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Public opinion of gun control
NRA gun control takes guns away from law abiding citizens
Public opinion on gun control
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The National Rifle Association (NRA), recognized today as a major political force and as America's foremost defender of the Second Amendment, “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 NRA adheres to the belief that the Second Amendment guarantees the right of individuals to bear arms. Recent U.S. Supreme Court cases have confirmed those beliefs. In spite of whether one personally adheres to these interpretations of the amendment or not, the fact is there are over two hundred million guns in this country. Moreover, there are over seventy-five million firearm owners. In addition to the NRA’s political activity for second amendment rights, it has fulfilled a service, as since its inception, it had been the premier firearms education organization in the world by providing firearms safety and training. Since the NRA’s was charter in 1871 for the promotion and encouragement of rifle shooting on a scientific basis, the organization has grown to over four million members. The organization describes itself as non-profit and non-partisan. However, it has more Republican members than Democrat members. Although it will endorse candidates from either party as long as the candidate supports its pro=gun position. Its stated position is for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection of hunting and self-defense. The NRA commenced promoting shooting sports to American youth by establishing rifle clubs at major colleges, universities, and military academies. Shooting clubs continue on college and university... ... middle of paper ... ...here the Court decisions supported an individuals’ right to own a firearm. In addition, when then New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered the confiscation of all firearms, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The NRA filed suit to protect individuals’ rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Nagin’s actions in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution led to the enactment of a federal law, prohibiting the confiscation of legal firearms from citizens during states of emergency. Although, NRA members are not unanimous in support of its policies, they are unanimous in support of the Second Amendment right. As long as firearms owners perceive a threat of losing the right to own firearms, the NRA will remain a viable organization. In actuality, the NRA’s membership is comprised of citizens, possessing a love of firearms, and fear of their government.
National Rifle Association of America. (2011). The Institute for Legislative Action. Retrieved April 7, 2011 from http://home.nra.org/#/ila
The two filed separate claims challenging the constitutionality of the Brady Act’s provision that used congressional action to compel state officers to execute Federal law. The NRA stood behind them, stating that this provision violated the 10th Amendment. However, instead of just arguing for the removal of the provision, the NRA argued that the whole law must be voided. This argument contradicted prior claims from the NRA that they did, in fact, support background checks. In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled to remove the portion of the Brady Law that required local police to conduct background checks as it was an unconstitutional mandate. The rest of the law remained in place
fight against the passage of the Brady bill. The battle between the NRA and the
The American Constitution is sacred in that it hasn’t changed for hundreds of years, but it has come to our attention that some of the amendments are outdated. The second amendment states that everyone has a right to bear arms which sounds righteous and fair, but we live in a far different time than our fathers that wrote the Constitution did. Today, we have real problems with guns because it is so easy to obtain and so many misuse the power of such a dangerous weapon. It has always been American culture that owning a gun as a household self defense tool is considered a norm. The many cases of mass shootings made some people demand stricter regulations on gun or even ban guns completely. However, it would be illegal for the US government to ban guns, as laid down in the Constitution. It would seem “unamerican” that a man doesn’t have the right to buy a gun if he wanted to. It is also difficult to make any changes on gun laws, because of the National Rifle Association. It is an incredibly powerful organisation that represents gun owners ' rights. It is also known as one of the most influential lobbying groups in Washington. In order to lay stricter laws on guns, the government would have to go through them first. “[The NRA] have the ability to recruit and fund competitors for politicians who don’t listen to them. Lawmakers like their jobs and most try to keep them for life” (Culhane, 2015, p.2). The NRA have many wealthy members, and it is corrupted. Whenever congress tries to restrict any gun rights, the NRA will help any campaign financially to defeat them. Even though majority of the people in America want to change the gun laws, they are not as strong as the NRA. The NRA is strongly supportive of the American gun culture. Therefore, any suggestions that disadvantage gun right will be drowned to
College campuses are more dangerous than ever because of the past decade; guns have not only been manufactured in excess, but availability and ease of accessibility. According to James Cool (2008), a supporter of guns on campus, reasoned why the increase of weapons occurred recently; “Our nation was founded … during the same time that modern firearms were invented and became readily available due to the Industr...
