“Nobody’s saying this will be easy. The important things never are,” (Fagan 14). Gun control is among one of the most disputed issues in the United States. Different views collide with each other and split our nation into two sides; those who support gun control, and those who don't. The United States should implement stricter gun control laws, because: the rate of death has increased drastically, guns increase violence, and mass shootings are at an all-time high.
Every year, thousands of people are murdered by handguns in the United States. These deaths occur because “...there are almost as many guns as people” (Cukier and Sidel 41). Faulty background checks, or no background checks at all make it easier for the wrong kinds of people to get their hands on firearms; including those who are mentally ill. For those who are mentally ill, less in-depth background checks make fatality rates increase. Suicides by firearm shadow attempted homicide deaths. Wendy Cukier and Victor W. Sidel state, “Fatality rates for suicides attempted with
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This amendment says, “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,” (law.cornell.edu 1). While yes, the Constitution states that anyone is allowed to have firearms, guns aren’t really used in self-defense (procon.org 1). Also, the second amendment’s original intention was to protect the rights of the military force, not the rights of individuals (procon.org). Stricter gun control laws would not take away the Second Amendment, but would instead improve the current issues occurring in our country. Gun control would also reduce suicide rates. The harder it is to obtain a gun, the harder it will be for mentally ill and unstable people to point a gun at their head and pull the
‘“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.”’ (“Gun Control”) Due to firearms, more than 30,000 people die in America every year. Mass shootings happen frequently and people die because of the lack of laws and their security. The United States needs better gun control laws because automatic assault rifles are easy to buy, the mentally ill can purchase guns, and many die from guns each year.
The Second Amendment of the US Constitution protects individual gun ownership. The Second Amendment of the US 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." Gun ownership is an American tradition older than the country itself and is protected by the Second Amendment; more gun control laws would infringe upon the right to bear arms. Justice Antonin Scalia, LLB, in the June 26, 2008 District of Columbia et al. v. Heller US Supreme Court majority opinion syllabus stated, "The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home." The McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) ruling also stated that the Second Amendment is an individual right. Lawrence Hunter, Chairman of Revolution PAC, stated, "The Founders understood that the right to own and bear laws is as fundamental and as essential to maintaining liberty as are the rights of free speech, a free press, freedom of religion and the other protections against government encroachments on liberty delineated in the Bill of Rights."
Sandy Hook Elementary. Aurora, Colorado. San Bernardino, California. Las Vegas, Nevada. Orlando, Florida. (Words with Negative Connotation) These are just some of the biggest mass shootings that have swept America in the past few years. Hundreds of lives are lost each year to gun related violence in the United States alone. Gun control has been a topic in our country since our founding fathers adopted the second amendment to the US constitution. Although recently controversy has sparked to an all-new extent in America due to the recent spike in mass shootings and gun related homicides. So many families and loves ones are affected each year in the United States because of gun related violence and other mass killing events, because of these events gun control laws need to be revamped and strengthened in American in order to protect the citizens.
The guilty party from the Virginia Tech University shooting in 2007 was found out to have a mental illness (“Gun Control”). This mass shooting was an incident that inspired more discussion on this topic, for it was one of the most deadly ones in American history. “His history of mental illness had not prevented him from purchasing the semiautomatic pistols used in the shooting” (“Gun Control”). If this man could gain access to these weapons, then other mentally ill people could as well. Consequently, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 was carried out by another person suffering from mental illnesses (“Gun Control”). Even more awareness was drawn to this shooting since it was yet another incident of a mentally ill person carrying out these acts of violence. After this shooting, Barack Obama tried to pass a bill that would ban assault weapons from the public and make the background checks more extensive to include history of mental illness, yet despite his efforts, this bail failed to pass the Senate (“Gun Control”). If mentally ill people were restricted access to guns, these shootings would not have
What is gun control? Who is affected by Gun Control? Why should someone care about Gun Control? Imagine going to a concert with your friends and family, you guys are laughing and having a good time when all of sudden someone starts shooting up the place. Are you thinking to yourself that if guns were banned this wouldn't have never happened? Or are you wishing you had a gun to protect everyone from what is happening? Gun Control has been an issue since the beginning of time, there are some people who think we need it and others who say we have the right to bear arms. With gun control a lot more lives could be saved and people won't have to be scared of a mass shootings happening somewhere. Kids can feel safe when going to school and they won’t have to worry about one of their class mates shooting up the school.
