The Pros And Cons Of Gun Control

In the current year, many things have changed in the political world with some of them being welcomed by all and others not as much. While this paper is not specifically about the people holding political offices, I feel as though it is important to view their influence in these issues. The policy that I am going to discuss in this paper is gun control as I feel it is a hotly debated issue in the country today, especially after the incidents we have had throughout the recent years.

Last year, then-Republican candidate Carly Fiorina claimed that states with strict gun laws had “the highest gun crime rate in the nation” (Robertson, 2015). The following month, President Barack Obama stated that states with stricter gun laws “tend to have the fewest gun deaths” (Robertson, 2015). The West might have been won with a Smith & Wesson, but in our modern society guns are the subject of much debate. While some groups push for fewer guns and more gun control, others insist that increased gun control leads to increased crime. Both sides cite statistics in support of their views, yet experts who have reviewed the same data have concluded that the data is inconclusive. The contenders on both sides don’t ever address the other factors that contribute to crime, such as poverty, racial tensions, a strained and overworked police force, and the deterioration of family social structure. As a nation, we need to move beyond the never-ending debate over gun control. We need to work out a compromise that will help law enforcement put a stop to these terrible mass shootings while preserving Second Amendment rights.

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." Courts have universally agreed, however, that the right provided by the Second Amendment is not absolute and that many kinds of gun legislation designed to protect public safety remain valid ("Gun Safety & Public Health," 2013). The ongoing debate between the gun rights versus gun control has caught more attention as number of cases involving gun violence increased significantly. In one study, it stated that major mental illnesses are associated with increased risk of violent act. In recent years, there were several news headlines on

“Gun are designed to kill. They have no other function” (Bowman and Newton). Today, there is a major debate whether or not guns should be legalized or stay legal. The Second Amendment allows people to right to bear arms, but many people disagree with that and to express their opinions, both sides protest. Guns have a long history in the United States. They were made for military purposes and are now used for anything a individual wants to use it for, like for example hunting. Stricter gun control laws should be enacted because they will cause fewer deaths, save money, and for increased public safety.

As opponents against gun control have numerous reasons as to why guns should not be restricted amongst the American public but pointed to the Second Amendment to the United Constitution as the main reason why gun control should not be permitted in the U.S. However, what these critics do not want to accept is that since 1980, several crucial events in the United States have led to excessive gun control movement. Remarkably, it takes a lot more than one appalling catastrophe to influence Americans that more attention should be taken into monitoring the number and types of guns the public can get access to. However, some major shooting calamities in the U.S such as assassination attempts on President Reagan’s, Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook have all triggered majority of Americans to take a stance in favor of gun control legislation. The first key push in the direction of the gun control movement begun during the era of Ronald Reagan presidency since he happened to be of one of the most “pro gun” presidents in American history.

Gun Control has been a long debated, and hot topic among the American population for many decades. The 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution states that, “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”. Both sides of this debate have very logical arguments for increasing gun control or lessening gun control. These arguments tend to spike shortly after active shooter events, eventually having some type of legislature passed to prevent these atrocious acts from happening. But ultimately active shooter events continue to plague the United States, and much of the world.

The argument of gun control has always been a focal point of many politicians and concerned citizens. The current argument is based on a foundation that is hundreds of years old, and is one that reflects on the contemporary values of our society to this day. During what is now referred to as the constitutional convention of 1787, the United States enacted a series of laws that protected the people of the United States of America. The protections that were granted to us, became known as the constitution. In 1789, Virginia Representative James Madison introduced a series of proposed amendments to the newly ratified U.S. Constitution in a document known as The Bill of Rights. The most controversial of these rights commonly referred to as the 2nd amendment, it 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” (billofrightsinstitute.org).This text has been the focus scrutiny by both state and federal government, as well as politicians that are looking to align their ideals with the views of the people. Many would argue that, with the evolution of firearms, the historic amendment to the constitution shall be considered null and void; or, that this amendment was referring to long guns such as rifles or muskets, and that with the development of high capacity magazines and fully automatic rifles, criminals will take to the streets to wreak havoc on anyone in sight. However, the argument that needs to be considered, is whether or not the current legislation that is being proposed by Democratic party is actually going to prevent crime, or allow it the opportunity to flourish.

