Gun Control in America

The NRA (National rifles Association), for example, has made no secret of its decision to not accept any compromise on the issue of gun control. It has been threatening legislators that it will work for their defeat in the primaries, if they do not toe the line of the NRA. The threat seems to be working, with some legislators making attempts to change the rules in such a way that organizations like the CDC will not be able to study gun violence. One remarkable thing about the gun control debate is that though this debate has been carried on for the past few decades ever since gun control became a serious issue after President Kennedy was gunned down by an assassin, it has been able to sustain the interest of the people. People have listened to many gun control pros and cons but somehow, people engaging in

The second amendment states that right to keep and bear arms. This law has been etched in the United States history for centuries thus creating the highly popularized debate whether they should be gun control laws. Members and advocates of the National Rifle Association would argue against gun control. Their aim is to shift the focus away from guns and their destructive potential but instead have people focus on the criminal and shift the argument to them being mentally incapable or suggest that there is a lack of security within schools (Henigan 2009). Voices of the NRA do make valid points, however it prevents them from seeing the bigger picture. We as a society have drifted from the crux of the issue, which is, when put simply, guns are dangerous. In America, guns are extremely dangerous. Anyone who chooses to Google “gun violence statistics” and find the official research study done by the National Institute of Justice it would show you that 15 of the 25 worst mass shootings in the last 50 years took place in America. It also vividly reminds us of how guns are easily obtained. The mass shootings that took place in America over the last

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)

People and organisions like the NRA fights for our gun rights every time they try to pass laws on gun control. Once they begin banning one type of gun they will start banning other types of guns. In California they have ban assault weapons (the ultimate assault weapon). They are now trying to ban the .50 cal. Rifle in the assault weapon ban because they say it is a sniper rifle (the ultimate assault weapon). Although bills like these do not pass it does not prevent law makers from trying to slip them in.

According to the documentary Under the Gun directed by Stephanie Succhtig gun control laws are lacking in America because of the instilled fear in congress brought on by the National Rifle Association (NRA). Gun control is a very controversial topic in America currently but because of all the recent killings action needs to be taken in order to prevent/slow down the rate at which these tragic events happen. One surprising fact that jumped out to me while watching the documentary was that a person placed on the terror watch list has free access to purchase a gun but they cannot ride an airplane. That fact really surprised me and it also shook me towards action because it made me realize how unbalanced the current laws are. I started to question why we have not changed the current laws in America over all of the recent mass shootings events in America. According to Succhtig, “The National Rifle Association (NRA) is controlling through fear in congress which allows them to get their way” (Succhtig). The NRA threatens the congress by claiming they won’t be reelected if they go against the NRA. Under the Gun was a very compelling and powerful documentary that really got me started on the whole gun control debate. The documentary effectively persuaded me to believe that the current laws that are set in place are failing and are not full

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 American people are sick and fed up with what assault weapons have done. The American people have come to realize what these weapons are doing on our streets. They are saying, enough, is enough, is enough." (Gibbs, 1993) Many Americans believe that gun control should be improved and the regulations made more stringent. However, the National Rifle Association (NRA) has a most formidable lobby, and lobbing campaign, which up until this time, has presented past Presidents from initiation gun control laws.

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 NRA is a powerful organization that has a long, illustrious history of advocating gun rights and the second amendment. The nonprofit organization was founded in November of 1871 by William Conant Church and George Wood Wingate, and has educated and informed its members on gun-related legislation and policy since the mid-1930s after the first federal gun-control law was passed. By the mid-1970s, however, the NRA has directly

The NRA spends a large amount of money on lobbying in order to protect the peoples right to bear arms. A common lobbying technique they use is hiring former legislators and government official in order to gain access to policy makers through friendships and personal connections. According to the Journal of Political Science & Public Affairs the NRA spent $3,360,000 on lobbying in 2014 (Journal website). After the Sandy Hook Shooting took place the initial response from the government was to make the gun law stricter, but the NRA wanted no changes made. The NRA’s lobbyist seemed to have “persuaded” enough government official, because no change was made. Clearly the victims and their family member of the shooting were at a loss when the government failed to change any gun

From 1975 until the DC vs Heller ruling in 2008, the Firearms Control Regulations Act was in place, which banned residents of DC from owning handguns, automatic firearms, or high-capacity semiautomatic weapons. Since then, very little gun legislation has been passed at all. In fact, since the horrific Newtown shooting that occurred in 2012, not a single piece of legislation has been passed on guns. While conservatives might feel sorry for the victims, they realize that many conservatives, like Joe the Plumber (the Ohio workingman who gained prominence in the 2008 election), who once said, “Your dead kids...don’t trump my constitutional rights”, would stop voting for them if they tried to implement gun control policies. Many on the right claim that gun control is an effort not just to regulate guns, but to completely ban them. This is an effective scare-tactic used to get their constituents angry at the Democrats. But gun regulation and gun bans are two very different things. Data shows us that there are certain groups of people who should never be allowed to own a gun. This includes those who have prior offenses of violence, those who are mentally ill, suspected terrorists, and people who have children living in their home. However, there are people who can make a reasonable claim to needing a gun, and they shouldn’t be denied that right. For example, people in very rural areas, without much access to the protection provided by public safety officials should have the right to own a gun if they demonstrate they are able to use one properly. Also, hunters and people who have obtained restraining orders against those who have threatened them with violence might make a case for their right to own a gun. Most gun control advocates don’t want to take away guns from everyone, they

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.

There are many special interest groups that associate themselves specifically with gun control. Each stance people take on the issue has some sort of interest group to defend the people and their beliefs. Simply, people that think that there should be more restrictions on who has the ability to carry a weapon and the controls on accessing weapons or those who feel there are too many restrictions on weapons. The NRA, or National Rifle Association, is one of the largest proponents of the right for individuals to protect themselves and bear Arms (NRA). Whereas, the Brady Campaign is a group that pushes for tighter restrictions on gun control and their goal is to help reduce the amount of deaths caused by guns each year (Brady Campaign). The overall objective of special interest groups is establishing some sort of platform that many local citizens can associate themselves with in

The nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization is under attack, but why? That’s what is going on right now with the NRA and the issues that they are defending. Ever since the NRA was founded, it has been doing things to help out the people of this country and to shape the country itself. There are so many controversies that are going on today in politics that are the center of the NRA’s philosophy. The NRA does a lot for the people of this country by impacting the lives of millions of Americans, through its many organizations. Not to mention, the NRA is a non-profit organization and would not be able to make this impact without the help of others. The NRA’s biggest stance is the Second Amendment. It is their primary focus to do

For many years, people have been pushing the American government to implement new laws that deal with gun control. Supporters of the argument claim that increased gun control will drastically reduce the crime rate in America. Nevertheless, a majority of gun control arguments are formed from strict control of data and emotional appeal. The mainstream media picks up these stories and broadcasts them to viewers without providing any context to them. While gun control activists assert that gun control is necessary, the American government should not ban guns because of the following reasons: potential vulnerability of innocent people being shot at by criminals and the inability for people to defend themselves against their own government.