The continuing Mass Shootings in the United States has caused the gun control debate to intensify. While anti-gun control advocates say the Second Amendment guarantees each individual the right to bear arms, the pro-gun control group reads the Second Amendment as a collective right to bear arms; meaning organized militia are the only ones with that right. This essay will analyse the effectiveness of several different articles which present arguments for and against gun control. Charles W. Collier’s article, “Gun Control in America: An Autopsy Report”, dives into the controversial topic of gun ownership and gun control in the United States. He uses recent shootings, including the George Zimmerman case and the Connecticut elementary school shooting, to present his case that gun violence will remain in the United States as long as guns remain high in number and low in regulation.
Recent events leading to deaths of many American citizens enough to dictate the need for stricter gun control, although such action may really be meaningless and infringe upon the core rights established by the country’s founders themselves, meaning some values of gun control may help, but ultimately it is a futile attempt. History of Gun Control in America According to the Washington Post, the roots of gun control’s formation can be followed back to the 1930’s, the “Tommy Gun era,” a time ruled by gangsters such as the infamous Al Capone and those such as Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger (History of Gun-control Legislati... ... middle of paper ... ...ecords Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 06 May 2014.
America is changing, the country that once was based on religious ideas is slowly becoming history, to the point that we can lose all traces of the America that was founded in 1776. As the days continue there is a continuous battle over the public possessing guns. A large portion believes and supports laws preventing civilians from owning military style rifles. With the growing support, these supports are trying to get guns all together out of the hands of people. With the recent mass shootings, Sandy Hook, Aurora, Colorado, and Virginia Tech, causing big support of these laws, many people fear that losing guns to the government will allow for criminals to do anything they want because civilians wont have a way to protect themselves.
Guns and fear: A one-way street?. Crime & Delinquency, 59(2), 271-291. O’Brien, K., Forrest, W., Lynott, D., & Daly, M. (2013). Racism, Gun Ownership and Gun Control: Biased Attitudes in US Whites May Influence Policy Decisions. Plos ONE, 8(10), 1-10. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0077552 Winkler, A.
A revolution is defined as being a generally violent attempt by many people to end one rule of governing, and to create their own (Websters Dictionary). The founding of our own independent country is based on such a notion, with our forefathers fighting to gain their freedom from the oppressive rule of Colonial England. With rampant fears of tyranny from a country deemed a super power, the American people were divided in their views of creating their own government, making the definition of a revolution all the more difficult. The years 1775 to 1785 in American history were enormously fundamental to the founding of the United States. From the famous Battles of Lexington and Concord which started the war with England, to the drafting of our own Declaration of Independence from which the United States of America was born, the victorious battles fought against the Redcoats, and to the Treaty of Paris.
Gun control is a highly controversial topic in the United States. There are many advocates of gun control - people who wish to have stricter laws to prevent certain groups of people from purchasing a firearm. However, there are also the people who disagree with gun control laws and believe there should be a more lenient gun control to furthermore help people defend themselves during risky situations. Many gun control laws have been passed for many years. While many have been passed, many have been voted unconstitutional meaning they affect the citizens second amendment rights.
What would cause such a drastic upheaval? The answer to that is, constant reoccurrence of mass shootings all over the country, including ones involving young children. Once children started becoming casualties of these horrific events, society really felt obligated to try and do something in order to prevent any further shootings. In order to try and accomplish this, concerned parents and citizens started debating whether or not guns where still necessary in today’s time with all the law enforcement that we have to protect us. Their argument was that the second amendment was written in a time where the possession of weapons was necessary in order to survive in the hostile environment we were living in as such a young, undeveloped, and inexperienced country.
In America, gun control has been a source of debate for decades. Recently, an increase in the frequency of mass shootings has caused the country to become extremely polarized in relation to the issue. America is often described as having a gun culture as a result of firearms being engrained in its history and perhaps, consequently, has among the highest rates of gun-related crime as well as gun ownership rates, among developed nations. There exists an abundance of scholarly work done in an effort to develop a solution to reducing America’s high levels of gun related crime; however, there exists no definitive answer to the problem and statistical data could support both arguments for and against guns. The general assumption among these studies, is that gun control, one way or another, will have some sort of effect on levels of violence.
Those who would like to see more limitations on gun control and gun possession have been citing various factors that are related to rising occurrences of gun related mortality; association of guns with authoritarianism and rising incidences of domestic violence. There are also those groups that are against gun control argue the following points. According to them, if the victims are armed then they will be able to protect themselves. These groups also refer to the second Amendment of the bill of rights, which has made the possession of guns legal for private citizens. It is also claimed that that guns are necessary for individuals or citizens to possess guns to protect themselves from the government.
Hudson Timm Mr.Fry English 211 20 May 2014 Gun Control up in Arms Gun Control has become a very important and controversial issue in america today. Many citizens of this great country are beginning to question if guns are as useful or if they’re just cold metal death makers. Gun Control: The Great Cop-out by Jared Michaud and Gun Control and the Constitution by David B. Rivkin Jr. and Andrew M. Grossman professionally carry across their anti-gun control ideals; whereas The Second Amendment is all for Gun Control by Adam Winkler and Making Gun Control Happen by Patrick Radden Keefe display the pro-gun control side. In my views, guns are a very necessary tool that if used correctly can be a valuable source of self defence and protection when help is too far away, or unwilling to come. Rather than put more restrictions on guns and gun owners, we should be able to freely protect ourselves and our fellow man.