Where is Common Sense when it comes to Gun Control? On June 17, 2016, an editor from the St. Louis Post Dispatch published an article, “Now is the time for common-sense gun control,” that briefly talks about how gun lobbyists are striking fear on the citizens and how gun control advocates need to keep pushing harder. The writer also reviews the Second Amendment and how gun culture affects today’s society. One of the main responsibilities of a government is to keep and conserve the basic rights of its citizens as well as to make new laws that ensure their safety and well-being: especially in the area of gun control. One of the great debates in gun control is whether or not the Second Amendment truly does grant the freedom of firearm ownership to common citizens. It contains the words “well-regulated”, but the citizens have access to military-style weaponry. “These types of weapons should never be in the hands of civilians”, some may think. While others would think, “we need to have a weapon more powerful than …show more content…
Well, it seems like society has taken sides on this issue. On June 23, 2016, a radio hostess, Jasmin Tuffaha, from AirTalk interviewed Adam Winkler, a UCLA gun policy and politics scholar, on gun violence and the groups formed around it. The question that was asked was why the NRA and other groups like them are so large on one side and the other side is so broken. He said, “gun rights people are more cohesive because they are united by a hobby and lifestyle. As for the gun control people, they are united by a policy position and sometimes because of the unfortunate situation of being a victim of gun violence”(Winkler). In other words, what the gun control advocates need to do to get their voices heard, is to be just as politically active and financed as the gun lobbyists. The pro-gun advocates will always have the advantage over society unless the gun control advocates band together and counter
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
The right to bear arms is a birth given right to all Americans by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Second Amendment has become controversial recently due to the technological advancement of firearms. Modern firearms are capable of both high rates of fire and greater capacities of ammunition, unlike the single shot muskets that were available at the time of the Second Amendment’s conception. American liberals view these improvements in firearms as dangerous and unnecessary. However, no matter how dangerous firearms may be, the Second Amendment is a necessity for one factor alone: protection from one’s own government and it must be upheld. The Second Amendment provides a physical tool for Americans to defend themselves against a tyrannical government, it allows Americans to form militias against a tyrannical government, and it allows Americans to maintain comparable firearms of the U.S. government in order to prevent the potential loss of American freedoms in the future.
America needs to institute, and initiate gun control laws throughout the entire nation. But not everybody who inhabits the United States believes in regulating arms. Those who are against establishing gun laws argue that gun control directly infringes upon their “right to bear arms” granted to them by the 2nd Amendment. Anti gun control supporters, such as the National Rifle Association, often claim that the act of regulating guns is a sufficient reason why such an Amendment was introduced in the constitution; to protect themselves from any and all forms of violation of civil liberties and freedom. Supporters of anti gun laws are unwilling to welcome any interpretations of the 2nd Amendment that do not match up “word for word,” as was written in the Bill of Rights.
News is all around us and is readily available to everyone. There are many flaws in the system that hurts the authenticity of the news when you see it. The media is indirectly part of the political system. Most news is either considered liberal or conservative by many.
In America, the average amount of people shot per year is 100,000; over ten thousand defenseless people are murdered. The Second Amendment’s proclamation 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” has been an extensive topic of debate. Moreover, the amendment has been one of many debates over the several years throughout America. The discussion of gun control is often debated as to whether or not it is morally right to legally bypass the Second Amendment to avoid unlawful uses of arms. The Second Amendment allows citizens to carry firearms specifically for protection, gun control hinders that right and places civilians’ lives in danger. In short, the U.S. government’s intrusive restrictions on gun laws prevent law-abiding citizens from defending themselves with firearms.
The debate over gun control has been raging through the American political systems for years. On one side, there is the National Rifle Association (NRA) and 2nd Amendment-citing citizens who use their firearms for hunting and self-defense. On the other, there is Handgun Control Inc. (HCI) and followers of the Brady Campaign who want to ban guns on the basis that they are dangerous. Both sides have strong arguments, anchored in historical precedent and statistical analysis. Anti-gun control lobbyists’ arguments include the guarantee of the 2nd Amendment, the definition of “militia” as any adult male, self-defense, the relative uselessness of permits and regulations, and court cases in favor of firearm possession. Pro-gun control activists
The Ethics of Gun Control The phrase "Gun Control" means different things to different people. One bumper sticker states that "Gun Control means hitting your target." However one defines gun control, the mere mention of it brings controversy. Opposing sides have for years fought over the laws that govern firearms.
