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The constitution of the United States claims we, as American citizens, have the right to bear arms. Since 1787, the ownership of handguns has been legal. If we fast-forward to the twenty-first century, we see an increase in the number of homicides and suicides occurring on a daily basis. This increase has created the belief that the gun policy needs tighter restrictions or that guns should be banned completely from citizen possession. However, making it more difficult to obtain a gun or banning guns from citizen possession will not solve the gun problem. The current gun policy regulates who is eligible to obtain a gun from a federally licensed dealer and keeps legally purchased guns from being sold to the wrong person.
On November 30, 1998, the final provisions of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act were implemented and this law became permanent. According to the North Carolina Department of Justice, this law will “provide for the establishment of a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) that federally licensed firearms dealers must contact before transferring any firearm (handgun or long gun) to individuals” (2). The NICS, operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), will conduct a thorough background check on each individual that applies to purchase a handgun to determine their eligibility. The background check covers files regarding illegal aliens, controlled substance abuse, dishonorable discharge, citizen renunciation, mental illness, wanted persons, domestic violence protection orders, and criminal history (North Carolina 3). However, there is an alternate way to legally purchase a gun. For example, in North Carolina the Brady Law will recognize and accept either a North Carolina h...
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... Responsible For Acts Of The Irrational And Irresponsible.” Objective Standard: A Journal Of Culture And Politics 8.1 (2013): 98. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. “National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Operations 2012.” FBI. Federal Bureau of Investigation, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Missouri. Dept. of Conservation. “Share the Harvest.” mdconline. Conservation Commission of Missouri, 2014. Web. 2 Feb. 2014.
North Carolina. Dept. of Justice. North Carolina Firearms Laws. North Carolina: NCDOJ, 2013. Web.
“Should Handguns Be Banned?” Junior Scholastic 10 Mar. 2008: 7. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Zimring, Franklin E. “Handguns in the Twenty-First Century: Alternative Policy Futures.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 455.Gun Control (1981): 1-10. Print.
"The Controversy of Gun Control." Open Discussion about Various Controversies. N.p.. Web. 3 Dec 2013. .
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.
Since the inception of the Brady Act, over 118 million applications for firearm transfers or permits were subject to background checks. About 2.1 million applications, or 1.8%, were denied.
The background check system can help to reduce crime and violence with the help of the NICS. This system is in charge or having criminal, mentally ill, or drug abusers names. Their names should appear on the database when they want to purchase a gun, and it has to be shared with the FBI. However since the Virginia Tech massacre they realized that the background check system is missing a lot of records and was not succeeding. Because of this congress passed the NICS Improvement Amendments Act to help with the cost of gathering and submitting information from agencies and states to the FBI, to create a more accurate database and make it faster for new information to be loaded in the NICS. According to Christine Watkins, “Every day 34 Americans are murdered with guns, and most of them are possessed illegally” (Watkins 1).
This article briefly discusses the current rights of mainland American citizens and their rights to bear arms. Although it’s an amendment for a citizen of the United States to bear arms, most people today probably won’t ever need to or have to. With that being said, gun control in the U.S. is still a problem year in and year out. I believe that yes, we do have a problem with gun control within the United States. My first thoughts on this issue raised in the article are that the Supreme Court should continue to ban weapons within the District of Columbia.
Opposing sides have for years fought over the laws that govern firearms. For the purposes of this paper "Gun Control" is defined as policies enacted by the government that limit the legal rights of gun owners to own, carry, or use firearms, with the intent of reducing gun crimes such as murder, armed robbery, aggravated rape, and the like. So defined, gun control understandably brings favorable responses from some, and angry objections from others. The gun control debate is generally publicized because of the efforts of the Pro-Gun Lobby or the Anti-Gun Lobby.
...e (2001): 145-149."Gun Control Facts." By James D. Agresti and Reid K. Smith. Just Facts, September 13, 2010. Revised 12/22/10. http://justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp
The United States Constitution is regarded as the supreme law of the land. When it was drafted over two centuries ago, the goal of the founding fathers was to provide for the general welfare and common defense of all citizens, establish a more perfect Union and insure domestic tranquility for the United States of America. Unfortunately, this tranquility has been disturbed by unnecessary tragedies at the hand of armed individuals. Tragedies like the Sandy Hook shooting and the Columbine massacre, where armed individuals took the life of innocent civilians mercilessly, have shaken our communities and forced us to take a different approach when it comes to gun safety. Gun control has been the topic of many heated debated in recent years. We have, as a nation, become so accustomed to firearms in our everyday lives whether for protection, hunting, or self-defense, that we have forgotten that firearms are dangerous and deadly weapons. The second amendment of the Constitution grants all individuals the right to bear arm; however, this amendment continues to be used and abused by individuals who chose to interpret it differently than it was originally intended. It is our duty, as citizens of this great nation, to open our eyes wide and realize that this problem is not going to fix itself. Although the right for all individual to bear arm is granted and secure in our Constitution, it is imperative for the safety our population to regulate all gun purchases and tighten by the requirements necessary to purchase a firearm in order to prevent further tragedies from occurring.
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...
Being a young American I have witnessed many problems with growing up in this great country of ours. We have homeless people who can't find work, rising inflation rates, an unbalanced budget, and more importantly, a problem with guns.
Although the Second Amendment prevents the federal government from completely banning guns in America, limited restrictions are allowed on the distribution and possession of firearms. Certain groups of people such as criminals, the mentally unstable, and soldiers dishonorably discharged from the military are prohibited from possessing or interacting with firearms (Flynn). These restrictions are enforced by background checks in some states on both a state and federal level. However, gun laws vary from state to state and are often not thorough enough; the background checks are flawed due to lack of information and misinformation, and guns can easily end up in the hands of criminals and malevolent individuals. The ease of obtaining a firearm in America fosters crime and a dangerous environment. Hence, the Second Amendment should be reinterpreted so that stricter gun laws can be implemented because modern citizens do not require guns, current background checks are flawed, gun...
Carter, Gregg. Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Print.
Wilson, H. (2007). Guns, gun control, and elections. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Gun control has been a controversial issue for many years. A vast majority of citizens believe that if gun control is strictly enforced it would quickly reduce the threat of crime. Many innocent people feel they have the right to bear arms for protection, or even just the pleasure of hunting. Americans have a constitutional right to own hand guns and stricter laws and licensing will not affectively save lives.
Listverse,. '10 Arguments For Gun Control - Listverse '. N.p., 2014. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.