In the United States there are many issues under hot debate. Some people are so set in their belief on a subject that they won’t even consider an opposing argument. Gun control is third on the list of subjects in which people are not willing to listen to the opposition’s argument. One side of the gun control argument is that we need more gun control. The opposing side says we don’t need stronger laws, or we need fewer laws. My stand on the argument is that we do not need stronger gun control laws. The thesis of this paper will focus on the argument against tougher gun laws. The anti thesis will focus on the opposition’s belief that there should be stronger gun control laws. Finally, the synthesis will focus on refuting the arguments put forth in the antithesis.
Part1: Thesis
There has been a continual argument on precisely what the Second Amendment means. For those who are against more gun control laws, the meaning is clear, it says the people have a right to keep and bear arms. Therefore, the outcome of the District of Columbia v. Heller case was quite a victory. She was the first judge in federal appellate court to pronounce the edict that the Second Amendment did mean just what it says; “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed” (Neily III, 2010). In addition, it was decreed that the requirement of a trigger-lock or the disassembling of guns in the home is unconstitutional since it makes it nearly impossible for citizens to protect themselves, their property, and their family (Cornell University Law School, n.d.). However, it remains to be seen whether other federal judges uphold this edict, and whether state judges will apply it.
Next is the claim that gun control does not reduce cri...
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Richman, Sheldon. "The Seen and Unseen in Gun Control." The Freeman 1 Oct 1998: 610-611
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.
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In "The Effectiveness of Gun Control Laws:." the authors perform a surgical operation on the various views and issues as presented by the industry concerning gun regulation. The publication outlines the laws that have been enacted by congress concerning the regulation of firearms and shows their pros and cons. The authors suggest that there needs to be a more concerted effort by the executive as well as the judiciary so be able to enforce laws concerning firearm issuing and licensing.
In this article the author talks about the relationship between gun control laws and gun ownership rates in relation to crime rates. He informs his readers of the studies to determine whether gun ownership rates have any effect on criminal activity being that firearms are the leading cause of murders; and if by making gun control laws stricter will it lower the violent crime rates, and overall homicide rates.
Professional champions of civil rights and civil liberties have been unwilling to defend the underlying principle of the right to arms. Even the conservative defense has been timid and often inept, tied less, one suspects, to abiding principle and more to the dynamics of contemporary Republican politics. Thus a right older than the Republic, one that the drafters of two constitutional amendments the Second and the Fourteenth intended to protect, and a right whose critical importance has been painfully revealed by twentieth-century history, is left undefended by the lawyers, writers, and scholars we routinely expect to defend other constitutional rights. Instead, the Second Amendment’s intellectual as well as political defense has been left in the unlikely hands of the National Rifle Association (NRA). And although the NRA deserves considerably better than the demonized reputation it has acquired, it should not be the sole or even principal voice in defense of a major constitutional provision.
Jacobs, James B., and Kimberly A. Potter. "Keeping Guns out of the ‘Wrong’ Hands: The Brady Law and the Limits of Regulation." The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 86.1 (1995): 93-120. Print.
middle of paper ... ... Law enforcement and criminal imprisonment have more of an effect on crime than any gun control law. Gun education and hunter’s education also improved. Focusing efforts on the root of the problem has yielded results and lowered crime.
Zimring, Franklin E. �Firearms, Violence, and the Potential Impact of Firearms Control.� Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics 32.1(2004): 34-37.