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Gun control in America today
Gun control measures
Gun control measures
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According to an article published by The Guardian: Web Edition Articles, the shooter who killed 59 people and wounded 527 in the Las Vegas shooting qualified as a “super-owner” which is someone who owns between 8 and 140 guns. Two senators, Joe Manchin and Pat Toomey, sponsored a bill that would mandate universal background checks for gun purchases, including at gun shows and on the internet. 84% of Americans favored this law. After initial negotiations over the bill, the National Rifle Association opposed the bill and claimed that it would lead to a national gun registry. Four Democrats defected and not enough Republicans got onboard so the legislation failed. “The gun lobby and its allies willfully lied about the bill,” Obama said in a Rose
Right now, the U.S. has a National Instant Background Check System; however, it contains many flaws. This system is meant to act as a filter to stop the wrong people from having guns. In 2007, the Bipartisan legislation was passed to strengthen this system. It relies on data supplied by the states, but the data is often incomplete and inadequate (Merino 104). Unlicensed gun sellers have also created a dangerous loophole. The law makes an exception for gun sellers who aren’t federally licensed gun dealers. These sellers sell guns informally through venues such as gun shows, and are not required to run background checks. This is a dangerous loophole where people who should not have guns can get them (“Gun”). Senator Frank R. Lautenberg once stated, commenting on the gun sh...
Less than one week after the devastating terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S.A. Patriot Act was introduced to Congress. One month later, the act passed in the Senate with a vote of 98-1. A frightened nation had cried for protection against further attacks, but certainly got more than they had asked for. Russell Feingold, the only Senator to vote down the act, referred to it as, “legislation on the fly, unlike anything [he] had ever seen.” In their haste to protect our great nation, Congress suspended, “normal procedural processes, such as interagency review and committee hearings,” and, “many provisions were not checked for their constitutionality, lack of judicial oversight, and potential for abuse.” Ninety-eight senators were willing to overlook key civil liberty issues contained within the 342 page act. The lone dissenting vote, Wisconsin Senator Russell Feingold, felt that our battle against terrorism would be lost “without firing a shot” if we were to “sacrifice the liberties of the American people.” Feingold duly defended American civil liberties at the risk of his career, truly exemplifying political courage as defined by John F. Kennedy.
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
Violence and crimes are growing in number and affecting American society. By reinforcing background checks we could reduce crimes and limit easy gun access to mentally ill people. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) is a database where the names of people that have committed a misdemeanor, are mentally ill or drug abusers is kept to prevent them from attaining guns. Most criminals buy guns from unlicensed sellers at gun shows that don’t do properly background checks through the NICS, making it easier from criminals to purchase firearms. Another problem is missing records or information that was not reported to the background check system. Better background checks could reduce crime and gun violence in America.
Senator McCain does not support gun bans or other measures which infringe on the Second Amendment rights of Americans. He is a proponent of instant background checks for all commercial firearms sales. He has voted against federally-mandated waiting periods, believing that instant background checks can be done swiftly without the need to impose restrictions on law-abiding citizens. Senator McCain has led the effort to ensure trigger locks are sold with every firearm. Sen...
The majority of the time that gun control is discussed, you will hear points made such as "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." Anti-gun-control lobbyists argue that Obama blames mass shootings, homicides, and suicides on guns. Is Obama placing blame in the wrong place? Those opposed to gun control argue that it is the mentally ill and insane killing people, and they question why is Obama placing gun restrictions, when it is not the guns fault? Ultimately, it is people that kill people, and the Obama administration agrees. This is why President Obama's plan includes research for the mentally ill, funding for treatment of the mentally ill, an...
McMahan, the author of the New York Times editorial, includes why the United States should rid private ownership of guns completely or as much as possible. He explains tactful points as to why guns cause more bad then good when privately owned. “When most citizens are armed, as they were in the Wild West, crime doesn’t cease. (McMahan)” Allowing anyone to receive gun ownership is the same as putting a helpless baby in a lion’s den. Prior to the editorial an accident occurred in Newtown, Connecticut at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Twenty year old Adam Lanza, killed his mother and then grabbed three privately owned guns from his house. He later went to Sandy Hook elementary school where he shot and killed twenty kids age’s six to seven as well as six adults. Once approached by officers Adam Lanza took a shotgun and killed himself. "It's horrible. It's really ho...
Due to recent shootings in four cities gun control legislation has become a big issue throughout the United States. Government officials have presented legislation for gun control to help reduce mass shootings; however, even with these suggestions for strict gun control twelve states have already passed laws that offer fewer limitations for gun possession. After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, Connecticut passed a law to ban gun sales that hold large amounts of ammunition. According to McLeod “in Newtown, Connecticut, the families of ten out of twenty children killed in a December 2012 massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School have sued a North Carolina-based gun manufacturer, alleging Remington Outdoor Co.’s Bushmaster
Robert H. Clancy in his speech, “An “Un-American Bill”: A Congressman Denounces Immigration Quotas” effectively describes how the Johnson Reed Act affected immigration. Clancy’s purpose is to inform people in the racial discrimination of the immigration act in 1924. He adopts a serious tone and strong feeling in order to provide proof to the intended audience. Robert H. Clancy uses sufficient pathos with many examples throughout the text, many logos were used clearly and ethos was provided effectively.