Gun control is a very touchy subject in our world as crime rates rise and mass shootings occur. There are two sides to the table of gun control, either more control or less control. Both Democrats and Republicans have their stance on this issue and most representatives follow the party lines. It is typical that Democrats favor more gun control and Republicans favor less. The policy I support is the right to continue to carry a concealed weapon in every state; the only exclusion is it cannot be carried into restaurants, bars, or any place that sells alcohol. Currently some states allow you to carry a concealed weapon but if you cross state lines then you have the chance of being arrested. I would also entail that all states have the same/equal laws. What this policy will do is give the freedom to Americans to choose whether or not to carry a gun. This policy runs together with another gun control law, the Stand-Your-Ground law that grants individuals the ability to protect themselves from a deadly situation by using a gun. By allowing people to carry a concealed weapon you are giving them more protection for themselves or those around them. The third part of my policy is background checks. Without an in-depth background check gun stores could just hand a psychotic individual a gun to shoot up a mall. This is already in place and I believe it is a safe and a common sense thing to do. By allowing citizens of the United States to carry a concealed weapon, protect them in the area of defense and to ensure that the people carrying these weapons are mentally safe and not criminals, the world will then become a safer place.
entitled to the ownership and legal use of firearms, . . . " The NRA does many
America is the most well armed nation in the world, with American citizens owning about 270 million of the world’s 875 million firearms (Marshall). Indeed, this is more than a quarter of the world’s registered firearms. The reason why Americans own so many guns is because of the Second Amendment, which 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.” (Rauch) This amendment guarantees U.S. citizens the right to have firearms. Since this amendment is relatively vague, it is up for interpretation, and is often used by gun advocates to argue for lenient gun laws. Hence, gun control is a frequently discussed controversial topic in American politics.
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...
You all have the difficult job of upholding the U.S. Constitution, which is an unwieldy and sometimes contradictory document that is designed to give the best opportunity for competing interests to coexist peacefully in our society. Your duty is laid out in the Preamble: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The gun lobby/NRA, in its stringent defense of the principles in the Second Amendment, has overstepped the principles of the Preamble and fostered a legislative environment that is destructive to domestic tranquility
There is a familiar saying that goes, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”. Punctuation before the end quote. Individuals should be able to protect themselves. Therefore, the 2nd Amendment states that we as citizens have the right to keep and bear arms, and it shall not be infringed. First and foremost, the Second Amendment was adopted into the United States Constitution on December 15, 1791. In today’s society, the Second Amendment has become a huge controversy; due to the ongoing debate over guns. However, people tend to forget that the Second Amendment protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. The right to own a weapon is not against the law. Surprisingly, “the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding”(MacBradaigh, 2013, para. 8). Restrictions on carrying guns in places like schools, courtrooms, and hospitals are more understandable. “The words of the founders make clear they believed the individual right to own firearms was very important: Thomas Jefferson said, “No free man shall be debarred the use of arms” ("NRA-ILA | The Second Amendment", 2013, para. 12). If the Founding Fathers felt the need to address this issue, why shouldn’t the general public do the same? Most importantly, the Second Amendment protects individual rights, not collective. Yet, some people claim differently. Many people believed that the Second Amendment pertained only to “rights that may be exercised only through participation in some corporate body” (MacBradaigh, 2013, para. 2). However, the Bill of Rights was created to protect the rights of individuals, and “in America, rights by definition belong to individuals” (...
Tyrrell, R. Emmett, Jr. "The National Rifle Association's Deterrent to Gun Violence." The American Spectator. (2013): Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 31 Oct. 2013
Located in Fairfax, Virginia, the National Rifle Association is an organization that promotes gun rights and is one of the most powerful interest group in the country. Its purpose and goals include, “protecting the right to keep and bear arms, furthering the shooting sports, marksmanship and safety training, and the promotion of hunter safety” (National Rifle Association). It is also a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization and is the oldest civil rights group in the US that still operates. Currently, the organization boasts an impressive five million members and is run by President, Allan D. Cors and Executive Vice President, Wayne LaPierre, who are elected by the board of directors. The organization itself is comprised of several bodies that are
If something happens, the police -- despite all the good intentions, is 15 to 20 minutes. It 's too long. It 's not going to help those kids” (LaPierre). The NRA feels that armed police or armed security in schools would prevent mass school shootings. It would allow someone to intervene before police could arrive. LaPierre talks about how enforcing the already 9,000 federal gun laws already on the books is also strategic. “Chicago, 89 of 90 in the country in terms of enforcing the reasonable federal gun laws NRA supports on the books against felons and drug dealers and gangs with guns, the people doing the killing”
The second amendment of the Constitution states that every man has the right to bear arms, leading many to believe that gun ownership is linked to patriotism or loyalty to the country. This 2nd amendment is a way of ensuring that the people will always have the means to protect themselves against threats to their freedom. For these reasons, there are many people who believe that the gun itself is a symbol of freedom. The National Rifle Association promotes this point of view, in the press and via lobbying in Washington. Gun owners see their weapons as providing safety and security, and because of this protection that it gives them, the gun symbolizes freedom. According to Psychology Today: “owning a gun certainly gives you