Private Americans own approximately 120, 000, 000 guns. Fifty-five to sixty million of these are handguns. Fifty percent of all American households have one or more guns, ten thousand hand guns, and more than two thousand accidental deaths plus several thousand gun suicides. Statistics say that high-profile crimes are committed with guns. The availability of a large number of privately owned guns in the U.S. has increased and the support for gun control laws. At the same time, many gun supporters, and powerful gun owners, strongly oppose as infringing on the rights of law-abiding citizens. In recent years, victims of gun violence, as well as certain U.S. cities, have filed lawsuits seeking to hold gun manufacturers liable for the damage that guns cause.
Research says, roughly 30,000 people
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Since 2000, for example, some 40 states have made it relatively easy for a gun owner to carry a concealed weapon. Gun rights opponents have also sought to persuade state legislatures to restrict the ability of cities to bring product liability cases against gun manufacturers. Gun control and gun rights are intense political subjects and cultural battles for the twentieth century and the twenty-first. We often debate and clash on the gun laws: one side is content that we have no right to bear arms. In that defensive gun ownership must be prohibited, and that gun ownership for hunting purposes can be allowed, but have very limited privileges. The supporters are saying that the right to bear arms was a great idea, and that any gun control laws is infringed of that right. In the 1920’s, gun control was a big deal in the southern states. People were concerned about keeping guns away from the African Americans before they went to war. Guns were only for the outside region with restrictions on carrying a concealed
United States. Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Guns in America: National Survey on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms. By Philip J. Cook and Jens Ludwig. [Washington, DC]: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, 1997. Print.
Gun control is a topic that stirs a strong opinion from the general public. Gun control is the effort to regulate or control usage and sales of guns. The right to bear arms is granted to all Americans by the Second Amendment and many consider it essential to maintain order in the United States of America. Even though this was the Second Amendment right granted to citizens in the Bill of Rights, many Americans opt not to own a gun, and others would like for this right to be abolished altogether. Both sides of this issue have a good argument, but when further researched, there are many more details that come up explain why siding against gun control is a better conclusion for the United States and its people. Some may say gun control should be enforced because it will make the pubic a safer place to be and decrease gun violence. “An average of eight children and teens under the age of twenty are killed by guns every day" ("Brady Campaign to prevent Gun Violence", 2012). The United States' current president, Barack Obama, is currently working on enforcing and passing more laws and legislation to protect the families and the citizens of the United States. The successful enforcement of our current laws would be a major stride toward decreasing the amount of crimes committed with guns and the amount of criminals with gun possession. The most challenging element of the gun control debate is whether existing gun laws are adequate or whether more gun laws need to be created and enforced.
The issues of gun control are the subject of much controversy. In the article “The Killer Who Supports Gun Control” by Nicholas D. Kristof (2013), he argues that a strong gun control will yield fewer deaths. Kristof summarizes how the gun itself and the person are responsible for deaths, in order to show how dangerous the combination of the two is.
An estimated 30,000 people are killed each year by guns in the United States alone according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Gun Control, Funk & Wagnall’s). Though there have been some restrictions and laws placed, both the conservative and liberal sides are not pleased with either the lack of action or the fact that there has been too much action that has taken place. “About 38% of U.S. households and 26% of individuals owned at least one gun, with about half of the individuals having 4 or more guns, according to a 2004 survey by the Harvard School of Public Health (Gun Control, Funk & Wagnall’s).” Both sides turn to the one document centered on the argument for evidence to support their side: the Second Amendment.
Guns have been around for a very long time. People love being able to have the freedom to do what they want, especially when they can possess something that make them feel superior. The introduction of the Second Amendment opens up the controversial, yet well anticipated opportunity for United State citizens to be able to own guns. Americans enjoy the benefit of being able to own guns for decades over people in other countries. People can buy guns and carry them around in public. They own guns for many reasons such as to hunt, to protect themselves, and simply to satisfy their desire of owning a gun, but in recent years, the issue of people carry guns has become a problem. There are so many people get killed by guns in different parts of the country. This raised the alarm to the government to decide whether the regulation of guns should be looked after. These issues, once again, spark out a big debate in America about whether the right to bear arms given by the Second Amendment was handing the states the right to maintain militia units or giving people the rights to possess and carry guns.
Gun ownership is a hot topic in this country. The United States has almost always been a country know for its’ lenient gun laws. “Gun Ownership is a civil liberty protected by the Second Amendment of The Constitution” (Roth 1). The Constitution says that we can “bear arms”, which in turn, makes it very complicated to make a simple change/addition of words. States can choose to make restrictions to state laws as long as it follows the amendments and the U.S. Constitution. For example, states can take different paths when it comes to the death penalty as long as it is constitutional. “Illinois is one of only two states—the other is Wisconsin—that does not allow some sort of concealed carry by its’ residents” (Brownfield). 48 other states allow concealed we...
The problem of gun control laws, their correlation with the Second Amendment, and the federal laws and policies for reduction of gun violence is widely discussed in many theoretical sources and scientific research literature. For example, Phillip J. Cook and Jens Ludwig (2000) speak about gun violence in the everyday life of America. They put forward the facts about the crime and mass massacre connected with gun ownership and inappropriate use. They consider political, social, and economic reasons for gun ownership control by analyzing the psychological and moral influences of gun violence victimization and the main trends of overcoming it. The authors also make an outline on the major measures that should be taken to reduce gun violence (Cook & Ludwig, 2000).
