One of the safest yet deadliest tools available to the common man, guns have shown to be protectors in times of need and killers in the hands of wrongdoers. A newly proposed bill, House File 163 aims to limit the ability of criminals to commit crime by limiting the maximum amount of ammunition that a magazine can contain. Due to the gravity of the subject, many Iowans agree that limiting magazine size and gun use is the answer, while others argue that this is unconstitutional and will prevent law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves. With the passing of Iowa House File 163, Iowa would no longer allow magazines with a capacity larger than ten rounds of ammunition, which is supported and opposed by nearly equal numbers of Iowans.
In opposition of magazines capable of holding ten or more rounds of ammunition, a bill has been introduced in the Iowa House of Representatives proposing to “prohibit the sale or transfer of large capacity ammunition feeding devices” (House File 163). Viewed as extremely dangerous, large capacity magazines that can hold up to hundreds of rounds of ammunition increase a shooter’s ability to injure and kill large numbers of victims quickly, as they allow the individual to fire continuously without needing to reload (Law Center). In the United States alone, more than half of all public shootings contained the use of a magazine that holds more than ten rounds of ammunition (Follman). During the Sandy Hook school shooting, when Adam Lanza, armed with an AR-15 assault rifle and thirty-round magazines stopped to reload his weapon, eleven children were able to run to safety, avoiding the unlucky fate of twenty of their classmates and six of their teachers (Board). Democratic Senator of Connecticut, Christo...
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...n Defense of "high Capacity" Magazines." Illinois Review. , Web. 06 May 2014.
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Kydd, Andrew. "Why Does Anyone Need High-Capacity Magazines?" Political Violence a Glance. , Web. 06 May 2014.
"Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence – Gun Law Information Experts." Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence RSS., Web. 06 May 2014.
MacBradaigh, Matt. "Why a "High Capacity" Magazine Ban Would Not Prevent Mass Shootings." PolicyMic. , Web. 05 May 2014.
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Steinhauer, Jennifer. "Pro-Gun Lawmakers Are Open to Limits on Size of Magazines." The New York Times. The New York Times, Web. 06 May 2014.
During the problem definition stage, one must realize that “a condition is not a social problem unless it is seen as violating certain fundamental values and beliefs about how society should operate” (Gusfield, 2011). I have determined that there exists a problem concerning gun control, more specifically, concealed carry laws, as they are inconsistent throughout the states. While 48 states now have some form of concealed carry policy in place, the Illinois does not. Thus, the citizens’ rights are in violation of the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
A growing number of publicized tragedies caused by gun violence have caused a great stir in the American community. Recently, President Barack Obama has made proposals to tighten the regulation of and the restrictions on the possession of weapons in America to lessen these tragedies. Should the legislative branch decide in favor of his proposals, all American citizens who do or wish to own the type of weapons in question or who use current loopholes in existing policy would be directly affected. His proposals, which are to “require background checks for all gun sales, strengthen the background check system for gun sales, pass a new, stronger ban on assault weapons, limit ammunition magazines to 10 rounds, finish the job of getting armor-piercing bullets off the streets, give law enforcement additional tools to prevent and prosecute gun crime, end the freeze on gun violence research, make our schools safer with new resource officers and counselors, better emergency response plans, and more nurturing school climates, [and] ensure quality coverage of mental health treatment, particularly for young people,” have been cause for a large amount of recent debate (whitehouse.gov).
Over the centuries, the Supreme Court has always ruled that the 2nd Amendment protects the states' militia's rights to bear arms, and that this protection does not extend to individuals. In fact, legal scholars consider the issue "settled law." For this reason, the gun lobby does not fight for its perceived constitutional right to keep and bear arms before the Supreme Court, but in Congress. Interestingly, even interpreting an individual right in the 2nd Amendment presents the gun lobby with some thorny problems, like the right to keep and bear nuclear weapons.
In Colorado where twelve people where killed legislature has combated this with tougher background checks and limiting all magazines soled to a ten round capacity limit.according to politics/policy after Colorado enforc...
Yiotis, Gayle, and Ray Wisher. "Moms, Cops, & Voters against Gun Control." EBSCO.com. N.p., n.d. Web. Sept.-Oct. 1999.
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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.
Rauch, Jonathan. “The Right Kind of Gun Rights.” National Journal Vol. 40 Issue 11. Academic Search Complete. 15 Mar. 2013. Web. 6 June 2015.
Fields, Gary. "New Washington Gun Rules Shift Constitutional Debate." Wall Street Journal. 17 May. 2010: A. 1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Guns, Crime, and Freedom states that, no gun law which restricts the right of law-abiding citizens to own guns has been proven to reduce crime or homicides, not even the Brady Law and the “Clinton Crime Bill.” These two laws st...
Joaquin Sapien, How the NRA Undermined Congress’ Last Push for Gun Control, propublica.org, Jan. 24,
Johnson, Fawn. "The Silver Lining in the Gun-Control Defeat." National Journal. (2013): Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web 31 Oct. 2013
63-63. Print. The. Wright, Stephen E. "Gun Control Laws Will Not Save Lives." Guns and Crime.
Zimring, F. & Hawkins, G. (1998). The citizen's guide to gun control. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Listverse,. '10 Arguments For Gun Control - Listverse '. N.p., 2014. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.