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OBLD634

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Feb 20, 2024

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Reflection Blog: Gun Control: What is the Answer? Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University OBLD634 Dr. Edric Spruill 10/2/2022 Do Citizens have a right to bear arms?

Gun control has been a highly debated topic for many years in the United States amongst different groups of people and different political parties. In my opinion, I believe that citizens do have a right to bear arms. I do not believe that one group of people should be able to tell another group of people to not have something. I believe that the news usually blows gun statistics out of proportion to support their agenda for gun control. In fact, much of what they report is inaccurate. In 2020, 54% of all gun-related deaths in the U.S. were suicides (24,292), while 43% were murders (19,384), according to the CDC. The remaining gun deaths that year were unintentional (535), involved law enforcement (611) or had undetermined circumstances (400) (Gramlich, 2020). Also, I think the stats can be misleading at times. Factoring in the situation or circumstance of the statistics of gun violence is key to truly understanding the cause. However, I am part of the population that believes the United States should take a stricter stance on gun control, but not in such ways that would take guns away. In fact, only 52% of Americans surveyed said they wanted stricter gun laws, while 35% said they should remain the same (BBC News, 2022). As a responsible gun owner, I do not believe that the 1% of the population that uses guns incorrectly or in a crime should completely influence the rest of the responsible gun owners. Rather, policy should be made to make it harder to get a gun, and penalize those who uses the guns incorrectly. Counter Argument There can be many arguments made against gun and the citizens of the United States owning such guns. One argument that can be made against citizen’s right to bear arms is the fact that a citizen cannot own any type of gun, specifically, an assault rifle. The Supreme Court ruled in McDonald v. Chicago (2010) , a case often cited by gun-rights advocates, that private citizens may own weapons for self-defense but are subject to restrictions on those weapons. Therefore, it's not your right to build and own a nuclear or assault weapon, nor is toting a pistol in your pocket an unfettered natural right (Silos-Rooney, 2014). Often, responsible citizens have many different types of firearms that include assault rifles and pistols. Gun control lobbyists argue that there is no need for assault rifles as they can discharge rounds at a fast rate, which should not be used anyway for recreational use. A second argument that can be made against citizens owning guns is that guns are used in almost all murders. Nearly eight-in-ten (79%) U.S. murders in 2020 – 19,384 out of 24,576 – involved a firearm. That marked the highest percentage since at least 1968, the earliest year for which the CDC has online records (Gramlich, 2020). This shows that guns are a tool used most often by criminals when conducting a harmful act. If you remove such tool, you might remove such harm to someone else.

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