dependent Variable

Gun theft from vehicles

Gun theft from vehicles as the dependent variable is descriptively related to the issue of firearm theft that is implicated on reckless permitting of unlicensed individuals to carry firearms. Gun theft from vehicles in Tennessee has occasionally been reported to police and ranks among the top security issues being addressed today. With many individuals carrying guns and leaving them in vehicles, the security threat has increased due to the stealing of those firearms. One of the defining aspects of the gun theft in Tennessee is that the unlicensed individuals hardly have the right documentation for the guns. This makes the firearms an easy target by the criminals who find them easy to carry as they are hard to track.

Another issue is that some of these individuals who carry guns are reckless and leave them in in the open where the thieves can easily get them. For example, 3 out of 10 guns stolen from vehicles were as a result of the owners leaving the car windows open. Such reckless behavior only points to how unqualified the gun owners are to a point where they leave their firearms an easy target and in the open. The Tennessee gun laws first prohibit public display of guns mainly in areas with children like malls and supermarkets. The reckless behavior of some of the gun owners has only intensified the matter with the local authorities unable to bring sanity to the matter. As seen in most cases, gun owners undergo extensive vetting to ensure that they are qualified to carry guns. Allowing unlicensed individuals to carry guns goes against the norm and raises an issue of insecurity that has for many decades created a public safety issue.

The Tennessee gun laws are mainly ascribed to the public safety that have for many years been revised to match the safety needs. The legalization of guns in public places remains the major point that attributes to the growing aspects of public safety. In the past ten years, Tennessee has had a robust gun control and regulation laws that have enabled the region upgrade its public safety. However, there have been some limitations that relates to the increasing issues of allowing unlicensed individuals to carry guns. Federal law prohibits certain persons from purchasing or possessing firearms, such as people who have been convicted of felonies, people convicted of certain domestic abuse crimes or subject to certain domestic violence related restraining orders, and people with certain mental health histories. One of the drawbacks in this is that the key laws laid down has created loopholes in public safety that has increased the issue of gun theft. The most disturbing issue is that these guns are stolen and end up in the wrong hands. Consequently, the increasing cases of crime like robbery and killings will only get worse as the public safety issue is also threatened.

Operational definition:

The number of incidences of theft of property inside vehicles has dramatically increased in Tennessee. For example, in 2017, it was reported that there was an average of 7 cases of property theft in vehicles per week in Tennessee that shows the sensitivity of the issue. One of the underlying factors in this issue is that the local authorities and the police continue to lament the laxity in law making that has created loopholes in the area of public safety. To make the issue worse, the laxity in gun laws has created a huge loophole that continues to make it hard for the police to keep law and order.

Theft in cars has been one of the main issues that Tennessee faces and this even involves stolen guns that threaten public safety. Still, there has been more issues of robbery in public areas where the majority of the victims were individuals in the cars. Statistically, Tennessee has seen a 12% rise in public safety issues mainly the areas of theft of property inside vehicles. Among the reported cases, it was found that 2 in 10 thefts involved guns where the owners left the in vehicles. One of the underlying issues for this matter touches on people who left guns in the cars that today remains a key issue in Tennessee.

The police department in Tennessee reported that in 2018 alone, more than 2500 firearms were stolen in public places that accounts to 34% of the total cases. Among the stolen guns, 55% were stolen inside vehicles that points to the need for reforms in gun licensing. One of the ways to look at the issue is to evaluate how the problem of unlicensed individuals carrying guns affects local security.

Level of Measurement

Based on the laid down parameters regarding gun ownership in Tennessee have largely been pinned on key factors like regulation and right to own a firearm. The dependent variable will be a ratio variable because the distances between the attributes of the variable is meaningful and a value of zero on this variable is meaningful. The real attributes that imply a tangible value that is pinned on the dependent variable also touches on the gun ownership and variant rights. The level of measurement in this regard will look at the dependent and dominant factor that looks at the key aspects of a firearm regulation and how its related to the gun theft. To be precise, gun laws in Tennessee have always been pinned on the right to own the firearm and the personal right to safety.

On the other hand, the variable can also at the absence of gun theft in vehicles. The dependent variable in this case therefore illustrates the dominant factor that is also influenced by a set of variables. For example, the theft of guns can be associated with people recklessly leaving the car doors and windows open. Still, the variable can also be analyzed by assuming that the gun theft was a form of robbery where the firearms were well secured in the vehicle when they were stolen. The goal here is to look at all the factors surrounding the issue of gun theft in vehicles and how allowing unlicensed individuals to carry guns promote the theft.

Threat to Measurement Validity

iFace validity: Face validity implies that there is a credible proof basis that can be used to verify the reliability of the data collected on the phenomena. In this case, the face validity will be based on the logical presentation of the observable phenomena that in this case is gun theft. For a more clear analysis, the face validity will analyze the one on one link between the gun theft and permitting of unlicensed individuals to carry guns. To make it more elaborate, face validity is vital in this research because it will help affirm the credibility of the issue being studied. Still, face validity can help create the right outlook of values that will touch on the link between the integral and variant factors that all relate to the issue of gun theft in cars.

ii

Criterion-related validity: Criterion related validity is the true picture of the matter being studied and looks at the possibility of the occurrence. Looking at the relationship between tangible and intangible elements, the criterion-related validity will touch on the link between the gun theft and laxity in gun laws. For the case of Tennessee, the gun theft in cars is solely tied or blamed on lack of strong laws that can help tame or limit the issue of unlicensed individuals owning or carrying guns. This measure is an official measure of gun thefts from vehicles and therefore is generally accepted as a valid measure of the construct from theft from vehicles. Therefore, the dependent variable has criterion-related validity.

iii

Multiple Measures: one of the ways to verify that one factor in a study is related to the outcome is to compare more than one element. In the case of Tennessee, the best way is to have a directly linked elements that point to gun theft and show how these factors point to one outcome. For example, to show whether the variable captures changes in gun thefts from vehicles may be to compare it the number of insurance claims filed for stolen firearms. If the two measures are correlated, it can be expected that the measure has construct validity. Tennessee issues permits for the concealed or open carry of handguns, but not loaded long guns. However, an individual is free to carry a loaded handgun or long gun in their car without a permit as part of the expanded “castle doctrine” self-defense law. The basic laws that restrict firearm ownership in Tennessee are fundamentally laid in line with the local legal backing. Still, the comparison has to factor in a key variant that will remain constant in the issue that is the gun theft and how it relates to attributed causes.

Threats to measurement reliability:

iStudy reliability is one of the key aspects that define a valid outcome and thus the outcomes and findings of such a research can be trusted. Validity is only affirmed by the term consistency that is the stability in the data collected on the gun theft. Reliable data has a unique pattern that do not change with time but rather very dependent and shaped by matters on the ground.

.