Americans today tend to believe that guns are dangerous and they should not be in the place of anyone’s hands. There is much debate over who should have one and who should not. What is not commonly conversed is how to properly use one. David Shipley, the author of the article The Rare ‘Good Guy with a Gun’, acknowledges this understated issue. Being a “good guy with a gun” is not enough to stop a bad guy with a gun. You do not only need a gun but also experience, knowledge, and adequacy. In the editorial from the Bloomberg View called “The Rare Good Guy with a Gun” by David Shipley, he acknowledges that yes, indeed, a good person with a gun can surely stop an evil person of convicting a crime. He wrote about a specific event that occurred …show more content…
The NRA is an association ran by Wayne LaPierre, the organization strongly protects the second amendment; the right to bear arms. Much of what Shipley has to say is bashing their organization, such evidence as to what Shipley wrote; “The NRA is not suggesting that every gunslinger become an expert. Quite the contrary.” He goes on to say that the NRA has a lot of training programs but it’s “priorities lie elsewhere”. On one hand, Shipley argues that the NRA demands every American has access to firearms, with no training or background check. On the other hand, many blogs, Twitter feed, and much of the NRA’s website completely prove Shipley wrong. In a public announcement that the president of the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, wrote he stated that, “We think it is reasonable to provide mandatory, instant criminal background checks for every sale, at every gun show. No loopholes anywhere, for anyone.” Although Shipley makes valid points, I am assuming he is trying to point fingers at where the overall problem of gun violence started. Shipley seems to be blaming the “countless cases of accidental shootings, rage-induced homicides, and alcohol-fueled attacks” (Shipley) on the NRA. Shipley also mentions a lot about how the NRA provides gun-safety and programs for training, but once again, “their priorities lie …show more content…
While the NRA is a very big organization that is continually growing, there are problems outside of their program they cannot handle. One thing that LaPierre mentioned was the absence of attention to those with metal health issues. He believes that the “lack of mental health reforms can lead to the tragedies.” Stewart House, wrote the short article “So, About That ‘Good Guy’ with a Gun” also mentioned “another mentally ill person who felt like she had no other option” could have been prevented with plausible attention to both gun laws and metal health awareness. I think Shipley is mistaken because he overlooks the other possible outcomes for violent shootings. He needs to look at the people themselves, the issues they have, why they want the gun, etc. Although I agree with Shipley to a point, I cannot accept his overall assumption that the NRA is the probable cause to all the terrible, reckless shootings because the NRA has proven they are not being sloppy and letting horrible things
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.
“I don’t believe people should be able to own guns. (Obama)” This said prior to Obama’s presidency, in the 1990’s, is still a topic that is constantly questioned today. Many American’s feel the need to seek ownership of weapons as a source of protection; While others believe that private ownership of guns will do nothing more but heighten the rate of violence due to people taking matters into his or her own hands. Philosophy professor Jeff McMahan agrees with Obama’s statement in regard to the ownership of guns. In his New York Times editorial titled “When Gun ‘Control’ Is Not Enough,” McMahan provides evidence to support his theory of the dangers that quickly follow when allowing the community to own guns legally. McMahan, throughout the text, shows responsible reasoning and allows the reader the opportunity to obtain full understanding and justifies his beliefs properly.
Currently, the NRA is the leading organization that opposes restrictions on gun sales. Their main claim to justify that gun control is unnecessary because guns are the only effective protection for the weakest members of society against those who would prey on them (Gottfried 53). For example, elderly people do not have the strength to fight back against their assailants because they are weak-bodied. One contribution that the NRA has made to society is the support of training women to use handguns with Orlando police. As a result, rape statistics fell by 90% from the previous year (Gottfried 54). Against the...
According to Milligan, gun control is ineffective against criminals, but it is vital to enforce for the sake of saving lives outside of crime. The article’s title, “We Need Gun Control to Stop More Than Criminals” is misleading because she acknowledges “criminals … don’t follow the law, and therefore won’t allow gun laws to hamstring their criminal behavior” (Milligan). The title’s diction suggests Milligan’s gun control proposal is to hinder criminal activity and additional preventable situations; however, she ignores criminal activity and only emphasizes on accidental deaths. She first introduces her article by reporting stories about children accidently shooting others and/or themselves. Her evidence is not parallel to her claim. Milligan uses gun irresponsibility as a way to justify gun control; however, the two topics are not directly related to one another and does not support how gun control would prevent the situation. Her flawed logic and false cause and effect statements makes her other statements less credible and creates a biased opinion against
Multitudes of facts about gun violence hinder the belief many have for keeping their weapons. One of the most logical and most disturbing facts is that shooting sprees are not rare in the United States. “Since 1982, there have been at least 61 mass murders carried out with firearms across the country, with the killings unfolding in 30 states from Massachusetts to Hawaii, and in most cases, the killers had obtained their weapons legally” (Klein). As bluntl...
