Take away all registered guns in America and abolish the second amendment and now America is the least violent country in the world? That’s the opposite of what my family NRA (National Rifle Association) card holding friend would say he simply disagrees. (Babcock) “You would leave the general American public defenseless against all the criminals that would still possess firearms.” (Babcock). It’s an obvious problem facing the American society today. “America is the most violent nation in the Western World” (Strahinich 23). The gun violence problem in America is not with the firearms themselves, but with the violent people that use them.
Here I focus on the two most extreme views of gun control in this document and then add in my own opinion. It‘s mostly about the two extremes of gun control, abolishing the second amendment entirely or still keep one of the most important pieces on the bill of rights. “If you let one side give an inch it won’t stop until it has a mile.” (Babcock) He says that if you don’t have the two extremes in this debate then too much will be given to one side. I agree with this, but I think that there are many just reasons to own a firearm. I believe something needs to be done with the gun violence in the America I just don’t know actually what though.
Should we abolish the Second Amendment in order to reduce gun violence in America? Even if all guns were taken away there would still be violent crimes in America. In the article The Unrealistic Goals of Gun Control, there is an argument that there are several uncontrollable details as flaws in taking away all registered guns. In the U.S., For example, if guns are removed bad people will still find ways to commit crimes with or without guns (Wilson 1). I bel...
... middle of paper ...
...ules and monitoring can and will help with the lowering of violence in America. Now it’s ridiculous, in my mind, to not have a moderate view on most things especially this, because either side of the spectrum seems too harsh and closed minded. To have an open mind and let the world influence you a little isn’t always a bad thing.
Work Cited
Wilson, Brian “Point: The Unrealistic Goals of Gun Control.” Points of View: Gun Control
(2007): 5. Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 6 Oct. 2009.
Strahinich, Helen. Think About Guns in America. New York, Walker and Company, 1992.
Bowman, Jeffrey “Point: Controlling Gun Culture.” Points of View: Gun Control (2007): 2.
Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 6 Oct. 2009.
Babcock, Jim. Personal Interview. 3 December 2009.
Poe, Richard. The Seven Myths of Gun Control. New York, Three Rivers Press, 2001.
As the generations of America’s youth continue to grow, so does the increase in violent crimes associated with each generation. Over the last decade, studies have shown that school shootings have increased by an astonishing 13%. Although this figure as a percentage does not seem like much, it makes one stop and think. Parents blame the video games and their violent behaviors for the influence on their children’s daily lives. Grandparents blame the child’s parents for not showing them the right way to grow up in the world. And then we have that child’s friends who say that this child just was not respected by their classmates, or perhaps even bullied into this violent nature. Regardless of the cause to this violent increase, many Americans do believe in a solution: gun control. Gun control is the situation in which the federal government would put a ban on owning firearms. Contrary to what many “hard-core” Americans believe, gun control would not necessarily ban them from owning hunting rifles or even personal handguns. It would simply limit the ownership of semi-automatic assault rifles, and other rifles of this nature. This does not contradict the Second Amendment of the Constitution which states that American citizens have the Right to Bear Arms. I believe in the constitutional Right to Bear Arms, and I am against any attempt to eradicate that right for any American citizen: however, I am for gun control in the sense of lowering the possession of semi-automatic and fully-automatic rifles.
Gun control is a very controversial subject now days in politics. My personal view on gun control is that it will never work. I'm am just fore warning you that this paper may be a little bias, but I'll try to give views from both sides.
U.S congress woman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head. This happened in Arizona, a state where guns are allowed in open carry meaning everyone has option to carry a gun as long as it is not concealed. When this congress woman was shot, the shooter became enraged. After shooting 3 more people his gun got jammed, this is when a civilian jumped him and stopped his irrational behavior. This brings up many different opinions on whether guns should be allowed or taken away. John Luik author of the article “The Increased Availability of Guns Reduces Crime” and Sabina Thaler the author of the article “The Claim of Increased Gun Availability Reduces Crime is Unfounded” are two examples of people having different opinions on such a debatable topic. Both authors talk about guns taking people’s lives, Thalers article focuses on guns taking innocent people’s lives, and Luiks article focuses on guns being innocent people’s protection.
“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 right of all Americans to bear arms is a right the Founding Fathers held to equal importance as the Constitution itself. Gun control laws directly violate this right and therefore should not even be under consideration. Even if that issue is overlooked, gun control advocates state that in order to reduce firearm related violence, gun control laws must be implemented to remove the violence caused by firearms. Although this may seem reasonable, the consequences of such laws are ironically counterproductive; they exacerbate the problem instead of fixing it. Besides the fact that the American Constitution guarantees its citizens the right to bear arms, the idea of restricting gun ownership in order to reduce firearm-related violence would ultimately fail given the previous experiments of gun control in England and in numerous states.
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 growing violence, rife with turmoil and crime, gun advocates feel more than ever that their position is justified. As citizens of the “Land of the Free” possessing a gun is a fundamental right, and may even be a necessity... Anti- gun lobbyists point to the same growing violence and gun related crimes in an effort to call on the government to take action. By enacting more laws and stricter control, these people not in favor of guns feel society would be better safer.
Gun control is an issue that is constantly being debated. There are people who are pro gun control and those who believe gun control is unconstitutional to the citizens. Many political leaders and organizations have strong opinions on gun control, which keeps the gun control debate publicized. Gun control is limiting or taking the right of citizens to carry or purchase a gun. Guns are used for protecting the citizens by police officers and the military, as well as for many personal reasons like hunting and self-defense. There are times that guns are used for the wrong reasons like murder, or put in the wrong hands which lead to accidental deaths. Choosing a stand on gun control can be hard, but hearing both sides can help a person make a decision.