Through the years there has been an ongoing discussion on the Second Amendment and how it should be clarified. The issues that are being discussed is whether the government have has the right to manage guns. There are possibly two sides to this Second Amendment debate, where one is the collective side, which that the right was given only for collective ambitions. The collective side is in more favor since it has stricter gun control laws, that being said the government feels that having stricter laws on guns would lower the number of crimes that are committed with guns which would help save thousands of lives. Meanwhile gun control laws may subtract the criminals’ access to purchase or obtain firearms, in addition, the same law would limit
The past few years America has seen an undeniable rise in mass shootings and other acts of gun violence. With each act of violence that brings the nation into a state of fear for their safety, it leads people to ponder on the place the nation is currently at with gun control and the actions the government is taking to improve the unstable ground it currently stands on. Even with the public’s attention and consideration on devastating shootings, there has been a lengthy tug-of-war between those who actively promote more gun control laws and those who oppose them, with gun control activist repeatedly losing the battle. Those that understand the benefits the expansion of gun control would bring should join and take a stand, particularly for national
Guns are one of the most controversial and debated-upon topics in America today. In the Constitution, Americans are given “the right to bear arms,” and many Americans are proud of and believe strongly in that right. Though, that right has been constantly misused. Homicides by gun are at a higher rate in the United States than any other country in the world, mass shootings are at an all time high (many of which have occurred in the past two years alone), and terrorism has been at an all-time high. So, naturally, it is a topic that needs to be discussed. In the articles Change Your Gun Laws, America (1), author Fareed Zakaria provides the readers with some harrowing statistics on guns and insight over how the U.S. laws on guns need to be managed.
The term “gun control” deals with the regulation of the selling, purchasing, and using of firearms in America. The availability of firearms to the public has been causing serious debates around the country because of the diversity in the people’s cultures, judgment, and religions. Many people thought the provision set by the Second Amendment when it was ratified can perfectly be applied in the society today. However, the understanding of people about the Second Amendment and how they interpret it change over time. They cannot agree with each other about the meaning of the historical evidence (Karlan, 2013). Research and polls found that people in the rural areas tend to support the right of gun owners while those in urban areas encourage gun control. Due
With the arrival of President Donald Trump, a new mood is beginning to set in the White House that is substantially opposite from the liberal administration of President Obama. Notably, the topic of gun control will soon be brushed aside for the next four years, under Trump’s administration. Even though he had a strong support group from gun owners and leaders of the NRA during his campaign, many are still pushing for “common sense” gun safety laws. Advocate for gun control and author of Fight for common sense gun-safety policies far from over, Mark Kelly, touches on personal experiences that motivated him to speak about change in gun ownership. In contrast, author of Gun control negates Constitutional right to property, Jonathan Bain, gives
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
Gun control has a history dating back to 1791, when the Second Amendment of the Constitution was ratified. However, more recently, the debate over gun control has escalated into a much more public issue to which many citizens can relate. After all, stories about incidents involving guns appear frequently today in newspapers and on television or the radio. One could say that the debate started with the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968, which banned ownership of guns by certain groups of people and regulated the sale of guns. Since then, two main groups have gradually appeared: people who oppose strict federal
In recent decades, gun rights and gun control have been high on the list of issues in the cultural war sharply dividing Americans. Gun control's passionate proponents and opponents clash in the media, city council chambers, state legislatures, Congress, and the courts. What one side perceives as necessary to stem out-of-control violence in urban centers, the other fears as the road to unlawful confiscation and abridgement of constitutional liberties. Fundamentally disagreeing on most of the essentials, the two sides concur that a tremendous amount is at stake. "Guns are lightning rods of American culture," observes law professor Adam Winkler in his "Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America."