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Essay gun control history united states mla scribd
Essay gun control history united states mla scribd
History of gun control essay
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With many recent incidents that involve guns between 2012 and 2013, gun control laws have become a hot topic in America. On one hand, after the horrific incident like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting at Newtown in 2012, most people wanting to limit guns from getting into the wrong by setting up a rigorous system that control who can and cannot obtain a gun. On the other hand, we have the people who believe that with such rigorous system in place is violated the individual rights that granted and protected by the United States Constitution. They believe that the rigorous system will prevent people from defending themselves and could be a violation of their privacy. Regardless of which side is right, if we want to understand more about our current conflict, we have to look back on how this hold debate started. The District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court case in 2008 that found the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 unconstitutional, which influence the individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense by questioning the Second Amendment and laws that restrict a person from acquire guns. The District of Columbia v. Heller plays an important role in shaping our right to keep and bear arms for self-defense by being the first court case that defines who can own guns for self-defend. The whole case is revolving around the Second Amendment and its meaning. Since the Second Amendment first enact into law in 1791, this prompts the court to look at it again. By understanding its original meaning, the court then can understand what intended to do and how it affects our current time. Before the Heller court case, States in America have its own laws on who can own and use guns. While some State is lax in their law... ... middle of paper ... ...own. That handguns cannot be restricted from obtain and carry for self-defend in one’s home. As for the other question that the case did not answer, all we can do now is wait for these questions to be answered by the Supreme Court. Works Cited Carter, Gregg. Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Print. Fields, Gary. "New Washington Gun Rules Shift Constitutional Debate." Wall Street Journal. 17 May. 2010: A. 1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. Jackson, Kevin, and Eric Johnson. "McDonald v. Chicago (08-1521)." Legal Information Institute. Cornell Law School, 30 Mar. 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. Jonsson, Patrik. "Gun Debate: Is Price of an Armed America a More Dangerous America?" Christian Science Monitor. 02 Feb. 2014: n. p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Carter, Gregg Lee, ed. “Federal Gun Laws.” Gun Control in the United States: A Reference
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.
The Second Amendment says people have the right to carry concealed handguns. Judge Richard Posner said “must be interpreted to include a right to have a concealed gun in public, to have it ready for use, and have it for self defense”. The Second Amendment also says “a well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right to the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”. The Supreme Court has made a landmark that states ruling upholding the right of people to bear arms for hunting and self defense. The NRA argue that law bringing citizens who have gun can decrease the numbers of crimes, rates, and are safer from criminals. Since Virginia passed a right-to-carry law, more than 50,000 permits have been issued, not one crime had been dropped. Criminals are less likely to attack someone if they believe the...
Doeden, Matt. Gun Control: Preventing Violence or Crushing Constitutional Rights? Minneapolis: Lerner, 2012. 7- 61-63. Print.
By: Kristen Rand Summary / Analysis : This article discusses the amendment to gun control, specifically the right to bear arms. But it isn’t discussing it on the U.S. mainland, but instead on the District of Columbia. The controversy is whether or not the District is bound to the same laws and amendments that the rest of the United States is. The current law in Columbia is that there is a universal ban on guns. So should the U.S. Supreme Court vote to allow citizens to bear arms, or should the 30-year-old ban be erased?
District of Columbia v Heller took place in 2008, addressing the issue of a District of Columbia gun control law. This law stated that it was illegal to have an unregistered firearm while also prohibiting the registration of handguns. Although the Chief of Police was able to grant one-year licenses, these provisions made it illegal to have a handgun not registered before the law took effect, and the handguns were required to be re-license annually. Another provision required that the licensed handgun was inoperable for storage, meaning the gun had to be unloaded and disassembled or had to have a trigger
Opposing sides have for years fought over the laws that govern firearms. For the purposes of this paper "Gun Control" is defined as policies enacted by the government that limit the legal rights of gun owners to own, carry, or use firearms, with the intent of reducing gun crimes such as murder, armed robbery, aggravated rape, and the like. So defined, gun control understandably brings favorable responses from some, and angry objections from others. The gun control debate is generally publicized because of the efforts of the Pro-Gun Lobby or the Anti-Gun Lobby.
