Controversy on the right to have and bear arms brings into question the cost in human lives for the protections of the 2nd amendment of the US Constitution . At issue is whether personal gun ownership promotes a safer home and community environment, or whether guns and gun availability correlate with increasing violent crime. Violent crime in the United States has been steadily declining for over the past two decades. However, most serious violent crime in the United States is perpetrated with guns and statistics have indicated a sharp increase in 2015. By proposing a gun crime prevention strategy to reduce such serious violent crime, violent crime will dramatically decrease. Problems surface with the increase of gun availability/use. …show more content…
With high amounts gun violence exposure affecting one’s social networks, it is not surprising non-stranger homicides occur more often than stranger homicides. Non-stranger homicides consists of individuals that are known by the perpetrator, such as family members, neighbors, acquaintances, or any other individuals in their social group. Non-stranger homicides comprise four-fifths of homicides, while stranger homicides comprise of one-fifth of homicides (Stroebe 14). The presence of guns in a home increases an individual’s chance of being murdered nearly three times more than if guns are not present in the home. Factoring in the presence of illegal drugs and physical violence in homes with guns further increases the risk of murder (Kellermann et al 1993???). The domain of focus for this paper is “gun laws.” Federal gun laws exist that prohibit federally licensed gun dealers from sales to potentially dangerous populations previously convicted of serious crimes determined by criminal background checks. However, in some states this requirement is met using "instant check" procedures that can be easily defeated using straw purchasers and forged identification documents. (Vernick 2nd paragraph, 2nd column page 184). Vernick 352 et al? indicated that federal laws have been implemented to ensure all states abide by the same standard gun law. Federal law applies to all states and creates a
Wayne LaPierre, a gun rights advocate and executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, said, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Gun control is laws that regulate the sale and possession of firearms. These laws have become a more prominent discussion due to crime, and they attempt to reduce violence. Many countries have some sort of gun control, but the United States have different rules for each state. The United Kingdom have some of the strictest firearm laws. Guns in America are a constitutional right, increase personal safety, and decrease crime.
In the Constitution, the second amendment gives the American people to have the right to possess and bear arms. This amendment has been the most controversial issue since guns have been around. Issues such as gun control and gun ownership have remained a matter of debate and have been floating around in Congress. It has been rumored that Congress is forced to draft certain legislation in order to come up with a law against unlawful use of arms, and only owning them for safety purposes. When it comes to congress, Republicans and Democrats have debated their views on gun-control in the United States to best fit the overall well-being of the citizens. These different points of views have caused many discussions on how this controversial topic should be handled and whether or not it conflicts with the second amendment. Throughout this topic, Republicans and hardcore NRA supporters favor with less strict rules of gun-control while Democrats want stricter rules such as a background check for every citizen that poses a threat to either the United States of America or the average citizen. The debate on guns in America has essentially become one more distracting, off-point topic in culture wars.
The world is a dangerous place to live. Every day, we wake up, send our children off to school and spend most of our lives working. We put ourselves in harm’s way every time we leave our homes. At any moment, we could be killed in an automobile accident, plane crash, gunshot wound or any other random occurrence that happens in this crazy world we live in. There have been so many advancements in technology and medicine to protect ourselves from these lucks of the draw events that life throws at us, but some people seem to have a problem with gun ownership. Gun ownership for many is viewed like the seatbelt of a car or the vaccine given to us to prevent the Flu, it is a form of protection and security. Some people in our country would argue that there needs to be a banning of fire arms or more restrictions to keep fire arms out of people’s hands. I disagree with this idea. I feel that Federal and State governments should not bad firearms or make the purchasing process more difficult. It is every legal citizen right to bear arms, whether it is for protection or sport.
The United States of America is one of the very few countries in the world that allows their citizens to bear arms. The right to bear arms traces back all the way to the times of the 13 colonies. The Second Amendment has been up for many debates, especially in the recent light of mass shootings in the US. But does the entire removal and ban of firearms really work? Gun control and the second amendment has been a never ending conflict between politicians. As we look further into gun control there are more draw backs for the citizens than benefits.
With the crime rate commonly believed to be detrimental to the safety of society, one might assume to inflict stricter gun control laws. But, just how effective are these laws in reducing the amount of crime committed? As examined by Kleck and Patterson (2006), the rationale for gun control must first include the assumption that the availability of guns entails a significantly positive correlation on violence rates. But, Kates and Mauser (2006) studied the aggregate relationship between gun control and lower crime rate and found no evidence of this correlation.
Samuel Wurzelbacher, AKA Joe the Plumber, watched Richard Martinez mourn over the death of his only son who was shot in the Isla Vista rampage. He responded to Richard Martinez with an open letter on a website, Barbwire.com, saying : ‘I am sorry you lost your child. I myself have a son and daughter and the one thing I never want to go through, is what you are going through right now. But: as harsh as this sounds---your dead kids don 't trump my Constitutional rights.’ This is the type of thing that people find so terrible about the Second Amendment; because pro-gun zealots use the Second Amendment to protect their immoral actions, but this is their twisted and corrupted interpretation on the meaning and intent of the Amendment because this is in no way the original premise of the Second Amendment. The right to bear arms laid out in the Second Amendment is just because guns are weapons for self-defense. Precautions are taken on gun control, such as keeping a permanent record of all gun sales, requiring a license and certain mental certifications, and only allowing certain guns to be distributed to the public. Although some may argue that they can also be used to kill the innocent, the removal of guns from the possession of certified citizens will not stop crime, murder, or the death of innocents because guns are not the only weapons capable of these deaths.