“I have a very strict gun control policy: if there is a gun around, I want to be in control of it” (Clint Eastwood). Every year according to ATF statistics, over six million guns are sold on average in the United States alone. As of 2015, gunviolencearchive.org reported 46,350 incidents related to firearms. Out of those incidents 11,664 deaths were attributed by a firearm. “Staggering numbers on both fronts with no resolution in site. The second 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” many have challenged this right, and it has become one of the most controversially debated subjects to date.

The gun control controversy initiated in the 2010's after the amount of mass shootings in the United States began to rise exponentially. The shocking amount of gun related incident sparked a desire for more control. Two arguments are based on what restrictions should be active when buying a gun. These restrictions are formally known as gun control. According to New York Times, gun control is defined as: "a broad term that covers any sort of restriction on what kinds of firearms can be sold and bought, who can possess or sell them, where and how they can be stored or carried, what duties a seller has to vet a buyer, and what obligations both the buyer and the seller have to report transactions to the government." Recently, the debate has no clear winner, with both sides having loads of facts and statistics to support their claim. Throughout this expository, you will discover the advantages and disadvantages of higher gun control, and the effect that guns have on crime rates.

The handgun control debate demonstrates, a division into two sharply contrasting groups or sets of opinions or beliefs. In parts, of the country, shooting and hunting are a way of life for others they have no use in everyday life. Many people believe the gun violence problem could be fixed by passing stricter gun laws. This sparked a national conversation on gun control because mass shootings are becoming common in today's society. Many businesses are introducing universal background checks, and barring gun sales to people convicted of violent offenses. Gun control solutions are deeply divided along political lines. Gun control ownership vs protecting gun rights is the main deliberation. I believe in a society with hundreds of cultures, differences and arguments can arise out easily. It's best to control gun ownership rather than protecting the right of Americans to own guns. Guns give people power, with power inevitably becomes abuse. When President Obama called for new gun restrictions, the majority of gun owners feared that the federal government wanted to take away their right to own firearms; that increased

Gun control, it’s a common topic that gets thrown around debates very often, whether the second amendment should remain legal or it should be banned in the United States. I, among many law abiding citizens, prefer to keep the second amendment within our government just like it has been since our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. However, with this law still in place, it also means anybody over a certain age, depending where they live in the United States, can buy a gun. This puts me on edge because not everybody in our nation is a very self-controlling person, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, religion, and so on. This brings back those tragic moments in our generation such as the Newtown School Shooting, where a man walked into an elementary and shot little boys and girls, and also teachers. Or that time when the man shot many innocent bystanders inside the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando with a rifle and handgun. That is why there should be strict background checks for anyone who is going to buy a firearm, because it’s important to know just who exactly is going to buy a gun.

"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." - The Bill of Rights.“The 21st century” a backdrop for the War On Terror, has since changed that view on the right to bear arms enough to call for major gun reform. Orlando, Florida 50 killed and 53 injured June 12, 2016. San Bernardino, California 16 killed and 24 injured December 2, 2015. The media slanders two weapons of so called “terror”, the infamous AK-47 and the AR-15. The AK-47 a soviet made weapon a by product of the cold war, and the AR-15 a weapon invented to combat the AK-47. Both weapons are used in many mass shootings, in fact the New York Times calls both assault rifles

Although I did not agree with the article How Gun Control Advocates Could break the NRA’s Blockade by Ronald Brownstein, it states some points that were hard to refute about gun control and that helped shape my argument. My stance on gun control is that we should not ban guns as a whole, but have more of a centralized approach on how people can obtain a gun. Being an American citizen allows you with certain alienable rights that are outlined by the Bill of Rights. We as a nation were given these rights at the creation of our great nation based on the fact that all men were created equal. Some of the rights that are given include things such as, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and the right to bear arms. The Bill of Rights was made because they wanted to place specific limits on government power. The author of the article is suggesting that we as a nation should ban all types of guns. This topic of banning guns or not banning guns is important because in recent events there has been a lot of mass shootings that have ended lives too early. These mass shootings are becoming more and more common the number of people that have been killed by guns within the last year has been four hundred and sixty-one. Also, there have been over three hundred mass shootings in the last 477 days.

The United States is known as a country that has a variety of different gun laws within it. Many civilians have been able to easily gain access to guns throughout America. “The Federal government started its gun control policies in response to the waging wars of the gangs in 1934 with the National Firearms Act of 1934” (Tim). However, that act was only toward short-barrel firearms and machine guns. The inconsistent enforcement of gun laws has caused controversy about crime rates, an effect on economic variables, and has created a public safety issue.

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.