Just yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court elected not to hear an appeal from Kolbe v. Hogan, a case in which the Fourth Circuit ruled that semi-automatic rifles are not included in the Second Amendment as “arms.” Of the four circuit court rulings upholding bans on semi-automatic firearms, Kolbe v. Hogan stands out due to the Fourth Circuit’s reasoning behind its decision. While the Second, Seventh, and DC circuits all acknowledged that semi-automatic rifles are protected under the Second Amendment, the Fourth Circuit based their ruling on the belief that semi-automatic rifles are not protected as “arms” under the Second Amendment due to their common classification as military firearms. Dissenters were quick to point out the conflict between the Supreme Court’s actions in response to this case and another case–District of Columbia v. Heller–where the ruling stated that “the Second Amendment protects ‘firearms commonly used for a lawful purpose.’” Because many lawfully used semi-automatic firearms are present in the country today, this class of guns should thus be protected under the Second Amendment based on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Heller.
While the political topics most often discussed in the media over the past several years have been about the economy and wars on terror, gun control is still a major issue that is still being debated in Washington. Some congressmen, usually of the liberal persuasion, advocate stricter gun laws that would limit the number of guns on the street and their availability to the public. Other congressmen, usually of the conservative variety, advocate more relaxed gun laws that would increase public access to guns. The arguments over whether or not gun laws should be written to constrict gun sales or enhance gun sales often leads to discussion of the constitution, not only because of its precedence over all other laws and the connotations of claiming a proposal is unconstitutional (and hence clearly un-American,) but because the second amendment exists to guarantee citizens the right to keep and bear arms. Debates over specifics on gun control are superfluous for one simple reason: everyone should have a gun.
Ring, Ray. “Guns R Us.” High Country News (Paonia, Co) Vol. 39, No. 14 Aug. 6 2007:10-17. Sirs Issues Researcher. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.
Nelson Lund, JD, PhD, Professor at George Mason University School of Law once stated, "The right to self-defense and to the means of defending oneself is a basic natural right that grows out of the right to life …. many [gun control laws] interfere with the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves against violent criminals”. When we 're born, we are born with the right of life, and with the right of life came the right to self protection. There has been many laws that contradict the right of life just as the right of self protection. Justice Stevens once stated that “The Second Amendment’s structure was notable for its omission of any statement of purpose related to the right to use firearms for hunting or personal self-defense”. Justice steven noted that the second right amendment covers us from self defence and hunting. Self defence is a really big topic because of the fact that most people die on the hands of others because they have nothing to defend themselves with. A report from New York Times once said that Wayne Lapierre, N.R.A executive vice president once stated that “The only only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun”. Reports were found that in Newtown connecticut in a public school, none of the school employees were armed and they had no defence when it came down to a school shooting. People were harmed and
Rauch, Jonathan. “The Right Kind of Gun Rights.” National Journal Vol. 40 Issue 11. Academic Search Complete. 15 Mar. 2013. Web. 6 June 2015.
The debate on college campuses’ gun policies mirrors that of the national level in that at the heart of both debates is the interpretation of the Second Amendment. 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.” Some argue that the wording used is outdated and that the Second Amendment does not guarantee an individual’s right to bear arms—the Supreme Court disagrees. In the 2008 Supreme Court case District of Columbia v. Heller, the Court concluded that the wording of the Second Amendment does in fact guarantee an individual’s right to possess and carry a weapon (Mauro). While the debate over the Second Amendmant is not over yet, with the Heller ruling, for now the right to bear arms is protected by the Constitution; me...
... government to have such high-tech weapons. Equally, they wanted to be trained on how to handle guns too; so in response the Bill of Rights was created. Cases such as District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and McDonald vs. Chicago (2010), showed readers that the Second Amendment allowed people to exercise rights given to them. In both cases, each defendant stood up for the right to possess a gun. In the end, the Supreme Court ruled that owning a gun was a fundamental right already in existences. In other cases such as Shepard vs. Madigan (2011) and Moore vs. Madigan (2012), gun rights helped to play an important role in self-defense as well as other incidents. The Second Amendment allowed each individual to carry a concealed handgun in public. All in all, guns have help deter crimes. They have helped in stopping criminals and have protected the rights of gun owners.
One of the largest debates facing the United States deals with the right to own firearms. In 2008, a D.C. special police officer Dick Anthony Heller attempted to register a handgun to keep at home for his safety. The District of Columbia also known as Washington D.C. had laws that prohibited a citizen from owning a handgun and denied Heller's registration even though he is a licensed police officer. In the Second Amendment it states that the people have the “right to keep and bear arms” (Oyez, District of Columbia v Heller). Enforcing this law which prevented Heller from being able to register a handgun for his own personal safety at home violated the second amendment which was a basic right of the people. Heller took this matter to court in