The Issue Of Gun Control Laws

Gun control has been a big topic for the past decade in the united states. These debates will rise and fall time in and time out after something horrific happens in the state. Anti-Gun supporters do not realize that it is extremely difficult to regulate something in the states that is a big portion of our economy.Would stricter gun laws change anything? So far statistically It has been proven otherwise one must consider how a citizen would defend themselves when they are faced with terror. How will they defend themselves if there are restrictions on guns? It seems that some states that have stricter gun laws are where the most shootings and also where more terrorists attack take place. It seems that gun control is only pushed when shootings gradually get worse and worse. But why are these anti gun groups not speaking up when police brutality happens or when a racial hate crime occurs? Anti-Gun groups do not look at the bigger picture and try to understand that it is more than guns. Gun control almost plays Zero role in murders

On Wednesday June 18, 2015 nine shot dead at a historical black church in Charleston, South Dakota and only a month later on July 16, 2015 in Chattanooga, Tennessee with five dead leaving citizens devastated. The past year contains more than 350 mass shootings, averaging 1.02 shootings per day and continuous growing number of deaths, multiple mass shootings around the world leaving dozens of victims in its path. There is no exact definition of mass shootings, but most sources believe it is when four or more people are shot in one location. Citizens in America are easily able to obtain a gun and the growing issue is whether this should change and stronger laws in place. Although citizens believe gun control laws take away second amendment and right to protect themselves, mass shootings are increasing yearly and action needs to happen to prevent the next attack.

In about every nation, gun control has always been an issue of controversy. Gun control laws are quite different from country to country, each possessing different requirements, specifications, and ordinances, so on and so on. What will be examined are the specified gun control laws in three international countries, ranging from Canada, Australia, and Japan, as well as a comparison and contrast of the the similarities and unique differences toward American gun control laws and those in other countries, and finally, the effects of having loose gun control laws. Unlike America, these countries possess stricter laws regarding gun control.

The United States has 88.8 guns per 100 people, or about 270,000,000 guns, which is the highest total and per capita number across the globe. The current public gun control debate in the United States seems to be placed on standby until it is sparked up by a major mass shooting. There were at least 126 mass shootings between January 2000 and July 2014.(pro). Opponents of more gun laws accuse supporters of using a horrific event to further a lost cause, saying that more laws would not have prevented the shootings. Advocates of more gun control often want more laws to try to prevent the mass shootings and call for smart gun laws and background checks . Pew Research Center did

The government has the responsibility to protect people. Currently, the gun violence has threatened the American public safety, people used gun to kill many people for their own interests. The United States constitution believes Americans have their own gun to protect themselves. Some people said guns will protect their life easily. Whether, America should have strict gun control laws or not bring about the debate in society.

The second amendment in the constitution has given American citizens the “right to bare arms”. Laws have been placed to restrict firearm ownership and rules have been set if you do own a firearm. Does placing these laws of ownership stop the crime or protect the citizens? These questions have been asked by many citizens and lawmakers when creating laws regarding gun control. However, the debate on gun control is nothing new. In 1924, Presidential candidate, Robert La Follete said, “Our choice is not merely to support or oppose gun control but to decide who can own which guns under what conditions.” This debate has been brought up multiple times still in modern day due to no one settling on laws regarding ownership of a firearm. Statistic rates show gun control laws in fact do work, so why haven’t law officials put these into act? School shootings are happening more; fear is being driven into citizens as they go about their daily life. Gun control laws need to be enforced by law officials in order to control the harm guns can bring to citizens.

Gun control has been a longstanding debate in many countries around the world. For centuries men were actually encouraged to arm themselves to protect their families and homes. Many countries have enacted gun control laws in order to contain violent crimes, with the Canadian government taking the first step in the late 1800s. In order to protect its citizens, Canada’s legislature implemented a series of laws, throughout several decades, restricting firearms and requiring gun registration. Although opponents say that their rights and freedoms are violated by such legislation, the ultimate goal is the safety of the Canadian people. Lawmakers were challenged with the task of preventing violence with firearms without infringing on the rights

On Thursday, October 1, 2015, Christopher Harper-Mercer, a 26 year old student who was armed with six guns, killed nine people in Umpqua Community College in Oregon. According to a report released by the F.B.I., mass shootings in the United States have risen drastically since 2000. Also, studies show that countries with higher rates of gun ownership have more mass shootings, an incident involves more than four victims of gun violence, but not include gang violence. The United States has 5% of the global population, but has the most population with people who own firearms. Because some people own multiple weapons; therefore, on average, there are about 89% of the U.S resident own guns, which also have 31% of mass shootings during 1966 to 2012. Gun control is a controversial issue that the people in the United States argue about. Some people want stricter gun laws for a safer environment, while others want to own guns for recreational or self-defense purposes. To find out if restricting people’s rights to own firearms will minimize the number of the mass shootings in the United States, I conducted some research with my group mates. Based on the news articles and scholarly articles, we found that restricting people’s rights to own guns can reduce the number of mass shootings, but not by much, because people who commit mass shootings will obtain the weapons illegally.

