The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution consists of "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 function of The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution allows the general population to keep and remain the right to bear weapons. Many argue if this amendment is still relevant in the 21st century? . The major reason for issuing this amendment was to allow, "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms (2nd amendment) is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." -Thomas Jefferson. However this amendment was issued a long time ago as in created and adopted …show more content…
Today we know somewhat more about human instinct and we have as a nation survived some unavoidable circumstances that can be caused by the ownership of guns. Also since having access to a gun greatly reduces the risk and causes more protection. Studies have shown that gun owners are not only better able to protect themselves but they are also more conscious of their personal security overall. For example in the article “Gun Control and the Constitution: Should We Amend the Second Amendment?” It states “Times change, though, and so do constitutional interpretations. In 2008, Stevens was on the losing end of a 5-4 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, a landmark ruling in which the high court, in an opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia, for the first time declared that the Second Amendment protects a civilian’s right to keep a handgun in his home for self-defense”[Gun Control and the Constitution: Should We Amend the Second Amendment?" Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, n.d. Web. 5 June …show more content…
The use of firearms can lead to an increase in the number of crimes. In contrast with the claim that 2nd amendment can help in reducing the frequency of crimes, there’s a study that shows that using concealed weapons will only make the number of violence and crimes to increase. Statistically the crime rates have gone up. As stated in “Statistics on the Dangers of Gun Use for Self-Defense”. In this text it states “Instead of keeping owners safer from harm, objective studies confirm that firearms in the home place owners and their families at greater risk. Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that living in a home where guns are kept increased an individual’s risk of death by homicide by between 40 and 170%. Another study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology similarly found that “persons with guns in the home were at greater risk of dying from a homicide in the home than those without guns in the home.” This study determined that the presence of guns in the home increased an individual’s risk of death by homicide by 90% “. This statistic proves that the use of gun control allows the crime rates to have gone up and increased the individual’s risk of death. Another example is in this statistic it states “least one study has found that carrying a firearm significantly increases a person’s risk of being shot
In America guns have been a part of the country’s society since it’s birth. Throughout history the citizens of the US have used firearms to protect the nation, protect their families, hunt for food and engage in sporting activities. The issue of Guns and gun control is complex. Weighing the rights and liberties of the individual against the welfare and safety of the public has always been a precarious balancing act. In the United States, gun control is one of these tumultuous issues that has both sides firmly entrenched in their positions. Those parties in favor of gun ownership and the freedom to use and keep arms, rely on the fact that the provision for such rights is enshrined in their constitution. In this climate of growing violence, rife with turmoil and crime, gun advocates feel more than ever that their position is justified. As citizens of the “Land of the Free” possessing a gun is a fundamental right, and may even be a necessity... Anti- gun lobbyists point to the same growing violence and gun related crimes in an effort to call on the government to take action. By enacting more laws and stricter control, these people not in favor of guns feel society would be better safer.
In conclusion, the second amendment is very important for the United States of America in order to protect our freedom and the common good. Our founding fathers gave us this right to ensure us the ability to protect those self-evident truths. Further, our government has already taken away much of our freedom and we need our guns to protect ourselves from this overreaching government. Most of all, the reason the second amendment is important is in order to ensure us our freedom and make sure we are not enslaved by our government. For these reasons, we must protect and fight for our second amendment right to bear arms.
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.” This statement basically means that people should be able to own guns for their own security and that right should not be taken away. The Second Amendment was added to the Constitution because the creators of the Constitution wanted to make sure that it protected basic rights, including the right to bear arms. It was also added to the Constitution because shortly after it was ratified, James Madison wanted to give more power to the state militia and to give more power to the people to give them the ability to fight back against the Federalists and the tyrannical government they were creating. After fighting off the British, the Second Amendment was created to give citizens the opportunity to fight back against controlling government and protect themselves with their own weapons.
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” This quote from Benjamin Franklin illustrates how an emphasis on safety can drastically reduce the freedoms enjoyed by citizens of the United States, especially the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which states that “...the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” However, with active shooter situations such as Columbine; the Tucson, Arizona shootings, which nearly killed former Representative Gabrielle Giffords; and recent situations at Newtown, Connecticut; Los Angeles International Airport; and Westfield Garden State Plaza mall in New Jersey, the federal government has questioned this right guaranteed to us as U.S. Citizens. In Congress, it is a back-and-forth battle between the Republicans, who favor less gun control legislation and a literal translation of the Second Amendment, and the Democrats who would like to see more gun control legislation to protect the safety of citizens. However, more gun control legislation would punish law-abiding citizens, be a direct violation of the Second Amendment, and expand the power of the federal government into areas where the Founding Fathers never wanted it.
