The Pros And Cons Of Gun Control

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

The second amendment states 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.” taking away our second amendment takes away our protection that was given to the people in the original rights of the constitution. Gun control has been a topic of controversy since the New Deal in which the National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Federal Firearms Act of 1938 were enacted. Although some forms of gun control are useful such as background checks and the National Firearms act of 1938, people should not be limited by concealed carry permits or open carry laws. American citizens should not be restricted from the type of firearm they are allowed to buy, how they use them, or where they keep them unless it is unconstitutional.

“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.

Gun control is a ongoing topic in American history that different people with different religious, political and social views have. The three articles that will be explained and argued against in this paper is all making the argument that if more gun control was implemented in today's American society then the violent crimes will shorty drop following the control of firearms. Gun control makes easy prey out of law-obeying people, who lawfully live in America. If criminals want to perform a crime, they will do so, whether or not they can get a firearm. It is illegal to drive drunk, yet people still do it. Marijuana is illegal, yet people still buy, sell and smoke it. Why would someone who does not exactly follow the law against murder

Gun control legally measures to license, control, or restrict the ownership of firearms by members of the public. In Virginia it is legal for anyone at the age of 18 to carry a handgun without a permit withstanding other applicable laws. Many people believe that you should not be able to have a firearm and that gun control should have tighter laws to protect America and our community, but I believe that having gun control and having laws on guns put us all in danger and make it a harder to protect our loved ones as well as ourselves.

Lastly, a major component to the right to bear arms comes from the interpretation of the Second Amendment to represent an individual’s rights to bear arms not only for individual protection but also for the protection of tyranny from a government. Previously in the United States the idea that the Second Amendment was meant to protect this right, was only one that shared by fringe individuals however, in recent years this has become a more legitimate argument. It appears that on a daily basis the government may be corrupt and many American citizens doubt if they can trust the government at all. David Welna, of National Public Radio wrote an article referencing the idea that tyranny is now a mainstream idea. He explains that in the aftermath

On January 5th, 2016, an emotional President Obama broke down in tears as he introduced new gun control executive orders. He was clearly upset at the amount of innocent people whose lives had ended by being shot. The image of his emotions made many Americans realize: are our current laws not enough? Although gun violence has been on a steady decline for the last few decades, the U.S. is still the global leader in gun violence and ownership, according to U.S. News(McPhillips). Some people do not like that title associated with their country, so they push for gun control laws. Ideally, the best way to end gun violence is to abolish the 2nd Amendment, and illegalize guns. However, that would be an unheralded task. Banning guns would be impossible.

Gun control is a very highly debated topic in today’s day and age. With all the recent mass shootings, supporters call for more gun control and even for the government to ban "assault weapons". Supporters of a ban say that assault weapons are classified as weapons with one or more military features such as a high capacity clip or a folding stock (Lott 1). Opponents argue that this will take defense weapons out of the hands of law abiding but it will do little for stopping criminals. Mental health also plays a large role in the debate as almost 60% of mass shootings are conducted by someone who has history of being mentally ill (Lott 1). In this paper I will go further into the gun debate topic to try and further your knowledge on assault weapons.

When asked the question from a survey done by the Pew Research Center on how they feel about the homicide rate in the United States, 56 percent of the public said that it was increasing and violent crime was getting worse. The truth is that although violent crime still seems to be happening more and more often, it is actually on the decline of 49 percent since its peak in 1993. The reasons why people feel otherwise about homicides has to do with the increased media coverage of homicides and mass shootings. This coverage usually includes biased opinions to increase viewer ratings and promote their political party’s views instead of using their soapbox that they are on, to do what the news was originally meant to do, tell the facts. Because of

Gun control is a difficulty situation in the United States right now. The way people are using the guns is creating a huge controversy. They are being wrongly used for hate crimes, and some times misjudgments by police officers. Some may argue that having a gun in possession is the best way to secure yourself. There are many people mishandling guns, and also do not own a gun license making them a nuisance to society. Benjamin Franklin is one if the most influential people of his time. He transformed society with reasons and beliefs. Franklin’s account of virtues contribute to modern day preservation of one’s self. The 10 commandments are basically the guide for law enforcement in modern society. It advises people that having a gun is unjust and a danger to society. To address gun control, the Ten Commandments give to people a sense of order, while Franklin’s virtues tell the people to live life with good morals.

One of the most fascinating policy issues that have peaked my interest in the last few years is gun control. Not because of liking or disliking guns. Not because of liking or disliking control. But because of the struggle governmental control is having through our means of regulation. When we think of gun control, we often think about the black and white debate of where one may sit on the topic. It's very difficult to take an objective approach regarding the topic; lobbyists tend to look at facts in which will support a specific argument and bias. Looking at it from that perspective, a valid argument can be made for both sides. For an example, we can compare two different countries where both have "proof" for both sides of the argument. Then it's easy to say, "in country X, gun violence is low because of strict gun laws" or "in country X, gun violence is low because of the protective benefit."

A famous quote by an artist name Philip Cook once said “ If you introduce a gun into a violent encounter, it increases the chance that someone will die.”(P.C.) As well as he further stated that there are “Only 80,000 to 82,000 defensive uses of guns during assaults, robberies, and household burglaries.”(P.C.)In a survey that was said that "Private firearms may be used in self defense with up to two and a half million times each year, with approximately 400,000 of those defenders believing that using a gun at the time of them doing self defense certainly saved a life".( U.C.)

Automatic weapons are supposed to be used for things like self defense and hunting, but some people prefer to use them differently. A special type of gun called the AR-15 is exceptionally dangerous because of the type of bullet it uses. According to (Green tip)“ a special bullet called the M855 is used in the AR-15”. The reason this is a problem is because the M855 is a special bullet that can pierce through armour. This is especially dangerous to police officers because their bullet proof vests do not stop this bullet. Automatic weapons and guns must not be legal because they are used in shootings and crimes and the automatic weapons stimulate violence.

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.