Dylann Roof, the gunmen who murdered nine people in a Charleston South Carolina church, should never have been able to purchase a firearm. James Comey, the Director of the F.B.I., states that paperwork issues between federal and local levels allowed Dylann to purchase a handgun weeks before the tragedy occurred. The reason he was prohibited from purchasing a firearm was because Dylann had admitted to possessing a controlled substance after an earlier arrest. This should have denied him the right to purchase a firearm due to him being an unlawful drug user or addict. (Johnson, Carrie. "FBI Says Background Check Error Let Charleston Shooting Suspect Buy Gun." NPR. N.p., 10 July 2015. Web. 15 Dec. 2015. .) The idea of stepping up background checks is well founded, as it would require a much more stringent process to verify a person 's eligibility to own a firearm. However, this enters the wonderful realm of who says what, and who actually gets a say in the matter. The Social Security Administration recently considered adding those collecting disability but with another person managing their finances to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System database. Just having their name in the system effectively prohibiting them from owning or purchasing firearms because they have someone else managing their finances. Makes sense right? If someone can’t access a
passed in the Senate requiring background checks for sales at gun shows but it failed to pass in the House. Another student that attended school at Virginia Tech is responsible for the current most deadliest shooting at a school. This student killed 32 classmates with two handguns he legally purchased. A year after this tragedy, background checks were changed to include millions of more people, specifically the mentally ill and felons. This was the first major change to gun laws in the United States in more than ten years (Bingham 3). Although these events are well known and are extreme, they have not caused major changes to gun control laws throughout history.
The gun control laws have a positive side and a negative side about it. One positive is how it prevents a convicted felon from buying or owning and having possession of any type of firearm which helps to prevent any future crimes from that individual. This prevention is done by a background check known as “The Brady Background Check", which is the process of this background check that is completed by a (FFL) Federal Firearms Licensed person. This licensed individual must get specific information from the person wanting to purchase the firearm and put the information into a computer database known as the “National Instant Criminal Background Check System” (NICS). The following would be some of the information needed from the purchaser to complete the check: the purchasers full legal name, nickname, and date of birth, current address, past address, phone number, color of eyes, and color of hair, race, and gender. They would also need to fill out a form as to whether or not the firearm is being purchased for someone else or themselves. This database would crosscheck three datab...
They believe that if background checks were required for private sales, which they describe as “firearms sold at gun shows, through classified newspaper ads, the Internet, and between individuals virtually anywhere” then the “Gun Show Loophole” would be eliminated (Coalition to Stop Gun Violence). As evidenced by the call for an increase in gun control after mass shootings people believe that with stricter gun control, we would have less incidences of gun violence. Gun control advocates argue that if we have stricter gun control then we will have a safer country, with less shootings. According to a study done by the University of Wisconsin and Bowling Green State University between 2005-2007, the number of police officers who “were convicted of firearms violations” were convicted “at a .0002% annual rate” (Fund). According to this study .0002% is “about the same rate as holders of carry permits in states with “shall issue” laws”
Something to also consider is although we have many gun laws, not all are enforced. For instance, the Brady Bill gets easily nullified. This bill enforces a waiting period and a background check to buy a firearm. One example of the bill being nullified is, some states nearly nullify the federal law by removing individuals from the NCIS list, which is a list that prohibits certain people from buying weapons if they have completed their sentence. Another way the law is nullified, is buying a firearm through an unregulated forum. Through an unregulated forum a person, like Adam Lanza, is able to avoid background checks, waiting periods, and other reasons. (Record, and Gostin 568)
Over the past year, the United States has been plagued with controversy in regards to gun control legislation. On January 24, 2013, Senator Feinstein introduced the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013. The Assault Weapons Ban was a bill written to stop the acts of sale, transfer, importation, and manufacturing of military styled weapons. The NRA-ILA website quotes an excerpt of Feinstein’s bill, which states, “Feinstein’s new bill are as follows: Reduces, from two to one, the number of permitted external features on various firearms. The 1994 ban permitted various firearms to be manufactured only if they were assembled with no more than one feature listed in the law. Feinstein’s new bill would prohibit the manufacture of the same firearms with even one of the features.” (NRA-ILA) Wayne Lapierre, Executive Vice President of the NRA, said in 2009, “There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between the guns you want to ban and you don’t want to ban. You’re going to ban these semi-autos, and then it’s going to be handguns, and then it’s going to be pump shotguns.” Lapierre’s statement supports the fact that the recent gun ban legislation across the United States will not solve the problem of increased violence.