As violence and murder rates escalate in America so does the issue of gun control. The consequence of this tragedy births volatile political discourse about gun control and the Second Amendment. The crux of the question is what the founding fathers meant when they wrote, “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.” Since the writing of the Second Amendment the make and model of firearms has changed dramatically and so has the philosophies of the people. A rifle is no longer defined as a single shot, muzzle-loading musket used to primarily protect families or solely for food. Should the weapons we use today be protected by an amendment written nearly 222 years ago? Should the second amendment be rewritten? Does the Second Amendment apply to individual citizens? These questions spark extensive debates in Washington D.C. regarding what the founding fathers intended the amendment to be. The answer to this question lies in the fact that despite hundreds of gun control articles having been written , still the gun control issue remains unresolved. History tells us gun control debates will be in a stalemate until our judicial system defines or rewrites the Second Amend. This paper will examine the history of the Second Amendment, and attempt to define the framers intent, gun control legislation and look at factors that affect Americans on this specific issue...
The right to bear arms has been an important conversation in America for decades. As of recent tragedies such as the Sandy Hook shooting and the Aurora Colorado Theater shooting, the debate is more heated than ever. From large-scale massacres to single fatality shootings, gun violence is unwarranted and heartbreaking. However, the Second Amendment protects individual citizens’ right to own firearms: “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,” it states (Bill of Rights). Although this part of the Bill of Rights has not been changed in United States’ history, some citizens argue that, because the Constitution is a working document, this should be adapted to fit current needs and protect communities. Citizens who wish tip the scale in favor of the community’s protection argue that guns are dangerous, easy to access, popular weapons that allow disgruntled or mentally unstable citizens to “inflict mass causalities” and were originally only intended for use in a militia (Joe Messerli). On the other hand, those who wish to benefit civilians argue that taking away guns restrains individual liberty and that gun control would prove futile because criminals would find ways such as the black market to obtain guns, weapons can serve as self-defense prevent crimes, and reasonable restrictions would be more effective than an outright ban (Joe Messerli). Both arguments have valid, well developed ideas, and both sides tend to be passionate in debate.
There is an American consensus for some form of gun control. “…[F]irearms were involved in two-thirds of all murders in the United States and [t]he United States leads the world's richest nations in gun deaths…murders, suicides, and accidental deaths due to guns - according to a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the International Journal of Epidemiology” (Lepore). There might be some far extreme people who think that all guns should be banned but most sane Americans do not think that gun rights should be abolished. Americans regard self-defense as the most compelling reason to have a gun and twenty-two percent of households have handguns in the United States. However many people do think that gun control laws must be enacted and enforced. Pro-gun extremists and the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) must understand that there is a real for many people at the uncontrolled s...
The controversy with gun control that has developed over the past century has had many causes. Over the past century, since the first act of gun control policy was past in 1911 there has been an auterauge of gun control acts that have followed in its place. These acts have helped to insure the safety of the public from gun violence. Prior to the 20th century, no gun laws were instated for public protection and people were able to obtain a firearm without a license or permit. Today there are over 20,000 laws (Crimes and Criminal procedure, index) that are instated which limit the use of firearms to certain individuals that do not meet the proper criteria....
However, the opponents do agree that a death rate of 30 million a year due to the powerful and deadly weapon is too high; only they have different views on how to lower this rate. These arms, proven by statistics, provide the result of 30 million murders, suicides, and accidental deaths each year (Dolan 1). The number of firearms is estimated to be over 150 million and outnumber all of our cars, trucks, and busses by more than 25 million (Dolan 7). A large percentage of these firearms are held by half of the nation’s families that for the most part use them for the lawful protection of their homes and will most likely never be used (Dolan 7). “And the millions more are kept by responsible sportsmen for hunting, trapshooting, and target shooting,” this was a reply from Dolan to an English visitor to America, who was astonished by the figures of firearms (7). “I’d say that the United States is an armed camp,” said the English visitor (Dolan 7). In despondence to Dolan’s defending the millions of guns owned by citizens for protection or sport, the Englishman said, “One hundred and fifty million guns. It doesn’t matter what they’re used for. If they’re loaded someone’s bound to get hurt.”(Dolan 7-8). America has one of the highest death rates due to guns, however, gun deaths are on the rise in other countries, such as, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Australia (Hawkes 4). In the United States handguns are used in more than 184,000 armed robberies every year and more than 11,000 murders and manslaughter’s (Hawkes 6). Every 20 minutes someone in the United States dies by a gun as a result of murders, accidents, or suicides (Hawkes 5). Although, all guns are deadly, the most dangerous is the handgun (Dolan 9). The handgun is responsible for 50 percent of the United States murders, leading to a figure of 30 murders a day and when you add suicides and fatal accidents the daily death-rate rises to over sixty (Dolan 9). All of this lea...
The following 6 arguments are in favor for gun control. They are in ranked from the strongest to the weakest arguments. Having more gun laws on the books would decrease deaths. Between 1999 and 2013 the total gun related deaths were 464,033. (ProCon.org 2016) Cause of all deaths being killed by a firearm is ranked 12th. It is alarming that 200 people go to the emergency every day because of a gunshot wound. Furthermore, having federal universal background checks could reduce death by 56.9 percent. (ProCon.org 2016) Along with background checks for ammunition would further reduce the death toll by 80.7 percent and having a gun identification requirement could reduce the death rate by 82.5 percent. (ProCon.org 2016)
Since the inception of the Brady Act, over 118 million applications for firearm transfers or permits were subject to background checks. About 2.1 million applications, or 1.8%, were denied.
“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,” wrote James Madison into the constitution of the United States. However, compared to that of Japan, whom allow no guns to be held by citizens, the United States allowed and perceived constitution in such a way that allows thousands of people to die yearly. Some argue that gun control is against the constitution in their perception, yet it clearly states that guns should be “well-regulated,” firstly. Even though guns may prevent assaults and robberies, it is imperative that the conditions of firearm possession be impeded beyond current means because the availability of guns correlates with an increase of homicide, yet the United States currently has the highest rate of gun violence, and over 50% of the world’s guns.