Gun Violence Research Papers

In light of the recent gun violence throughout the country, whether terrorism or hate crimes, the idea of gun control has been brought up several occasions in an attempt to cease the violence. Chicago in particular has been increasingly violent. Although there are restriction in place already many people are calling for more regulation. The history of the United States has always been on the favorable side of gun rights, but it is not adequate for the problems we face today.

United States citizens have the highest gun per capita ratio in the world, at 88.8 guns per 100. That equates to 270 million guns nationally, not including any illegal guns or those acquired at a gun show. The United States has always had a large armed populace since the Revolutionary War, where it was actually mandatory to own a gun in some colonies. There were even some states that required male citizens to carry guns to church or other public areas. In 1792 all militia able men were required to

In 2004 the semi-auto firearm ban was lifted allowing citizens to buy models like the AR-15 which has been used in several shootings and terrorist attacks. Semi-automatic guns allow the shooter to fire as fast as they can pull the trigger. Recently there has been discussion about restricting the size of the magazine, where the bullets are stored, as to restrict the rate of fire. This might be affective, but critics of the idea claim that it restricts their second amendment rights. The second amendment states “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 argument comes down to what “well regulated” means. Activists for gun rights claim it means guns should be relevant to their day, while others wonder why people need military style guns with such a large