What would be flashing through your mind if you were at a coffee shop and a maniacal psychopath appeared and began firing at innocent people? At your family? You would be afraid for yourself and the lives of those most precious to you; but would you be thinking that if the government made guns illegal, this would never have happened? Certainly not! You would have probably thought that if you were permitted a handgun, you could not only have protected your family and yourself, but others around you as well. Many people are asking whether carrying guns are a helpful tool that many of us have been saying they are. Some people think handguns are the cause to the many crimes and injuries. Others say that our society would be safer without citizens carrying guns out on the streets. In my views, I am convinced that guns help in disasters when help is so far away. Not only that, but guns have already been permitted in all fifty states except Washington DC. Rather than restricting guns and gun owners, we should be given the freedom to have the ability to carry guns in order to protect ourselves and others around us through the use of firearms. In Making Gun Control Happen the author, Patrick Keefe, writes as a supporter to gun control. He states that one obvious change would be to “mandate a criminal background check for all gun purchases” in order to stop criminals from obtaining a weapon. [Keefe] Although obviously what criminals do best is break laws, as a result they would probably smuggle guns illegally anyways. The idea of the background check is to distinguish the responsible, law abiding citizens from the crooks and thugs. Therefore it is a great example of the many wrong things with gun control. The second amendment says, "A we... ... middle of paper ... ... N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2013 Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz, "Armed Resistance to Crime: The Prevalence and Nature of Self-Defense with a Gun," (903 KB) Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Autumn 1995 Gary Kleck, Targeting Guns: Firearms and Their Control, 1997 John Lott, Jr., More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun-control Laws, 2000 Making Gun Control Happen." The New Yorker. PATRICK RADDEN KEEFE, 16 Dec. 2012. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. Tom Loewy, "Local Group Lobbies for Gun Rights," Register-Mail, Mar. 12, 2010 William E. Sturdevant, PE, "An Analysis of the Arrest Rate of Texas Concealed Handgun License _ Holders As Compared to the Arrest Rate of The Entire Texas Population," (299 KB) www.txchia.org, Sep. 1, 2000 Winkler, Adam. "The Second Amendment Is All for Gun Control." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, Feb.-Mar. 2013. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
In America guns have been a part of the country’s society since it’s birth. Throughout history the citizens of the US have used firearms to protect the nation, protect their families, hunt for food and engage in sporting activities. The issue of Guns and gun control is complex. Weighing the rights and liberties of the individual against the welfare and safety of the public has always been a precarious balancing act. In the United States, gun control is one of these tumultuous issues that has both sides firmly entrenched in their positions. Those parties in favor of gun ownership and the freedom to use and keep arms, rely on the fact that the provision for such rights is enshrined in their constitution. In this climate of growing violence, rife with turmoil and crime, gun advocates feel more than ever that their position is justified. As citizens of the “Land of the Free” possessing a gun is a fundamental right, and may even be a necessity... Anti- gun lobbyists point to the same growing violence and gun related crimes in an effort to call on the government to take action. By enacting more laws and stricter control, these people not in favor of guns feel society would be better safer.
Richman, Sheldon. "The Seen and Unseen in Gun Control." The Freeman 1 Oct 1998: 610-611
“Gun Control.” Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints In context. Web. 15 Sep 2013.
Aroung the time of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the controversial and widely argued issue of gun control sparked and set fire across America. In the past decade however, it has become one of the hottest topics in the nation. Due to many recent shootings, including the well known Sandy Hook Elementary school, Columbine High School, Aurora movie theater, and Virginia Tech, together totaling 87 deaths, many people are beginning to push for nationwide gun control. An article published in the Chicago Tribune by Illinois State Senator Jacqueline Collins, entitled “Gun Control is Long Overdue” voiced the opinion that in order for America to remain the land of the free, we must take action in the form of stricter gun laws. On the contrary, Kathleen Parker, a member of the Washington Post Writers Group whose articles have appeared in the Weekly Standard, Time, Town & Country, Cosmopolitan, and Fortune Small Business, gives a different opinion on the subject. Her article in The Oregonian “Gun Control Conversation Keeps Repeating” urges Americans to look at the cultural factors that create ...
The first reason handguns should be outlawed for ordinary citizens is because their main purpose is simply to kill other human beings. Why would our country allow us to have the right to own an object that is deadly? Our government seems to want to protect us. For example, seatbelt laws and motorcycle helmet laws were created to protect our lives. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforces pollution laws to keep us safe and healthy. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspects food and tests drugs to make sure American citizens are not harmed by nasty food and dangerous drugs. Yet, our government allows just about anybody to own and walk around with guns. It does not appear our government really cares about our safety. If it did, handguns would be outlawed for the general public, because their only purpose is to kill people.