The second amendment to the US Constitution shows that it is unconstitutional to have complete and total gun control. The second amendment states that “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.” This means that it is the right of an American citizen, abiding by the constitution, has the right to bear arms. Currently, there are over three hundred and seven billion people residing as American citizens. Within the homes of these Americans, forty five percent have a registered gun in their household. As a diverse nation, there are many reasons why there are guns located within a household. Sixty percent stated the gun is used for protection against int...
With many recent incidents that involve guns between 2012 and 2013, gun control laws have become a hot topic in America. On one hand, after the horrific incident like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting at Newtown in 2012, most people wanting to limit guns from getting into the wrong by setting up a rigorous system that control who can and cannot obtain a gun. On the other hand, we have the people who believe that with such rigorous system in place is violated the individual rights that granted and protected by the United States Constitution. They believe that the rigorous system will prevent people from defending themselves and could be a violation of their privacy. Regardless of which side is right, if we want to understand more about our current conflict, we have to look back on how this hold debate started. The District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court case in 2008 that found the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 unconstitutional, which influence the individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense by questioning the Second Amendment and laws that restrict a person from acquire guns.
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...
Supporters of gun control state that to decrease crimes committed with fire arms (which amass a high majority of crimes) guns should be banned from private ownership. This removes guns from the public, therefore taking away the instrument of easily accomplishing crimes. Arthur Kellermann and Donald T. Raey, two gun control advocates, did their own research into the issue and published a discovery of their own; the 43-1 Statistic. In this statistic, Kellerman and Raey state that a gun will be used in a justified shooting one time, while forty three other people are killed by a gun unjustly, either by suicide, accident, or criminal (Heumer 9). According to these two researchers, gun ownership is not worth it. Private ownership of guns saved one life wh...
For years proposals for gun control and the ownership of firearms have been among the most controversial issues in modern American politics. The public debate over guns in the United States is often seen as having two side. Some people passionately assert that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to own guns while others assert that the Second Amendment does no more than protect the right of states to maintain militias. There are many people who insist that the Constitution is a "living document" and that circumstances have changed in regard to an individual’s right to bear arms that the Second Amendment upholds. The Constitution is not a document of total clarity and the Second Amendment is perhaps one of the worst drafted of all its amendments and has left many Americans divided over the true intent.
The second amendment states “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” The Founding Fathers included this in the Bill of Rights because they feared the Federal Government might oppress the population if the people did not have the means to defend themselves as a nation or individuals.
In their article Gun Ownership as a Risk Factor For Homicide in The Home, Arthur Kellerman and his colleagues state that gun ownership increases the risk of violent crimes in the home instead of conferring protection. However, after reviewing their claims a number of flaws in their research and data collection methods are evident. There are a series of inappropriate conclusions and validity concerns throughout the article – having realized that these exist – it is impossible to sustain that gun ownership leads to higher homicide rates. Further research is needed to determine if a casual relationship is at all present and then to ascertain the true nature of the potential link.
The second amendment of the United States Constitution was created to ensure that the citizens are able to protect themselves when they feel harm. When the second amendment was created the times were different and gun violence was not such a debatable issue. The founding fathers never expected that 68% of the murders in the United States are composed of the use of firearms. The framers of the United states constitution put in place the second amendment to protect citizens from attacks and slave revolts. Due to the recent events involving weapon use, the citizens of the United States should be protected by placing strict restrictions on the use of weapons.
Those who argue for gun control usually state guns are a part of most violent crimes. However, this is not always true. While it is true that limiting gun ownership with laws could prevent individuals from possessing guns, it does not prevent people from illegally having or using guns. Those who carry guns legally are not the problem. According to Mark Gius, the author of “Gun Ownership and the Gun Control Index”, “…only about 25% of total violent crime is committed by a person using a gun, no inferences...
The Second Amendment of the United States protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It was adopted on December 15, 1791 along with the rest of the Bill of Rights. The United States Government should not infringe on those rights by the enforcement of gun control against law-abiding citizens. Gun control does not reduce crime, does not stop criminals from obtaining guns, and does not address the real issue of violent crime. There is no evidence that gun control affects the crime rate.
A writer for the university wire Dana Bitto had reported about a study on about.com which stated, “About 80 million Americans, representing 50% of the U.S. homes, own 223 million guns.” He further mentioning that this is “easily the highest private gun ownership rate of any country in the world. “A staggering 30,000 men, women, and children are killed in gun related deaths each year in the United States that reflected by his study’s results. Without proper gun legislation and more restrictive gun control these numbers could grow in the future. By allowing citizens carry guns, even concealment can cause fear to those around them, by knowing that anyone could have a deadly weapon at the ready and not knowing their mental stability and whether or not they were trained, is why so many people are scared of conceal and carry. In 1999, Harvard school of public health conducted a study about how people feel about concealed guns. The study showed that “Americans feel less safe as more people in their community begin to carry guns; of the people surveyed 90% believe that “regular” citizens should be prohibited from bringing guns into any restaurants, hospitals, college campuses, and places of