“The Second Amendment is timeless for our Founders grasped that self-defense is three-fold: every free individual must protect themselves against the evil will of the man, the mob and the state.” – Tiffany Madison

We live in a world of people infatuated with the idea that every theory has to be proven in order to be deemed valid or credible. That is what I will do in the span of this paper, restate the proven facts and integrate them in a way that will trigger a new viewpoint on the subject. Gun control is something that should be enforced across the world in order to save lives. In the United States there is a ratio of 88.8 guns per one hundred persons (GunPolicy.org). Those numbers award us with the highest total per capita number in the world. With that amount of firepower there needs to be an efficient way to regulate who exactly can purchase a gun. Since 1791 when the second amendment was ratified there have been many advancements in general technology especially in firearms. The main controversy associated with the gun control debate revolve around the different interpretations of the constitution. The amendment 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.” Keeping in mind that the guns in that time period were single-shot, made by a gunsmith, and fire by the means of a flintlock.

During presidential debates numerous controversial issues are discussed. Some of the controversial issues have been a topic of interest for ongoing years, furthermore; divide the populous of the nation. Aside from the stand on abortion, a never ending debate that can affect nearly every American is gun control. Both sides of gun control are equally adamant. The pro side, represented by the NRA, National Rifle Association continues to oppose gun policies primarily on the argument that restricting gun ownership is unconstitutional. However, gun control advocates argue that that violence is an epidemic across the country that is out of control. The second amendment to the constitution states that Americans have the right to keep and bear arms without government interference.

Sitting at dinner with my very outspoken Grandpa, my strong opinionated father, and my presumptuous mother, is often a time of stress for my sisters and I. When you put too many hardheaded people together there is bound to be a quarrel. “I don’t know why you think I don’t have the right to protect myself,” My Grandpa would ramble to no one in particular after hearing something in the background on the TV. Eying my sister, who clearly wanted to say respond but was kicked under the table by my mother, my mind began to wonder about the debate of gun control in our country. Being around my family who believe that there is no question to it, everyone should have the right to bear arm, I had never let my mind think of the opposing side of this until recently. I was able to come up with a few reasons why I personally believe that US citizens should maybe not have the right to bear arm, including the fear correlated with the gun itself, the state of mind of those carrying the weapon and how easy it is for a gun to fall into the wrong hands.

Gun control has been a major problem recently, in fact, in 1939 the Supreme Court ruled a case called “United States v. Miller.” This case states that the Second Amendment only protects guns suitable for a well-regulated militia. The Supreme Court has not had any other Second Amendment cases since 1939. However, the most recent ruling since 1939 was the Brady Bill, in 1994, which is a United States Federal law that requires a background check and five-day waiting period to determine whether the buyer of the handgun has committed a crime or no, but does not address the Second Amendment rights. Although, the Brady Bill period came to an end in November 1998. In 2008, the Supreme Court then ruled a case called, “District of Columbia v. Heller” confirming that the United States Constitution protects an individual 's right to keep and bear arms, but all handguns are required to be locked or disassembled when in homes. Two years later, Supreme Court ruled McDonald v. Chicago that states that local and state governments cannot prohibit handguns. Currently, gun dealers are required to use the national system to do a background check on all gun buyers, with an exception of antique guns. The system is setup to let the dealer know instantly if there is any reason the same cannot go through, which allows buyers to no longer having to wait to complete a purchase of a gun. However, over the past six years, there seems to be a drastic increase in conflicts dealing with gun control.

In recent years we have seen our nation be split on the issue of gun control. We have seen many violent shootings and innocent people dying because of gun violence. Some Americans believe we need strict gun laws to protect our children and ourselves from these horrific tragedies. Other Americans believes it is our rights as Americans to posses’ guns and we are entitled to that right in our constitution. There are also some Americans that are stuck in the middle and can see both sides but recent events have definitely caused this issue to be in national news weekly if not daily. The benefits of establishing better gun control in America has an unknown outcome but something needs to be done to protect the lives of our children and communities. Although I believe it is our right, as Americans, to posses a firearm, I now see that there could be many benefits to tightening gun regulations in our country.

“Gun control? We need bullet control! I think every bullet should cost 5,000 dollars. Because if a bullet cost 5,000 dollars, we wouldn’t have any innocent bystanders”. The comedian, Chris Rock, once said this funny but very intellectual quote. What Chris Rock suggests may be very unrealistic but why don’t we pay a closer attention to the message that he is trying to get across to us. The Second Amendment gives 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” (Bill of Rights). This amendment is very broad and has caused a separation of people in America on what exactly our Founding Fathers meant when they were creating the Constitution. There are Americans that believe that even though we have the right to bear arms, there should be certain restrictions /safety precautions that should be enforced with it. The opposing Americans believe that any restrictions that may be added to guns are “unconstitutional” and obstructs the amendment. Many people take a side without having a full understanding on what exactly is happening on in the United States of America when it comes to guns.