Gun control in the United States usually refers to a group of laws that affect a citizen's right to own and or carry a firearm of some type. The jurisdiction of these laws is a very con topic in the United States. The citizens are passionate about both sides of the issue. This makes establishing laws very difficult because there is an abundance of information that must be considered. Gun control is a very controversial topic with a vast amount of information accompanying it.
In United States history, 1791 sparked the controversy of gun control. Since 1791, the second amendment has protected the individuals right to keep and bear arms and went virtually unchallenged for decades. It wasn’t until 1837 that we saw the first gun laws. The state of
…show more content…
Then again, after the Civil War, “slave codes” were invented in the southern states to prevent African Americans from possessing firearms, which was later done away with the passing of the 14th amendment. The first federal gun control laws didn’t appear on the scene until the 1920s and 30s. Fully-automatic guns and advancements in technology forced congress to rethink the boundaries of gun control laws. Furthermore, in 1939, the Supreme Court declared without question that with the Second Amendment, personal gun ownership was not to be permitted. The rulings were ultimately sustained up until 2008 after which the Court decided that through the Constitution, individual’s did have a right to bear arms. After the deaths of Martin Luther, King, Robert Kennedy, and John F. Kennedy in the 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson won support for the passing of the
The whole gun control debate may have began after President John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963. Until about 1968, shotguns, rifles, handguns and ammo were sold over-the-counter, but that changed and it goes back further than that. We don't see it being dealt with by the government until 1791, when an amendment is made. The right to bear arms comes from the second amendment of the constitution, which 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." (U.S consititution). Almost two centuries later, the Gun Control Act of 1968 was set in motion. This act "...was enacted for the purpose of keeping firearms out of the hands of those not legally entitled to possess them because of age, criminal background, or incompetence." (Longley)
Gun control has recently brought a massive uproar to the United States after several tragedies combined mass murder with firearms. Some argue that guns are meant to be used for our protection and it takes someone to pull the trigger while others believe that guns are intended to cause serious harm or death to the intended target. The right to own a firearm stems from the second amendment of the constitution and states that a well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to bear arms, shall not be infringed. The first piece of gun control legislature that was passed in the United States was in 1911 when Sullivan’s Law passed to make buying or carrying a handgun without a permit a felony
When America first became a country branching away from Great Britain, firearms played a huge role. After the war, firearms were still an every day thing for civilians, using them for hunting and or self-defense. With the second amendment has come with a controversial topic when it comes to regulating guns in our country. This topic affects the United States nationally, as well as local state to state as they try to regulate how guns should be handled. From the core amendment values such as the second amendment have changed how the amendment is viewed overtime, so has the evolution of guns and how they are viewed in today’s society.
Listen, gun control laws are as old as America, reaching as far back as the early Colonial period. In fact, the first gun control law came less than one year after the endorsement of the 2nd Amendment. It was called the "Uniform Militia Act of 1792." This act was written so that every "able bodied white male citizen" between the ages of 18 and 45 had to be registered with the state militia and was required to "provide himself with a musket or firelock, a bayonet, and ammunition." It was not a question of whether or not you had the right to bear arms, but rather that you would be required to. This bit of history is significant for two reasons. First it shows the intent of our forefathers that every citizen was considered part of the militia, therefore, no citizen could have their right to bear arms restricted by the government. Second, the Act entitled "white males" as citizens (and thus, part of the militia) taking away the newly declared Constitutional rights of slaves and even free African-Americans.
It wasn 't until the 1960’s when gun control was brought back up, this time stronger than ever before. They used the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, and JFK to fuel their campaign against guns. This was the perfect time to go after the second amendment as modern liberalism had become the dominant political view in the country. It didn’t help that at this time the Vietnam war was taking place. This added to the dislike of guns as many people were against the war and violence.
American’s founding fathers have designed the United States Constitution to regulate how society should act accordingly. However, many at the time resented the Constitution, due to the lack that it presented the dilemma that the rights of individuals were nonexistent, so the Bill of Rights was created. Now, with gun control the Second Amendment has been overlooked. However, one must recognize that there was no official police force until the 1800’s, so it would provide a probable cause to have weapons allowed during that time period.
