Argumentative Essay On Gun Control

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 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."

What cause crime? Is is an individual’s access to firearms or is it their willingness to act illegally given the opportunity? In this argumentative essay I will be discussing one of the most debated topics in the United States today, gun control. There are two extremely opposite views on this topic: the belief that guns enable crime, and the belief that guns deter crime. These polar opposites leave room for a very good discussion of what facts and truths may lie behind this topic. Throughout this essay I will be analyzing both sides of this issue.The significance of a topic such as gun control is very prevalent in today’s society. Some see it sad that we must argue over one of our supposedly deemed unalienable rights such as bearing a firearm.

The issue of Gun Control has been on the minds of humans for hundreds of years. How do we protect ourselves and our loved ones? How do we keep such a dangerous weapon out of the hands of the wrong person? Inside the Second Amendment we are granted the right to Bear Arms. Having that amendment gives each person the ability to carry a weapon if they choose, so how can we control who should or shouldn’t carry?

The current gun control policies in the United States were implemented to ban gun possession by high-risk groups. They are to restrict the sales, transfers and purchase of guns to criminals, minors and the mentally ill. The laws restrict carrying guns in public areas, enforcing laws such as weapon permits and special licensing. The laws require licensed gun owners to register the weapons before they can be legally owned or possessed. There are restrictions and bans on certain guns on certain hand guns and automatic weaponry. Finally, the gun laws both state and local require a license by the federal government to sell guns.

With all these mass shootings happening recently in our country it has brought up a huge discussion on if guns should be legal or not. My view on guns is if you have a clean history and no mental illness issues I have nothing wrong with someone owning a gun. Therefore I am for guns for self defense and hunting. I think having a gun is a huge responsibility and you shouldn’t be able to have any history of being a criminal or have a history of having a mental illness even to the slightest degree. These mass shooters I 100% think that they had a mental illness and sent them over the edge because I don’t know how anyone in the right mind could do a crime as big as killing hundreds of innocent people for no reason.

The Second Amendment 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.” People interpret the Second Amendment to mean that all people have the right to own guns, but not all people should be able to own them. “In 2007, 385,178 total firearm crimes were committed, including 11,512 murders, 190,514 robberies, and 183,153 aggravated assaults” (Giffords). The United States government must have stronger laws about purchasing guns.

Banning and keeping guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens has more drawbacks and is not supported by police. Eliminating or restricting guns used for self-defense does not make American citizens safer. As of 2016, one in 23 Americans is at risk of being murdered in some form, not just murdered with a gun. When debating guns, it should be acknowledged that guns, in the hands of qualified, trained individuals, prevent crimes and improve public safety. The vast majority of law enforcement believes legally armed citizens are critical in reducing crime. A national survey of current and retired law enforcement officials has showed that most officers do not believe gun control would work and having more trained, armed citizens would be more beneficial at reducing and preventing crime. Gun bans create more helplessness by disarming citizens who are legally carrying a gun. According to the Government Accountability Office, the number of Concealed Carry Permits has surged to roughly eight million, and the amount of gun related violence has gone down during that same period. “ Concealed carry permit holders commit crimes at a lower rate than the rest of the general US population” (Winkler 35). “ People who seek to obtain permits are likely to

Indeed, the United States has a long tradition of holding guns. The public opinion with guns is deeply based. A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2017 showed that 48% of the population grew up in armed families; 72% believed that most people should have the right to have

In discussion of gun control, one controversial belief has been that banning certain guns, ammo, and clips will reduce the amount of crime involving guns. On one hand, liberals argue that this will decrease the amount of crimes because there are less guns out there. On the other hand, conservatives contend that this is not true. Some even believe that crime might increase due to this. My own view is that banning these items will have a negative impact on our society, and here is why.

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

Gun control is a vital necessity to the welfare of our nation. Many people out there are supporting the “anti- gun control cause” with the excuse of “self-defense”. I believe that not everyone will handle a gun for self-defense. The possession of a gun is a sign of power. One of the bigger ambitions that one has is to have power and the easier it is to obtain a gun; the faster a criminal will gain power over an innocent person. When one is in possession of a gun, that person has complete control of their actions and may act upon the weapon however the person may please even if they know that their action will cause harm to defense-less people. There are many deaths caused by guns out there that could have been stopped by controlling the

Gun control, one of the most sensitive issues in America today; should we the people believe in gun control or should we discard it as futile. The American constitution states in 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“, and so why should there be a need to put regulations on gun ownership. On the other hand gun control helps regulate on persons who can own a gun such as the mentally ill and convicted felons who can cause more harm to others and themselves. Gun control will also help decrease school shootings and other mayhem that occurs in the United states. If gun control helps regulate on gun violence why is it so controversial?

The feeling of insecurity, and the need for all of us to defend and protect ourselves, our families, and all what we consider as precious to us, is the main factor that drives most of us to believe that we should own a gun, or a weapon in general, to get the feeling of security that we miss. Do you know how many people own guns in the United States? A statistic claims that the proportion between people who own guns in the United States to the population of the United States is almost 1:1. Therefore, we can say that there is a gun for each individual in the United States (Wikipedia 11/23). Certainly, it is a high proportion. At the same time that guns are used as a means of self-defense, they are involved in a high proportion of murders. Dear student, using guns in our lives to protect ourselves is dangerous habit. We should instead regulate the control over guns.

"The long, difficult history of gun control." Washington Post. 23 Dec. 2012: A8. eLibrary. Web.