An estimated 30,000 people are killed each year by guns in the United States alone according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Gun Control, Funk & Wagnall’s). Though there have been some restrictions and laws placed, both the conservative and liberal sides are not pleased with either the lack of action or the fact that there has been too much action that has taken place. “About 38% of U.S. households and 26% of individuals owned at least one gun, with about half of the individuals having 4 or more guns, according to a 2004 survey by the Harvard School of Public Health (Gun Control, Funk & Wagnall’s).” Both sides turn to the one document centered on the argument for evidence to support their side: the Second Amendment.
“It is estimated that there are 310 million non – military guns in America” (O’Brien and Stanton). Many people that own a firearm usually have more than one gun. Also, a majority of gun owners feel that owning a firearm is the best way to protect themselves at home. With the large number of guns said to be in America, there needs to be a way to prevent the number of frequently occurring mass shootings. The solution to this issue is called gun control. Gun control needs to be implied more in our society because gun related crimes are mostly committed by those diagnosed with mental illnesses, there is no contradiction with the second amendment, it has the ability to lower the amount of mass shootings in the United States, and universal background checks help prevent mass shootings.
The second amendment to the US Constitution shows that it is unconstitutional to have complete and total gun control. 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.” This means that it is the right of an American citizen, abiding by the constitution, has the right to bear arms. Currently, there are over three hundred and seven billion people residing as American citizens. Within the homes of these Americans, forty five percent have a registered gun in their household. As a diverse nation, there are many reasons why there are guns located within a household. Sixty percent stated the gun is used for protection against int...
Violence in the United States is a major problem, but our politicians only want to focus on gun violence, and some of them believe the solution to ending gun violence is by preventing law abiding citizens from exercising their second amendment rights. Guns are easier to commit a crime with than other weapons, or without a weapon at all, but with an estimated 270 million guns the hands of citizens (11 facts), if they were the problem we would know it by now. It is undeniable that guns are responsible for a high amount of crime, but we already have tens of thousands of gun laws in the United States (How many gun laws are there?), that haven’t been able to curb gun violence. If the current laws were working, then maybe there would be a reasonable
Gun violence can be solved with more restrictions, gun ownership, gun control and enforcement of gun laws. “Domestic violence assault with firearms are 12 times more likely to end in death than those without them” proved by research done by California General Task Force of Criminal Justice Response to Domestic Violence. Domestic Violence happens every day, and it can happen to anyone; in a situation such as this one, if a firearm is involved, there are more risks of something more severe or tragic happening. The” FBI reported 5% more increase in NICS checks (185,345) on Black Friday than last year” The Trace. Gun control and the amount of them being purchased by Americans is a reason to consider for what purpose. Another reason gun control should be more efficient and profound is "an online survey of 3,000 people Harvard's injury control research center found that 22% of Americans professed to own guns and 25% of those gun owners of the five or more weapons.” The center's director Dr. David Hemenway in October said that “guns in your hands might lower rates of guns to the side and accidental shootings, but the fact that these gun owners feel they must compile an arsenal raises another set of questions.” “Who are these people and why do they have so so many guns?” Hemenway asked. “And are they
Some people in the United States of America feel that the Second Amendment should be removed do to crimes in our country. Others feel that if the amendment was removed, that the brutal death rates would go up, so there would be more harm than good. Although most people believe that guns can be dangerous, we should not amend the Second Amendment because people need guns for home and self defense, guns are a reliable source to help put food on the table, and they are also a way to help keep terror groups and enemies out of our country.
There is an American consensus for some form of gun control. “…[F]irearms were involved in two-thirds of all murders in the United States and [t]he United States leads the world's richest nations in gun deaths…murders, suicides, and accidental deaths due to guns - according to a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the International Journal of Epidemiology” (Lepore). There might be some far extreme people who think that all guns should be banned but most sane Americans do not think that gun rights should be abolished. Americans regard self-defense as the most compelling reason to have a gun and twenty-two percent of households have handguns in the United States. However many people do think that gun control laws must be enacted and enforced. Pro-gun extremists and the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) must understand that there is a real for many people at the uncontrolled s...
The Second Amendment of the United States protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It was adopted on December 15, 1791 along with the rest of the Bill of Rights. The United States Government should not infringe on those rights by the enforcement of gun control against law-abiding citizens. Gun control does not reduce crime, does not stop criminals from obtaining guns, and does not address the real issue of violent crime. There is no evidence that gun control affects the crime rate. The United States government is attempting to reduce violent crime by controlling the amount of guns on the market, who is allowed to purchase a gun, and what type of gun a person is allowed to purchase. The only people affected by gun control laws are the law-abiding citizen that should be allowed to purchase firearms without the government’s interjection.
Banning guns in the US will not do anything to help because it will not keep guns away from criminals. According to Richard Felman’s “We Focused On The Wrong Things” 500,000 guns are stolen annually.(Felman, 12) This means criminals will still be able to access guns even if we ban them. Gun safety laws have seemed to do nothing as shown in Washington D.C. According to the article “ Washington D.C.: A Case Study In The Failure Of Gun Control” 25 years after Washington D.C. banned firearms the murder rate is 46.4 to 100,001 which may seem low, but in Arlington, VA right on the other side of the Potomac River from D.C. the murder rate is 2.1 to 100,002 where there is no gun control laws. That may seem surprising enough, but in all the metropolitan areas in Virginia combined the murder rate is still lower than D.C. at 6.1 to 100,003.( Washington D.C.: A Case Study In The Failure Of Gun Control) These statistics show that gun control laws are doing nothing to help re...