Shootings often cause many to reflect on gun control laws. Some wonder whether it would be better for gun control laws to be stricter so that there are less guns while others wonder if they would be safer if more people around them carried guns for self-defense. Many debate whether the second amendment protects individuals to bear arms or only the state militia to bear arms for the security of the state. In the McDonald v. Chicago case, the supreme court ruled that the right to individuals to bear arms is protected by the second amendment. (7) Although this clearly states the fact the individuals can bear arms, the Gun Control laws need to be stricter throughout the United States by only allowing responsible citizens to own guns. The Second Amendment in the U.S Constitution states: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right to the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” (8) In the District of Columbia v. Heller case, the Supreme Court decided that the second amendment confers upon an individual right to keep and bear arms. (5) Despite the Supreme Court’s interpretation of this amendment, there is still a need for regulation within this right we have. (1) According to the 2014 annual report by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, there are more than 54,026 federally licensed firearm dealers in the United States. To buy a gun legally, you need to purchase the weapon from a federally licensed firearm dealer.
What makes gun control reform even more difficult is that many Democrats themselves can’t support gun control without risking their seats. Many representatives or senators come from districts and states that vote Democrat for different reasons, such as union strength in the Midwest or rising immigration numbers in the Southwest. However, states like Wisconsin, Florida, or New Mexico also are strong supporters of guns, putting Democratic lawmakers in a precarious position (Scher 2017). This split in the party makes it nigh on impossible for bills to get anywhere. Indeed we saw this to be true after the Sandy Hook shooting. Senator Dianne Feinstein has been a passionate advocate for gun control nearly her entire tenure as a Senator, becoming one of the leading Democratic senators in the push for gun control (Friedman 2013). Feinstein represents a state where gun control measures such as assault weapons bans are extremely popular (California), so there is no constituent fear from her to back off gun control (Wheaton 2017). After the Sandy Hook shooting, Senator Feinstein introduced a new Assault Weapons bill to replace the previous one which had expired in 2004. It made the sale, manufacture, or transfer of 150 semi-automatic weapons illegal, which had features like magazine releases and thumbhole stocks, restricted large capacity magazines, and used a one feature test to determine whether or not a gun was an assault weapon (Feinstien 2013). Democratic majority leader Harry
Every day in America an average of 93 are killed people due to gun violence. One of the biggest concerns today in American policy is gun control. This is a very controversial and complicated topic for both pro-gun and anti-gun supporters. American policy makers need to make it harder for the wrong people to obtain firearms and the fact that Second Amendment and gun control can co-exist. Mental illness constantly emerges in relation to mass shootings and shooters a like, as well as day to day homicides and suicides. America doesn’t necessarily have more crime then other developed countries the crime is just much more lethal. Right-wing Republicans constantly use the Second Amendment as shield to use firearms, the fact is the document is
Guns laws in America are one of the most controversial topics today that are dividing many U.S. citizens. Many people are ignorant to what new gun laws will enforce and what statistical data shows about gun violence. Future Gun laws will be used to control guns in America, making it restricted to own and buy weapons. Although some people say that stricter gun laws will protect people more than concealed carry laws, the reality is that concealed carry laws allow individuals to better defend themselves and their families.
of sixty-two mass shootings done by Mother Jones, about forty-nine of the weapons were bought legally! Twelve of were obtained through illegal methods, and the last one was unknown (Follman). Whether mentally fit or not, loose gun control laws allow those untrustworthy to buy guns and possible commit heinous acts.
December 15, 1791, the day America’s Bill of Rights was ratified, was the day the initial infrastructure for our country’s basic rights were established. Since then, firearms have been a highly deliberated topic. Even today, the debate over whether we, as a country, should institute stricter gun laws continues to be an ongoing conversation throughout social media, the press, and within our governing bodies. But, since the approval of the Bill of Rights, gun laws have continued to be restricted in order to protect the lives of citizens who reside in America. The initial catalyst for more rigid gun laws was the horrific assassination attempt of Ronald Reagan, which also brought injury upon James Brady who, due to this incident, later became an advocate for gun laws. Ronald Reagan’s potential rendezvous with bloodshed brought about the initiation of Brady’s law as a safeguard to prevent another incident of this kind from besieging our country.
In recent years, there have been many stories of shootings taken place across various parts of the United States, all of which bring up the highly volatile topic of gun control. Unlike many other wealthy countries, such as the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and Australia, where gun ownership is strictly regulated, by in large-the US has very little universal gun control laws throughout the nation. This great controversy is based on the Constitutional right of the Second Amendment, stating, “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.” Though this is a Constitutional right, unlike many other Amendments, understanding they were written in
Strict gun laws lead to more gun violence and crime in America. Guns are very dangerous and can be used for harmful reasons, but guns can also be good for America and can be used for protection and safety. These issues are very serious and can be detrimental which leads to the question, should our nation's gun laws be changed.
