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Role of print media in shaping public opinion
Policy brief analysis gun control
Viewpoints for and against gun control
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As the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reads: “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.” However, President Obama addressed a call to limit gun violence in January 2016 due to the tragedies happened in the past. Gun control has always been a controversial issue in the U.S. While some people claim it is a constitutional right for citizens to carry guns to defend themselves, others argue that guns are more likely to cause harms to people rather than protecting them. During my online research, I have found two primary sources, an advertisement and a regulation policy, advocating for gun control, and one primary source of a cartoon against gun control adopting different strategies and from different perspectives. The advertisement and the cartoon both aim to arise emotional feelings to the audience, while the regulation policy tends to convince the audience through official ordering. Nevertheless, all of these sources have some weaknesses, and I will elaborate on my claim by …show more content…
The advertisement is designed for mothers of children to convince them to advocate for stricter gun control. In the picture, there are two girls, one of whom is holding a book called Little Red Riding Hood, while the other girl is holding a gun. At the top of the picture, it reads “one child is holding something that’s been banned in America to protect them. Guess which one.” Looking straight down to the advertisement as readers normally do, an annotation indicates the book is banned because of the bottle of wines in the basket, but weapons are not. Apparently, from the first sight, the audience – mothers – would be astonished and probably irritated by the cruel comparison that weapons which could hurt their children are not banned, but a book that could barely impose harm to children is
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.
Joseph Sobran argues that, “there are solid constitutional arguments against gun control. For one thing, nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government granted the right to limit an individual's right to own firearms”. He states that the government has no right to limit guns. Even though he has a point there is a limit to that statement such as serious criminals and mentally unstable people. Likewise Sharon Harris states that guns protect people against criminals, “the right to bear arms protects the individual from violent aggressors and from the ineffective protection state and federal government is offering its citizens … criminals benefit from gun control laws that make it more difficult for ordinary citizens to protect themselves.” She believes that guns keep people safe and that regulating guns will only benefit criminals. This is not true because regulations help prevent criminals from getting guns. Having less regulations is a dangerous
It is clear that the two sides of the gun control debate have definitive standpoints. Gun control advocates argue that stricter controls on the use and sale of firearms will lessen injuries, deaths, costs and the likelihood of school shootings. Whereas Gun rights activists mobilised by, but not limited to, the NRA, argue that increasing gun control will not only breach the Second Amendment, but remove law abiding citizens ability to defend themselves and others from gun wielding criminals, be that in public or vulnerable places such as schools. Infact, in a recent speech by President Obama, he stated that he believes in the Second Amendment. However, a system has been created in which dangerous people can purchace firearms, something that needs to be stopped (The White House: Office of the Press Secretary,
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.
Is it any coincidence that the states with the loosest gun laws in America tend to contribute to the highest amount of national gun deaths and injuries? This is one of the main questions we should be asking when deciding what is best for our country and its citizens. Although gun control has been an ongoing issue, certain events like the Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, and the Aurora, Colorado mass shootings have increased our attention to this topic. Although I believe that Americans possess the right to own a firearm, I believe there should be detailed screening and control systems to keep guns out of the wrong hands, to prevent more gun violence from happening in the future.
Multiple mass shootings such in Aurora, Colorado, Roseburg, Oregon and Newport, Connecticut has sparked massive gun control disagreement. The media has influenced two point of views regarding this topic. One side argues that increasing gun control decreases casualties of mass shootings, while the other side claims decreasing gun control increases self-defense. In a US News article by Susan Milligan, she argues that “although gun control does not stop criminal activity, it decreases accidental deaths and suicide”, thus saving lives. LA Times writer and social policy professor, James Wilson claims gun control does not solve gun violence and makes it harder for law-abiding citizens to defend themselves. Both authors use language to convince the
President Barack Obama says we have an “obligation” to try anything that could save one child, but many people find this statement to be ridiculous. Gun control is thought of as a government policy or regulations to control or limit the sale and use of firearms. In the U.S. constitution, the 2nd 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. Inside America today, gun control is a major issue, especially in the political arena. People debate on the daily that not all things in society make it a safer place to live. The best intentions of America’s lawmakers often do not achieve the desired outcome; therefore, the nation is somewhat split on the idea of gun control. Some advocate there is too much government, while others feel there is not enough. Gun control may or may not help society as intended; just as giving up your constitutional rights no more ensures a safer environment nor does the gun advocate who follows laws promoting progressive gun safety.
Over the last 20 years mass shootings have become more common. More and more people are becoming concerned with guns, and the fact they are being used for killing innocent people. Over the past year we’ve had shootings in Orlando, Dallas, and multiple other cities. Many people have come to the conclusion that guns need to go. Others believe there should be background checks for every person who would like to purchase a firearm. Federal laws already prohibit some people from being able to purchase a weapon. The list includes convicted felons, immigrants without legal status, and people diagnosed with certain types of mental illness (“The Fight over Guns,” 2016). Guns should be a ton harder to buy than they are at the
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...
Jean Kilbourne’s “Two Way a Woman Can Get Hurt: Advertising and Violence” is a section of a book titled: “Deadly Persuasion: Why Women and Girls Must Fight the Addictive Power of Advertising” that was originally published in 1999. It is about the images of women that advertisements illustrate. The central claim or thesis of the document is that: “advertising helps to create a climate in which certain attitudes and values flourish and it plays a role in shaping people’s ideas” (paraphrase). The author wants people by all genders and young children to acknowledge a right attitude towards what is shown in the advertisements so that the standards of behavior will not be influenced. As a result, it enables the negative contribution from the advertisements to be limited or eliminated.
“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 right of all Americans to bear arms is a right the Founding Fathers held to equal importance as the Constitution itself. Gun control laws directly violate this right and therefore should not even be under consideration. Even if that issue is overlooked, gun control advocates state that in order to reduce firearm related violence, gun control laws must be implemented to remove the violence caused by firearms. Although this may seem reasonable, the consequences of such laws are ironically counterproductive; they exacerbate the problem instead of fixing it. Besides the fact that the American Constitution guarantees its citizens the right to bear arms, the idea of restricting gun ownership in order to reduce firearm-related violence would ultimately fail given the previous experiments of gun control in England and in numerous states.
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.
Regulation of firearms is deemed as one of America’s greatest debates in terms of personal protection, sporting, and marketing. Although firearms are rightfully guarded under the second amendment, the use of a lethal weapon can be interpreted at many different viewpoints. In my perspective, firearms should appropriately be kept and maintained at the right of the bearer, which allows for any law-abiding adult citizen to carry a firearm but with a few constraints to consider. Regarding to the chief constraint, the citizen must be checked and cleared for any past affiliations with gangs or terrorist organizations. In addition, the citizen must not have a history of excessive use of drugs or alcohol to which led to a definite arrest. Otherwise,
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...
Gun control policies have been a continuous argument in America since the 1820s. In the 1820s, Congress gave guns to Indians in order for them to protect their land. Between the 1820s and the 1830s, guns were given to the western settlers in order for them to fight the Indians over land. In 1891, guns were given to the New York police officers to protect not only themselves, but society as well (Spitzer 2014). The Second Amendment believes, “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”(Epstein & Walker 2010: 374). While some responsible citizens purchase guns as a constitutional right to bear arms in order to protect them, their families, and their property, unfortunately, there are far too many misguided individuals in our society. These deviant individuals use guns to commit heinous crimes, which creates a hectic and fearful society.