Take a look at the history of our country and the role guns have played in it. According to the second amendment gun ownership is perfectly legal and guaranteed as a right. There were and are good reasons for this, luckily they are still practiced today. Back in the day guns used to be for hunting and, on the occasion self defense. But when the colonists of this country had enough of British rule, they picked up there own personal guns and went to war and the British saw first hand how powerful the rough band of average American gun owners were. Our forefathers knew that the general population if armed would be key in winning the war. And it was.
One way gun control advocates have tried to reduce the number of guns being issued to citizens of the United States of America is to require background checks. Background checks are performed on some weapons but they want a full background check for felonies, mental issues, proper classes, safety precautions to name a few. Background checks would make sure that if you have any type of police record you will be given a second look and make sure that you are fit to own a gun. (Asa Best) If you have a record this does not mean that you will not be able to own a gun it may just mean that your ch...
Although the Second Amendment prevents the federal government from completely banning guns in America, limited restrictions are allowed on the distribution and possession of firearms. Certain groups of people such as criminals, the mentally unstable, and soldiers dishonorably discharged from the military are prohibited from possessing or interacting with firearms (Flynn). These restrictions are enforced by background checks in some states on both a state and federal level. However, gun laws vary from state to state and are often not thorough enough; the background checks are flawed due to lack of information and misinformation, and guns can easily end up in the hands of criminals and malevolent individuals. The ease of obtaining a firearm in America fosters crime and a dangerous environment. Hence, the Second Amendment should be reinterpreted so that stricter gun laws can be implemented because modern citizens do not require guns, current background checks are flawed, gun...
Wilson, H. (2007). Guns, gun control, and elections. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
In today 's world, America has become a terrible place full of crime and murder. Most of these crimes have to do with guns, or some kind of shootings. The good citizens of our country need away to defend themselves from crime acts like that. No matter what, criminals will find a way to get guns in the country just like they do drugs. Also, one of the main reasons we are able to keep enemies out of our country is because of our rights to bear arms. In order to keep our country as close to safe as possible, the Second Amendment must stay in place.
For years proposals for gun control and the ownership of firearms have been among the most controversial issues in modern American politics. The public debate over guns in the United States is often seen as having two side. Some people passionately assert that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to own guns while others assert that the Second Amendment does no more than protect the right of states to maintain militias. There are many people who insist that the Constitution is a "living document" and that circumstances have changed in regard to an individual’s right to bear arms that the Second Amendment upholds. The Constitution is not a document of total clarity and the Second Amendment is perhaps one of the worst drafted of all its amendments and has left many Americans divided over the true intent.
People have questioned gun control long time. Many people wonder if anyone, aside from those who join the law force, should be allowed to carry guns. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Those who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety” (Wright 4). Franklin understood that taking guns away from law-abiding citizens would not uphold their liberty. Some people who argue for gun control state many violent crimes involve guns. Others believe a child could find the gun and something bad could happen to the child or others when a gun is unsafely stored. People who argue against gun control might say there is a huge psychological gap between citizens who shoot to protect themselves or their property and those who go into schools and shoot at others. Criminals will always find a way around gun control laws and will be able to obtain and use guns illegally. The second amendment protects gun rights for individual citizens. Reasonable gun control laws and educational steps can be taken to protect the majority of U.S. citizens. Gun control does not only take guns away from criminals, gun control also limits law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves and their families when necessary.
The problem with guns is fairly obvious: they decrease the difficulty of killing or injuring a person. In Jeffrey A. Roth's Firearms and Violence (NIJ Research in Brief, February 1994), he points out the obvious dangers. About 60 percent of all murder victims in the United States in 1989 (about 12,000 people) were killed with firearms. Firearm attacks injured another 70,000 victims, some of whom were left permanently disabled. In 1985, the cost of shootings was an estimated $14 billion nationwide for medical care, long-term disability, and premature death. In robberies and assaults, victims are far more likely to die when the perpetrator is armed with a gun than when he or she has another weapon or is unarmed.
The Crux,. 'If You Believe In "Gun Control," This Is Probably Not For You... '. N.p., 2014. Web. 30 Oct.
Imagine if you will, society that is so plagued with crime that its citizens are afraid to step out of their homes for fear of being a victim of a violent crime. With no way to protect themselves or their families, they are at the whim of the criminals that prey on them. Next imagine a society where it is virtually crime free, free of any types of violent crimes, one is able to leave the front door unlock and return home without worrying if there has been a burglary. Although these scenarios are to the extreme it is a reality to some extent as to the conditions here in the State of California at the present time, where a law abiding citizen cannot legally protect themselves in everyday life from the preying few that society has labeled criminals. Unlike other states in the nation California does not issue Concealed Weapons Permits in a consistent fair manner, therefore depending on the location of one’s residence it could determine if a citizen has a higher chance of becoming a victim without being able to have the choice to defend one’s self. It is this author’s belief that Concealed Weapons Permits do lower the crime rate by being a deterrence of criminal activity that fear the repercussions of facing a citizen that is armed and well trained in the use of the weapon of choice.