In our world today all sorts of crimes take place every second and there is nothing we can do about it. Not only that, but, with the dramatic rise in mass shootings in our nation comes a compelling division between political and legal agendas predicated on the Second Amendment. I want to emphasize that every single crime is violent whether is involves a handgun, knife or nothing at all. Everyone in our nation knows the law and it is the offender's choices to break it and harm others. With that being said, guns don't kill people, but the deaths of all these innocent people simply comes down to the morality of the men and women behind the weapon.
"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 " (US Const). Although written over two hundred years ago, the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is still indispensable today. With thousands of innocent Americans murdered from the use of a firearm every year, there is a strong calling for stricter gun-control laws and regulations. Yet, every day United States citizens are forced to use their firearms for protective purposes, frequently saving their lives. While firearms pose a threat when in the wrong hands, restricting their use to only law enforcement is not the answer to ending gun violence. Though the rights granted under the Second Amendment are imperative and must not be stripped away, there are measures that should be taken in order to prevent gun violence, including the expansion of more stringent and thorough background checks and the increase in mental health screening.
The Second Amendment to the Constitution 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” (Agresti, 2009, para. 2). Based on a simple reading of this, it would seem that people do have the right to own and use firearms. So why are so many people trying to ban guns? Maybe it is because they do not understand what the Second Amendment actually means. Maybe it is because the media only reports the crimes committed with guns and not the lives saved with them. What would happen to the crime rate in the United States if guns were banned altogether as other countries have done? While some people think guns should be banned, it has been
Last year, then-Republican candidate Carly Fiorina claimed that states with strict gun laws had “the highest gun crime rate in the nation” (Robertson, 2015). The following month, President Barack Obama stated that states with stricter gun laws “tend to have the fewest gun deaths” (Robertson, 2015). The West might have been won with a Smith & Wesson, but in our modern society guns are the subject of much debate. While some groups push for fewer guns and more gun control, others insist that increased gun control leads to increased crime. Both sides cite statistics in support of their views, yet experts who have reviewed the same data have concluded that the data is inconclusive. The contenders on both sides don’t ever address the other factors that contribute to crime, such as poverty, racial tensions, a strained and overworked police force, and the deterioration of family social structure. As a nation, we need to move beyond the never-ending debate over gun control. We need to work out a compromise that will help law enforcement put a stop to these terrible mass shootings while preserving Second Amendment rights.
From learning about the grit and perseverance of soldiers in the Revolutionary and Civil War to the modern day struggle people face to achieve gay rights, what stuck with me the most throughout Social Studies this year were our discussions on gun control. This stuck with me because gun control is a topic that has it's rooted in Revolutionary war but still affects people today in our modern society. Despite more than 30,000 people being killed every year in America from gun-related violence, the 2nd Amendment still currently stands. It states 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." This basically means
Guns have been used for many years throughout history. I’m here to prove that statement is false and in fact that more guns are proven to decrease crime rates, however it is the use of gun control laws passed by the federal government, and states that have seen an increase of gun related crimes. Throughout this essay, is will focus on reports, news articles, and academic studies written out by law professors on how gun control laws actually affect crime rates, if people feel safer with more guns, and how states of seen an increase or decrease in their crime rates with none of many gun control measures.
“Teens and young adults are far more likely to be victims of gun violence than older people. Between 1976 and 2005, some 77 percent of homicide victims ages fifteen to seventeen were killed with guns.”(Gun Control). In today’s society, people are allowed to have guns because of the second amendment. The second amendment gives people the right to keep and bear arms. Many politicians disagree on who the second amendment applies to; however, regardless of who it is intended for, gun violence has become extremely high in the United States. Men originally made guns to aid soldiers fighting in wars. Now, people are using guns to commit crimes such as robbery and murder. The only way to stop the rate at which these crimes are being committed, is to
Gun control is the term that describes the use of law to limit people access to any kind of guns, rifles, firearm, etc. through passing law that required checking of criminal record background before purchasing a gun to be registered and many other methods. Many people in American have strong feeling about gun control. The victims of gun violence are high in numbers in the United States of America compared with other countries. Every year, Americans have to bear the massive tragedies of shootings like those that happened in the movie theatre in Colorado and in an elementary school in Connecticut. In the United States, there have been many political debates whether guns should be controlled and kept out of certain people’s hands, or if
Over the years, a great amount of effort and money has been spent on legislation regarding gun control. Gun control advocates maintained that increased gun control could reduce the soaring crime rates found in cities across America. However, most of the arguments used for gun control are the result of careful manipulation of data and emotional appeal. These “myths” are twisted by our liberal media until they are seen as the truth. However, despite the claims of gun control activists, gun control does not reduce crime, it only leaves law abiding citizens increasingly vulnerable to violent crime.