“Gun control laws are just as old or older than the Second Amendment (ratified in 1791). Some examples of gun control throughout colonial America included criminalizing the transfer of guns to Catholics, slaves, indentured servants, and Native Americans; regulating the storage of gunpowder in homes; banning loaded guns in Boston houses
Gun control in America dates all the way back to 1791, the year that the countries Bill of Rights was signed and put into place.(“Gun Control And Gun Rights”, 2015) This bill was put into place for numerous reasons, but mainly it was to better and help insure the people’s rights. One of the rights in this bill is the right to bear arms or the second amendment to the Constitution. This Right has been a challenging one as of late. The control of firearms has largely been because of events in the history of the nation of America and slightly from politicians and everyday people that just want to have a false sense of security and feel a little safer.
The first gun control law was passed in 1968, after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Having this law passed, many people became outraged because of restrictions on firearms. These restrictions could have cause decorative firearms to be put away or hidden out of sight; as well as a decrease in sales for the people that
Gun control has a history dating back to 1791, when the Second Amendment of the Constitution was ratified. However, more recently, the debate over gun control has escalated into a much more public issue to which many citizens can relate. After all, stories about incidents involving guns appear frequently today in newspapers and on television or the radio. One could say that the debate started with the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968, which banned ownership of guns by certain groups of people and regulated the sale of guns. Since then, two main groups have gradually appeared: people who oppose strict federal
The gun control/gun control debate is a hot topic in the United States and all over the world. It leaves us asking questions. Do guns have a negative effect on the United States? What happens if the US gets rid of guns forever? Will it make crime rates fizzle out? Would it lead to chaos and total anarchy or would crime rates go down? These are some of the questions that led to the profound debate on gun rights and gun control. Gun control in the United States is understood as the government 's regulation of selling, owning, and using guns. The whole gun control debate started buzzing shortly after November 22, 1963, when the assassination of President John F. Kennedy raised the public 's awareness of gun control. Before then, most states did not require permits to gun ownerships and guns could be bought over the counter and even through mail order catalogs. In fact, the rifle used by Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin, was purchased through a mail order at a low-cost of only $19.99. More leads for the anti-gun side includes the mass school shootings of Columbine and Sandy Hook. However, America 's first firearms policies went way back to the Second Amendment which was created in 1791. This amendment stated that: "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." Many would agree that the 2nd amendment does not apply to the ability to own a gun because the amendment has to do with
During the ageless dispute of gun rights versus gun control, many controversy measures have been taken. In 1791 the Bill of Rights was passed along with the second Amendment, “the right to bear arms.” After passing a law in
Gun control had been a phenomenal issue in our country. In December 15, 1791 the second amendment established in the top ten amendments in the Constitution by James Madison. The amendment stated that people have a rights to bear arm to protect themself, their loved ones and their property. To legally get a gun you have to be 21 years old and over, without
In an article, The Second Amendment Timeline, the author states, “Throughout time, there will be multiple provisions and laws to interpret the amendments of history.” First, in 1934, the National Firearm Act was enacted to try and eliminate the private ownership of firearms. This was put in place to help prevent gangster violence through a $200 tax excise on guns. Then next act was the Federal Firearm Act in 1938. This act made it a requirement to be a licensed dealer to sell or ship firearms. A more recent act, the Brady Act of 1994, necessitates that you have a five-day waiting period and background check for the sale of handguns. This act also had a ban on multiple rifles and guns defined as assault weapons. And till this day history keeps making new paths through the Second Amendment.
The debate over gun control in the U.S today is not merely as welcomed today as it was in the early 1700’s because of controversy, misunderstanding of the law, and the danger guns cause. In 1791 James Madison had written the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights makes up the first 10 amendments in the Constitution. Madison had to create this Bill of Rights in order to win over the state of New York in order to rewrite the Constitution himself. The right to keep and bear arms is the second amendment in our Constitution. This law itself has always been a major priority and issue since it was created, and it is still a large issue today.