Gun Control Is Needed

Gun Control in America has been argued back and forth for decades past. On one side it is strongly believed that the Second Amendment suggests that individual citizens have a constitutionally protected right to own a gun and protect themselves. These individuals believe that gun control laws do not in fact reduce gun violence. On the other side it is said if Gun Control laws are enacted there would be less gun and school violence. Also, it would be harder for criminals and juveniles to obtain a firearm. Both sides have very valid arguments and historical evidence to back their positions on within this debate.

The exact number of gun owners in America is unknown. There are approximately 44 million firearms owners in the US, according to a National Institute of Justice survey conducted in 1994. Looking at firearm production data from 2010, various gun manufactures state the figure is as high as 300 million people. (Agresti and Smith, justfacts.com, 02/12/12). Regardless of the precise number of guns in America they are an everyday reality. For the gun enthusiast there are a number of activities which in some families, have taken on an almost religious reverence. Hunting is engaged in by 23 to 43.7 million Americans, according to a national survey in 2001, conducted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Generations of families , fathers , grandfathers and sons have enjoyed the great outdoors, refining and taking pleasure in hunting.Target shooting, collecting and self protection constitutes the remainder of “legal gun owners in the U.S. Groups such as the National Rifle Association are the most outspoken and self proclaimed defender of gun owner’s rights. In 2011 the N.R.A. joined a lawsuit to continue its primary role in America. In a court update Chris Cox writes (2011), “The NRA fights to enforce--and extend--gun owners' rights.” Cox’s writing on this case illustrates the divide between state and federal government restrictions, and

The National Rifle Association (NRA) has been at the forefront championing this right to the detriment of most people in society. The NRA has managed to conduct lobbying in the US Congress that has led to passing of legislation that strengthens gun owners’ rights, but this goes contrary to the gun violence statistics; 21 thousand people commit suicide annually, most gun crimes are carried out using the legal weapons bought by licensed owners (Graham,

The National Rifle Association is an interest group that supports our right to bear arms. They have been around for over a century and continue to lobby in Congress to help protect our Second Amendment. They currently have 4.3 million members that support the Second Amendment and other groups that educate citizens on gun safety. This group has made a tremendous difference on how our government and society views gun control and is probably the biggest reason we still have our right to bear arms. (www.nraila.org)

Each person has their own idea of what our founding fathers meant when they put this in our constitution. Some people use guns as a hunting sport or for food. But then there are the ones who want to cause harm to each other. I still remember the morning of December 11, 2012. The day the Clackamas Town Center shooting occurred. A man entered a busy mall, killed 2 people and seriously injured another. He ended up shooting himself after causing all that fear and pain to the shoppers. My family and I had planned to visit the mall that day to take my relatives who came to visit from California, but we overslept. We heard the news on the radio on our way there and we turned around knowing we could have been there. The culprit stole an AR-15 from

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.

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

For the purposes of this paper "Gun Control" is defined as policies enacted by the government that limit the legal rights of gun owners to own, carry, or use firearms, with the intent of reducing gun crimes such as murder, armed robbery, aggravated rape, and the like. So defined, gun control understandably brings favorable responses from some, and angry objections from others. The gun control

As the population increases its stocks on firearms, a significant number of citizens are at risk of being harmed. According to statistics, “In 2000, almost 30,000 persons died from firearm injuries in the United States more than the number of deaths from, alcohol abuse, or drug abuse… [in spite of] almost 20,000 laws and regulations regulating gun usage to some degree” (Kwon and Baack). Though several individuals are in fear of losing guns as weapons for protection, a greater number of laws will continue to be useful in maintaining the security of citizens upon significant new laws addressing gun control. Although the existence of guns is necessary to protect bear arms, gun control laws help reduce violence, decrease the homicide rate, and help prevent accidents from around the globe. New gun control laws should be enforced to ensure the safety of the entire population, and most importantly to prevent any gun violence as necessary to help save the lives of the innocent.

On the other side of the gun control debate, one of its major opponents is the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA along with 50 percent of Americans are not in favor of the government’s intervention in gun control. The NRA opposes the President’s plan to reduce gun violence for two main reasons. Firstly, the NRA says President Obama wants to dilute the political influence of the NRA. Secondly, he has a hidden agenda to expunge the Second Amendment from our Bill of Rights. The NRA believes the President’s plan to undermine their political influence by neutralizing voting gun

The NRA has managed to become a powerful gun lobby and influencer of the gun conversation through their deliberate propaganda that targets and in many ways lies about the 2nd Amendment. In 1977, through a shakeup within the NRA, the organization went from a group of hunters and sportsmen to a strong advocate for the right to bear arms. Catering to strong gun advocates, the NRA was able to become a very powerful and influential organization. By aggressively advocating for gun rights, and preying on Republican congressmen with many pro-gun constituents, they were able to build up a foundation of support, which they have now expanded into one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington. Nowadays, they promote the 2nd Amendment, but only the parts

There are many groups strongly against gun control. Some include: the Second Amendment Foundation, the Citizen's Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, the Gun Owners of America, and the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA, being the largest group, has over three million members and an annual budget of one hundred million dollars. Their suggestion is that we keep the laws we have and just enforce them with tougher sentences for anyone who uses a firearm to break a law. The NRA's slogan is "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have them." They often argue that "Guns do not kill people, people kill people." The NRA does not want any gun control laws or restrictions. The only laws they promote are preemption laws, which keep cities and localities from establishing and enforcing their own restrictive gun control laws and regulations without consent from the state.

The gun control lobby and some citizens at large who do not believe that anyone should own or carry a firearm are putting legal gun owners in danger (Chiaramonte, 2015).

Gun control is a frequently debated topic in the United States. It is often defined as any sort of law or regulation that restricts or forbids the use, the sale, or ownership of a firearm. People argue that because the constitution allows citizens the right to bear arms, that citizens should be allowed to carry weapons, however, this is often taken out of context. The Second Amendment says that citizens have the right to bear arms in an organized militia, “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. amend. II, section 8). Over the last few years, there have been many events that sparked additional debate about gun control. Numerous school shootings demonstrate that weapons need to be regulated and controlled.

The definition of gun control is “the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians.” With the horrific events that have occurred lately in our country, I believe that the laws on gun control are not strict enough. There are only a handful of people who cannot possess a gun, leaving millions of other individuals with the ability to own a firearm. Almost anyone can buy a gun, but not just “anyone” should be allowed to have one.