Do you feel safe right now? If someone wanted to kill you, would you want to have a way to protect yourself, or would you hope that they couldn’t get a weapon to use against your life? These kinds of questions are the ones that everyone asks themselves when they think about gun control. People discuss almost daily both the positives and negatives of letting people own guns and what they think will make society the safest. While most are just common people expressing their own personal values, some scholars have done heavy research on finding an answer that everyone wants to know. Whether or not America would benefit more or less from looser/tighter gun control laws? If two people were to get into an argument, would the likelihood of one of …show more content…
It isn’t uncommon to hear that somebody was killed by a knife or a car so why don’t people want more restrictions on those. Robert J. Spitzer talks about this in “The Politics of Gun Control”. One reason there is controversy is that other weapons like cars and knives serve other purpose in daily life. Guns exist to serve one purpose, to kill. The main controversy is that thousands of people are killed by guns and it disrupts the daily lives of many Americans making it an issue to discuss. He also mentions that when guns were originally allowed to be carried by civilians, they were much more expensive, were dangerous to use, and were mainly used by farmers to get rid of small animals, not human beings. The firepower of today is a lot more dangerous than when they wrote the amendment. Spitzer also mentions how people use firearms to hunt, but over the course of time, people have had less need to hunt. As such, the need to possess a firearm has also decreased. (Spitzer, 8). While Spitzer’s points are valid ones, they have been said by just about everyone who is anti-gun. With nothing really new to add to the conversation, his argument becomes like Lester’s and does little to influence those debating for less gun control to change their
Imagine you are woken up to a noise in your home at 2:00 a.m. An intruder has broken into your home and is armed with an illegally obtained handgun. Guns are outlawed where you live, so you have no way to defend yourself. A call to the police might work, but the police are ten minutes away. In this situation, ten minutes could mean life or death for you and your family. What are you going to do? You do not have very many options. Banning guns is a very illogical idea because not all murders involve guns, guns are used for recreation and hunting, and criminals do not obey laws. Gun control laws have been starting to become more prominent in American culture as a result of the increase in the number of mass shootings around the country. These laws do not necessarily decrease the murder rate, and in some cases, banning guns has resulted in the murder rate increasing, which defeats the whole purpose of the gun ban.
The founding fathers stated in the constitution that individuals are allowed to possess firearms. Ownership of firearms is essential for the general population. It is much better to own a gun and not ever need to use it than to be in a life or death situation in which a gun could save your life, but not have access to one. Home burglaries are a real occurrence and a firearm can ensure that you and your family aren’t harmed. If there was ever a larger terrorist attack, gun owners would be more appreciated. Those in favor of gun control would realize that firearms aren’t so bad after all. Also, the government should not have to regulate how many guns a person can own. There are many gun enthusiasts who enjoy weapons and collect them living in the United States. America is a free country and that is what makes it so great. If an individual wants to own a crazy amount of guns, he should be able to as long as the law is not being broken and no one is being harmed. Just as other citizens are allowed to have extensive collections of random things, gun owners should be allowed to do the same. Firearms help prevent freedom and liberty from being taken away from the American
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.
This essay will discuss the pros and cons of gun control. Some U.S. States have already adopted some of these gun control laws. I will be talking about the 2nd amendment, public safety, home safety, and do gun control laws really control guns. I hope after you have read this you will be more educated, and can pick your side of the gun control debate. So keep reading and find out more about the gun control laws that the federal and some state governments want to enforce on U.S. Citizens.
In conclusion, enabling stricter gun control laws will help to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, criminals, and children and teens. With these laws put into place there will be more assurance of the safety of American citizens. It is not necessary to strip citizens of their right to own a gun, but we should be able to make it harder to get guns. If you are someone with a clear record and using a gun for recreation use, you will have no trouble obtaining a gun. In the long run increase the laws on gun control hurts nobody. Despite historic events where governments seized firearms and killed millions of citizens, today we have a different problem, which is making sure guns are in the right hands.