What is gun control? Who is affected by gun control? Why should someone care about gun control? Imagine going to a concert with your friends and family, you guys are laughing and having a good time when all of a sudden someone starts shooting up the place. Are you thinking to yourself if guns were banned this wouldn't have happened? Or are you wishing you had a gun to protect everyone from what is happening? Gun Control has been an issue since the beginning of time, there are some people who think we need it and others who say we have the right to bear arms. With gun control a lot more lives could be saved and people won't have to be scared of a mass shooting happening somewhere. Children can feel safe when going to school and they won’t
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right of the people to bear arms and was adopted on December 15, 1791, as part of the first ten amendments located in the Bill of Rights. Since then there have been many attempts to create stricter gun control legislation and this leads to the argument whether or not this is an attack on the 2nd Amendment?
Another major issue with gun violence is mental illness. The law’s provision on mentally ill is not that great. The court or other authority will stop gun possession by a person who is mentally ill; however, most people with this illness are never diagnosed or if they are they petition the court to have it reversed. Many of the mass shootings have been done by people who were known by others around them that they were mentally ill and yet they still owned guns legally (Perez-peNa).
The Second Amendment of the US 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." Owning a gun has been an old American tradition. So old it is older than the country itself and is being protected by the Second Amendment; more gun control laws would break apart of our rights, which is the right to bear arms. The Second Amendment defends a persons right to own a gun without having to be a police officer, and to use that right for lawful purposes, such as self-defense within that person’s home. The right to possess and bear laws so fundamental it is as fundamental and as critical to maintaining liberty as are the rights of free speech,
Gun control is a very controversial topic on the modern American’s mind lately. Over the last few years, this topic has become increasingly more heated because of the recent horrendous events that have occurred in the United States. Gun Laws is a touchy subject no matter where you go inside of the states. The recent mass shootings at the Pulse nightclub and the Route 91 Harvest Music festival have forced gun Laws to be put under the microscope. People on both sides of the argument are joining in to make the United States a safer place. I don’t know whether harsher gun laws will limit the quantity and size of mass shootings or whether it will deter future shooters from committing a crime. Would looking at other countries Gun laws such as Australia help us reform our own laws more fluidly?
A common controversial topic that is discussed universally is the issue of shootings and gun use. Citizens views on the topic range from the wishes to completely ban guns, to the total allowance and ownership of such items. In comparison, some drugs may be illegal, although people still possess them. Would the same be for guns? Should more be done to implement the control over guns? Or should more freedom be given to gun owners? One can visualize the positives and negatives regarding gun control by learning more about the following: the suspected terrorist list,
"As Gene Autry once said “‘a gun like any other object that grants power is neither good nor evil but reliant on the one who holds it.’” Common gun control proposals do not and will not solve the issues we currently have in America in regards to gun deaths. Gun control has been a national debate since the 80’s, and for the most part, nothing has changed because there are still people dying from guns being used incorrectly. There have been many proposals made to control guns and regulate them, but none prove to be effective.
During the early history of the United States, gun regulations were a state centered issued. In 1827, Georgia was one of the first state to try to implement gun regulations by passing a bill that attempted to ban handguns. The law is ruled unconstitutional and thrown out (Utter, 2000). As gun technology progressed during World War One and the Thompson submachine gun was developed a change for stricter gun regulations was inevitable. The History News Network reported that, “at least 27 states enacted measures to restrict or outlaw the sale and possession of fully automatic weapons prior to 1934 (Spiltzer, 2015)”. The country understood the need to regulate fully automatic weapons but the issue would be further expounded due to the fact that
Did you hear about the recent school shootings? A substantial amount of them could have been prevented with more gun control laws. In the United States, there is an abundance of legally owned guns. However, there have been a number of shootings using legally-owned guns, bringing up the issue of whether or not to enact more gun control laws. Supporters argue that the 2nd Amendment was intended for militias, and that gun violence incidents would become rarer. Opponents argue that the 2nd Amendment gives people the right to own guns, and that guns are used for self-defense. I know that more gun control laws must be enacted in the United States, because the 2nd Amendment doesn’t extend to regular citizens, and they would reduce gun deaths.
In an editorial published on June 12, 2017, the New York Times criticized President Trump for a tweet in response to a terrorist attack in London earlier that month. Noting that the terrorists used knives rather than guns in that attack, the president tweeted, “Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That’s because they used knives and a truck!” Implicitly, the president was criticizing what he viewed as a knee-jerk reaction on the part of gun control advocates to focus on the weapon used by terrorists as opposed to their political motives or mental state; the president appeared to be advocating the view that preventing terror attacks is best accomplished by focusing on both the latter and the former.