The Issue Of Gun Control

In America guns have been a part of the country’s society since it’s birth. Throughout history the citizens of the US have used firearms to protect the nation, protect their families, hunt for food and engage in sporting activities. The issue of Guns and gun control is complex. Weighing the rights and liberties of the individual against the welfare and safety of the public has always been a precarious balancing act. In the United States, gun control is one of these tumultuous issues that has both sides firmly entrenched in their positions. Those parties in favor of gun ownership and the freedom to use and keep arms, rely on the fact that the provision for such rights is enshrined in their constitution. In this climate of

A CQ Researcher Online article discusses that as more shootings have occurred, “public support for gun control has risen” (Lytle). While a large amount of Americans believe that there need to be stricter laws regarding guns, they are not easily passed. Journalist Sabrina Siddiqui of The Guardian discusses that after the San Bernardino, California shooting, Democrats and Republicans both tried to pass laws “to both strengthen background checks and prevent suspected terrorists from purchasing firearms”, but none of the bills passed (Siddiqui). This is because the majority of Congress is made of Republicans, who typically support the right to bear arms. Many Republicans are coerced into voting against gun control because they receive large amounts of donations from the National Rifle Association, who “planned to increase its spending from $40 million in the 2008 election cycles to as much as $75 million this year” (Lytle). Republicans seem to care more about the votes they get than the lives of many Americans that are at risk of being killed by a

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

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 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 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

Many people think that gun control laws pushed by the Democratic Party will help reduce the amount of guns bought, this a very big misconception. The gun laws that are in effect now require a background check and age requirement, but according to Junior Scholastic there are,”major holes in it. Perhaps the biggest is that many small-scale sellers, who claim to be "hobbyists," aren't required to conduct background checks” this example shows that nearly anyone can buy a gun and do not have to have a background check. Another reason why gun control does not work is that,”A criminal could also resort to a method other than a firearm”(NRA). Before this great country was created men used swords, axes, daggers, bows and many other types of weapons to inflict terror, murder, and other horrid acts. The guns and other weapons are not what kill

Having stated all of this information, it is imperative to choose what side of the gun control fence you stand on. Are you for gun control, or against it? A lot of the time people decide hastily without looking at both sides of the argument, or doing their own individual research before coming to a logical conclusion. When it comes to discussing how each major political party views this topic, it is often times easy to determine what position you defend or take on the issue because of the party you typically side with. The Democrats for instance often coincide with pro-gun control which not only favors strengthening gun control to reduce violence but also to reauthorize an assault weapons ban and close the gun show loophole that has been prevalent, especially in recent memory. The Republicans on the other hand are considered to tend to be more anti-gun control because of their policy on being able to obtain and store ammunition without registration, they also do not favor frivolous gun lawsuits and no federal gun licensing.

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

Gun control is such a divisive issue in our country for many reasons. One reason is that “Democrats and city dwellers tend to favor tighter gun restrictions, however Republicans and people in rural areas tend to favor protecting gun rights.” Another reason is that people who possess firearms think that a good person with a gun is the only way to stop a bad person with a gun. Also people who own guns protest that owning a firearm is a “natural right that they deserve either for hunting,

The second amendment: the right to bear arms, is arguably the most recognized out of all of the amendments. Yet the question to ask now is how relevant is the second amendment; and with their being a major difference between the current age, and the age of when it was written, should this amendment still exist or be should it be changed. In recent times, the issue of gun control has become an increasingly heated topic. Whenever a national tragedy occurs that involves gun violence, the question on what to do about America’s gun control takes center stage. Guns are a threat to the general welfare, which the government exists to

That is to say, the absence of mandatory background checks, and making gun licenses a legal requirement for the possession and/or ownership of firearms, will still facilitate the job of the mentally-ill and gangs to commit crimes. The problem is that the gun rights groups, whether the NRA or local advocacy groups all around the U.S, have a great distaste for compromise, and as result, passing such fair gun regulations becomes extremely difficult. But to frame it very clearly, the solution for the crime issue is neither banning guns completely nor giving full freedom for possession and ownership, it is simply the balancing gun rights with realistic restrictions that promote public safety. However, neither gun rights nor gun control advocacy groups acknowledge that fact although the data and studies support it. A deeper look into the development of gun rights and gun control agendas in the US beginning with the pre-Civil War era, explains why the two sides of the debate are so extreme about their ideologies.

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution 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." (1) Gun control is not one issue, but many. To some people gun control is a crime issue, to others it is a rights issue. Gun control is a safety issue, an education issue, a racial issue, and a political issue, among others. Within each of these issues there are those who want more gun control legislation and those who want less. On both sides of this issue opinions range from moderate to extreme. Guns are not for everyone. Certain individuals cannot handle a firearm safely, and some individuals choose to use firearms

Plaguing the nation, for quite sometime, has been the issue of gun control. Whether you are for gun control, or against it, almost everyone has an opinion on it. One organization, Moms Demand Action, has released a series of ads expressing their views on the issue. Released in April 2013, was a series of print ads entitled “Choose One,” in which a child is shown holding an assault weapon which is juxtaposed to another child holding an item that is banned in schools, but is not harmful. As stated above, the ads were released in April 2013, which was four months after the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting. It is no doubt that these ads were created in response to the shooting due to the location and the theme of the ad. The specific ad that will be covered is the one that features a young girl holding an assault rifle, and the other girl holding a copy of ‘Little Red Riding Hood.’ The ad is meant to illustrate the absurdity of the lax laws regarding gun regulations. Moms Demand Action achieved their goal by presenting a thought-provoking and shocking ad.

According to the Congressional Digest, the National Rifle Association (NRA) is noted as an organization, among many, that is a very prominent opponent in the debate for stricter gun laws. The NRA as well as many gun owners all over the country are opposed to stricter gun control laws simply because they believe that they will eventually result in blocking their capability of obtaining firearms as law-abiding, citizens and ultimately threaten or violate their Second Amendment right to “bear arms.” In contrast, an article in New Republic Magazine written by Akhil Reed Amar persuades readers to reexamine the Second Amendment with a narrow mind as he says gun