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Position paper rough draft

Since the beginning of the colonies, gun control has been infringed upon our society. Great Britain attempted to ban all muskets which were considered the assault rifle of the time. They then placed restrictions and tried to confiscate all gun powder and prevent it from being shipped to the colonies. The colonists then switched to black powder, which was more unstable and had to be stored in special buildings that were called powder houses. These buildings were made out of thick layers of brick and were cool, dark, and dry. Muskets were considered a very dangerous weapon at the time, yet the colonists sought the rights to own weapons both personally and for their town militias. When America became a nation, the constitution and the bill of rights sought to protect this personal interest and several others.
The second amendment reads: “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.” This amendment was established to protect the rights of Americans to own weapons. Though the militia is necessary in this, the component that ties over to the present is the right of the people. Muskets were once considered as controversial as assault rifles are today, yet the founding fathers sought to protect the rights of Americans to own them. It is for these reasons that I support Pro-gun laws. As with any law, the line has to be drawn somewhere. Should people be able to own rocket launchers, armor penetrating rounds, or grenades? Probably not. This can be established with common sense and is a reasonable place to draw the line on what Americans can own. Things like assault rifles and high capacity magazines should not be...

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... easily getting ahold of these weapons. A national registry of weapons and more strict background checks would definitely help control who owns firearms. Almost all people agree that criminals and mentally ill people should not own firearms. By increasing the security in purchasing firearms and deeper background checks, this issue and the issue of shootings would drastically be reduced while maintaining the right of Americans to own the firearms they want to.
In conclusion, I believe that stricter background checks, mental illness laws, and gun tracking would drastically increase the safety of Americans while protecting the rights of citizens to own weapons like assault rifles, pump action shotguns, and handguns. Stricter mental illness laws are what needs to be focused on rather than ridding Americans of their firearms that are guaranteed by the second amendment.

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