On December 14, 2012 Alex Lanza used a Bushmaster AR-15, he killed twenty, first graders and six adults. (Fired Up) Alex Lanza did not have a permit to carry a concealed handgun; there is no knowledge if he had proper training. (Clint Best) After Lanza committed this horrible act of violence people started to push the gun control laws more furiously. Lanza was thought to have asperger’s syndrome but this was never confirmed. Lanza opened the door for many gun lobbyists and vice versa for the gun control advocates.
The National Rifle Association (NRA), recognized today as a major political force and as America's foremost defender of the Second Amendment, “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.” The NRA adheres to the belief that the Second Amendment guarantees the right of individuals to bear arms. Recent U.S. Supreme Court cases have confirmed those beliefs. In spite of whether one personally adheres to these interpretations of the amendment or not, the fact is there are over two hundred million guns in this country. Moreover, there are over seventy-five million firearm owners. In addition to the NRA’s political activity for second amendment rights, it has fulfilled a service, as since its inception, it had been the premier firearms education organization in the world by providing firearms safety and training.
The right to own a gun has evolved over the years. Owning a gun is not just about possessing it, it’s about knowing you can protect yourself. Every person has the right to protect themselves and feel safe, t...
Gun Control has become a very important and controversial issue in america today. Many citizens of this great country are beginning to question if guns are as useful or if they’re just cold metal death makers. Gun Control: The Great Cop-out by Jared Michaud and Gun Control and the Constitution by David B. Rivkin Jr. and Andrew M. Grossman professionally carry across their anti-gun control ideals; whereas The Second Amendment is all for Gun Control by Adam Winkler and Making Gun Control Happen by Patrick Radden Keefe display the pro-gun control side. In my views, guns are a very necessary tool that if used correctly can be a valuable source of self defence and protection when help is too far away, or unwilling to come. Rather than put more restrictions on guns and gun owners, we should be able to freely protect ourselves and our fellow man.
Since there are two sides to every debate, the antithesis of this position views gun control as unnecessary. This view is strongly held by the National Rifle Association, a very powerful organization, which has nearly 3 million members and an annual budget of 88 million dollars. The NRA is highly effective in motivating thousands of gun owners into action against gun control legislation. Lobbying, advertisements, letter-writing campaigns, and contributions to political candidates who oppose gun control have been some of the establishment's most effective strategies in its fight against tighter firearms laws. Most members of the NRA believe that restricting firearms to prevent gun-rel...
In light of recent tragic events, gun control is once again an important topic of conversation. Both left and right wing individuals attempt to sway society towards their sides of the argument. These debates almost always follow the occurrence of a major attack on innocent persons. The questions are always the same. How did the individual obtain a firearm? What measurements are in place to keep this from happening again? Why does the average person need to own an “assault rifle’’? Why don’t we just ban everyone in the country from owning guns? In order to get a better understanding of the topic of gun control, we will have to explore these major questions.
Guns are viewed as sacred symbol, as it should be, as they took a significant role in America gaining its independence. Gun ownership is very common in the United States. According to recent reports, there is enough nonmilitary guns in the country to arm every man, woman, and child, with a few million weapons left over (Keidan, 2014). With so many guns in our nation, they affect many different aspects of our lives. Some think they affect life in a positive way and that we should have the right but at the same time, the other side of the debate, they say that we need more gun control. So what is more correct, gun rights or gun control? In this paper I will discuss the history of the gun law, if citizens have the right to own guns, how guns are
While we look at the way gun control advocates are trying to enforcing gun control, you may begin to even question why we would even attempt to use such methods. The idea that limiting the size of a person’s magazine or regulating the style of gun you can purchase or even doing something as simple as a performing background check on potential buyers will stop murders like the Connecticut shooting from happening is ridiculous. It takes brains to live the l...
“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.” The right of all Americans to bear arms is a right the Founding Fathers held to equal importance as the Constitution itself. Gun control laws directly violate this right and therefore should not even be under consideration. Even if that issue is overlooked, gun control advocates state that in order to reduce firearm related violence, gun control laws must be implemented to remove the violence caused by firearms. Although this may seem reasonable, the consequences of such laws are ironically counterproductive; they exacerbate the problem instead of fixing it. Besides the fact that the American Constitution guarantees its citizens the right to bear arms, the idea of restricting gun ownership in order to reduce firearm-related violence would ultimately fail given the previous experiments of gun control in England and in numerous states.
There are three ways to approach gun-control: first, it is the citizens’ constitutional right to own firearms; second, firearms kill - get rid of them; and third, to have no opinion and not deal with the issue. Whichever view people have on gun-control, they must first understand the facts and statistics of these issues. Charlton Heston’s “Is Freedom Lost on the Next Generation?” and Paul Craig Robert’s “Unarmed and Unsafe” both study the opposing side of gun-control with facts and logic.