The Right to Bear Arms: Argument in Favor

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The constitution of the United States claims we, as American citizens, have the right to bear arms. Since 1787, the ownership of handguns has been legal. If we fast-forward to the twenty-first century, we see an increase in the number of homicides and suicides occurring on a daily basis. This increase has created the belief that the gun policy needs tighter restrictions or that guns should be banned completely from citizen possession. However, making it more difficult to obtain a gun or banning guns from citizen possession will not solve the gun problem. The current gun policy regulates who is eligible to obtain a gun from a federally licensed dealer and keeps legally purchased guns from being sold to the wrong person.
On November 30, 1998, the final provisions of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act were implemented and this law became permanent. According to the North Carolina Department of Justice, this law will “provide for the establishment of a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) that federally licensed firearms dealers must contact before transferring any firearm (handgun or long gun) to individuals” (2). The NICS, operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), will conduct a thorough background check on each individual that applies to purchase a handgun to determine their eligibility. The background check covers files regarding illegal aliens, controlled substance abuse, dishonorable discharge, citizen renunciation, mental illness, wanted persons, domestic violence protection orders, and criminal history (North Carolina 3). However, there is an alternate way to legally purchase a gun. For example, in North Carolina the Brady Law will recognize and accept either a North Carolina h...

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... Responsible For Acts Of The Irrational And Irresponsible.” Objective Standard: A Journal Of Culture And Politics 8.1 (2013): 98. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. “National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Operations 2012.” FBI. Federal Bureau of Investigation, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Missouri. Dept. of Conservation. “Share the Harvest.” mdconline. Conservation Commission of Missouri, 2014. Web. 2 Feb. 2014.
North Carolina. Dept. of Justice. North Carolina Firearms Laws. North Carolina: NCDOJ, 2013. Web.
“Should Handguns Be Banned?” Junior Scholastic 10 Mar. 2008: 7. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Zimring, Franklin E. “Handguns in the Twenty-First Century: Alternative Policy Futures.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 455.Gun Control (1981): 1-10. Print.

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