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
Comparing the United States’ homicidal statistics to England and Wales’, I’ve been moderately persuaded towards the opponent’s side of gun control. It’s difficult to dictate what’s morally acceptable in today’s society with the increasing amounts of controversy, but noticing the dramatic increases in crime rate due to the lack in supply of guns, versus the dramatic decreases in crime rate because of an increase in the supply of guns, definitely proves the consequences of gun control to a certain degree. I would also have to agree that ridding the public from their firearms does take away the privilege of defending ourselves from any sort of crime. With the given results, knowing that our American citizens defend themselves from
For many years, America has witnessed mass shootings within it’s borders. In 2015 alone, there were 372 mass shootings (Oldham). The question most Americans are faced with is: do we need more gun control or is gun control the problem? With more gun control, it can be made mandatory that protective devices are used on firearms to prevent accidental harm. Gun control creates mandatory laws such as the requirement for an individual to pass a background check before he/she is permitted to purchase a firearm. Gun control has also been proven to prevent suicides due to the increased difficulty of obtaining a firearm. Those who believe that gun control is the problem claim that by removing one 's firearms, you are endangering them to threats that
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.
So why is gun control such a hot debate? Perhaps to answer this question it would be important to look at some key statistics concerning handguns in our society. In this nation, where nearly half of all US households own at least one gun, nearly 30,000 people die from a gunshot each year (Dahl). From this alone it is no wonder gun control is such an important issue, however as bad as this may seem, the number of firearm related incidents have decreased over the years. In the early 1990’s the number of people killed or wounded by firearms soared. Since 1993 however the US has seen a steady drop in deaths due to firearm (The Lancet). Fatal firearms accidents have declined as well, nearly 40 percent in the last decade, and are now at the lowest levels ever recorded (Poe). So why the sudden drop? Antigun advocates would like to attribute this to an increase in gun control laws while pro gun advocates point to a decrease in unemployment rates along with other social factors.
There is an American consensus for some form of gun control. “…[F]irearms were involved in two-thirds of all murders in the United States and [t]he United States leads the world's richest nations in gun deaths…murders, suicides, and accidental deaths due to guns - according to a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the International Journal of Epidemiology” (Lepore). There might be some far extreme people who think that all guns should be banned but most sane Americans do not think that gun rights should be abolished. Americans regard self-defense as the most compelling reason to have a gun and twenty-two percent of households have handguns in the United States. However many people do think that gun control laws must be enacted and enforced. Pro-gun extremists and the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) must understand that there is a real for many people at the uncontrolled s...
Over the past few decades gun control has come to the fore front of debate in politics and the mass media. It's no wonder that in the wake of the recent school shootings and attacks on churches that people are beginning to fear guns. People are beginning to see guns as an object of death and destruction and not as what they are meant to be. While guns are used in war they are not intended to kill innocent people, guns are intended to be used by experienced gun handlers for protection and hunting. When used properly a gun is no more dangerous than a car or a knife, all of these can be used in crime but none of them are intended to be.
People have questioned gun control long time. Many people wonder if anyone, aside from those who join the law force, should be allowed to carry guns. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Those who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety” (Wright 4). Franklin understood that taking guns away from law-abiding citizens would not uphold their liberty. Some people who argue for gun control state many violent crimes involve guns. Others believe a child could find the gun and something bad could happen to the child or others when a gun is unsafely stored. People who argue against gun control might say there is a huge psychological gap between citizens who shoot to protect themselves or their property and those who go into schools and shoot at others. Criminals will always find a way around gun control laws and will be able to obtain and use guns illegally. The second amendment protects gun rights for individual citizens. Reasonable gun control laws and educational steps can be taken to protect the majority of U.S. citizens. Gun control does not only take guns away from criminals, gun control also limits law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves and their families when necessary.
Some Americans are convinced that more federal regulation of firearms is necessary to reduce the number of murders that are committed with guns and to ensure a safer, more civilized society. Others who support private ownership of guns insist that the right to bear arms is guaranteed by longstanding custom and by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and that no cyclical increase in crime, no mass killing, nor any political murders should lead the nation to violate the Constitution and the individual rights it guarantees. What’s more, they say, knives and other instruments are used to kill people, and there is no talk of regulating or banning them.
Central in the arguments against gun control is its ability to restrict any citizen of the United States the right to own guns which is protected under the constitution. Specifically, due recognition is made to its connection to the 2nd Amendment wherein it seeks to protect the individual liberties of people. This facet also applies to gun ownership regardless of the original objective and intention. “The second amendment from the Bill of Rights grants private citizens the right to bear arms. Thus, people who stand firmly against gun control insist that no legislation, technically, should have the right to take away a citizen’s guns without first repealing the amendment in question” (Groberman 1). A good approach to consider in highlighting this part comes from depriving the citizen of his basic right on the basis of specific presumption that it would be used for violence or crim...