Gun control is a highly controversial issue with each proponent (Pro vs. Con) providing statistics and facts supporting their standpoint. However, in the past several decades, advocates supporting gun control have significantly suffered with state’s enacting concealed carry legislation. The Constitution of the United States of America, the Second Amendment, is one of the most prevalent issues in government. To further reduce their stance, recent court decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), has reassured citizens that their Second Amendment rights shall not be infringed upon by any government entity. The Second Amendment of the United States 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.”
With gun related crimes steadily increasing, the spotlight has been on a solution to cease firearm problems. Firearms have been around for hundreds of years, and they are included in self-defense, sport, show, and unfortunately crime. The danger of the situation immediately escalades when there is a firearm involved. A plan to fix these issues has been talked about and looked at throughout the recent years, but there are many different aspects you have to look at when trying to find a solution for this problem. However, not all gun related situations are at fault, for most people follow the law, using and collecting the guns for sporting, collecting, and self-defense purposes. The second amendment in the constitution gives citizens of the United states the right to bear arms. Areas of concern that can be focused on to prevent future danger in firearm situations are gun control laws, process undergone
From 1988 to 2001, the usage of anti-depressant drugs in the general public increased by four-hundred percent (Swanson). The mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary took place in December of 2012, and during 2014, firearms were used in 88 percent of teen homicides, and 41 percent of teen suicides (“Suicidal Teens”). On February 28th, 2017, the Trump administration repealed a firearms regulation that prevented mentally disabled persons from owning guns. At the same time, teenage mental illness is on the rise, specifically in cases of depression and anxiety. A report from the Surgeon General shows that over 90 percent of adolescents that committed either suicide or homicide have or had a mental disability. Mental disabilities such as depression and anxiety put teenagers at a high risk for homicides and suicides. Teenagers who are stressed due to school, lack of parenting, puberty, bullying, and other factors can develop depression, anxiety or another mental illness. Allowing these teens easy access to firearms proves time and time again to be very dangerous. In some cases, the families of these teens have never been assessed to see if they can responsibly store firearms. The only background check performed is on the owner of the firearm, meaning that a person may own the weapon even if another family member living with them legally cannot. Loose gun control laws allow families with physiologically ill children to have access to firearms, without first checking to see if the disabled children in the home are responsible enough to be around said firearms. Repealing gun control laws instated by the Obama administration will cause an increase in adolescent firearm-related homicides, suicides, and tragedies similar to the one at Sandy Hook Elementary.
On October 1st 2017, Steven Paddock shot and killed 58 people at a country music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over the course of 12 minutes, Paddock committed the worst mass shooting in modern American history. We must honor the victims and respect their memory, but we have to ask ourselves what we will do to prevent this in the future. The first and completely valid response to that question is enacting stricter gun control, but there is much more than that. We can increase funding for mental health treatment, we can take stricter security measures at hotels and concerts, however there is something major that needs to be changed that hardly ever gets talked about. It’s something that we are used to, that we have seen all throughout our
Recently, mass shooting is happening everywhere across the country once in a while, notably in Las Vegas and Texas. And even on our campus, a Soka alumni was arrested for threatening a “killing spree” last Friday. The debate about the gun control has been a hot issue throughout the history of the United States, yet during the interview after the mass shooting in Texas, President Trump responded "we could go into the gun control policy], but it's a little bit too soon.", and called the shooter a "very deranged individual" with "a lot of problems over a long period of time" rather than calling him a terrorist. The right to bear arms is one of the unique features in the American society. Only in the United States, Guatemala, and Mexico clearly states the right to bear arms in their constitution. The Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States 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 control for who? Given the recent tragedy in Las Vegas, Nevada, where a lone gunman killed over 50 people and injured hundreds, the discussion of gun rights a dispute in the country’s storied culture wars will fail in any substantial changes to current laws. While I strongly dislike hearing of senseless deaths, especially when they seem preventable with proper legislation, however I know of gun control problematic racist past; not everything is black or white.
As everyone knows, especially those who themselves have attended in a college environment, many students are often young adults who go through a number of new experiences: for some, paying their own bills for the first time, building new relationships, and indulging themselves in the new opportunities that are now open to them, all of which comes with a severe amount of stress; it is also common knowledge that stress hinders an individual's thought process and judgment. With this, it is important to understand that in times of tension, students are often pushed to do things they unfortunately regret. There have been times where, even before the law was passed, that a handgun was found on campus, although a majority of these findings were in order for individuals to protect themselves and ended without worry, others did not end in peaceful negotiations and some even managed to ascend into all-out shootings. Although many individuals turn and ask, “what if I want to defend myself” or “if any other bystander had access to a gun, they could have stopped the shooter before the scene escalated”, many of these people don’t realize that there are many options other than a gun to protect and disarm a perpetrator. This can be done in a number of ways including using a taser, defense spray, or even self-defense techniques.
How many people have to die before this world will let go of these dangerous weapons? The Chinese invented gunpowder in the 9th century which lead to the creation of guns. A repeating firearm is a firearm that holds more that one cartridge and can be fired more than once between chargings. Gun control should be enforced more because it will help prevent violence, it can help stop crime, and although some people may argue that gun control should not be enforced because guns can help save people’s lives but they are wrong because people misuse guns.