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second amendment controvery gun control
why is gun control not effective at reducing crime
how gun control violates the second amendment
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“Gun control means control. It means control for the government and the government starts controlling the people.”(Luke Scott) I believe this quote is accurate because the more the government tries to make gun control less of a problem the more of our second amendment right is being taken away. There are number of ways that a criminal can obtain a gun, legally or illegally, but an honest citizen will go through through the legal process. Taking our 2nd amendment will only make the people vulnerable to government power.
James Q. Wilson a former teacher at Harvard University understands that taking guns away from the common people will only reduce the chance of surviving a possible attack of any sort of intruder.”Those that they cannot buy, they will steal or borrow”, Wilson talks about how whenever one tries to obtain a gun the legal way background checks occur as well as restricting the amount of gun purchase a month. Although even with all these restrictions guns are fairly easy to obtain illegally.
After reading his article I can see his point of view in my favor because criminals will be criminals no matter what weapon they use or how they obtain it, but a citizen that just wants to protect himself/herself will want to go through the legal process. Imagine if that is no longer an option, more people will seek illegal ways to get guns and the criminal rate will just increase. Criminals will see that people will be defenceless and they will flourish in many towns.”Such a ban will only increase the criminal ability to victimize the innocent.”
“Over the past 20 years, gun sales have absolutely exploded, but homicides with firearms are down 39 percent during that time and “other crimes with firearms” are down 69 percent.” This w...
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...n control is not the safe way to go. I would also help support campaigns to spread the word out and help make it a bigger issue to our concern because there isn't much being done about it currently.
“Protect children, not guns.” Why not both? I understand that a first concern is a life but you have to keep in mind what you're doing to keep someone safe. The people who say this don't realize that by not defending our rights it will only get harder to defend ourself as well as the people we love. Protecting gun rights is not something we prioritize over the safety , its something we prioritize because we want safety.Taking our 2nd amendment will only make the people vulnerable to government power. Like i said before the more power we take from our rights the more we give to our government. Overall who's gonna take better care of us the ourselves or the government.
Some people believe that extremely tight gun control laws will eliminate crime, but gun control laws only prevent the 'good guys' from obtaining firearms. Criminals will always have ways of getting weapons, whether it be from the black market, cross borders, or illegal street sales. New gun control laws will not stop them. Since the shootings of Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook, the frequency of mass shootings has increased greatly. Gun control is not effective as it has not been shown to actually reduce the number of gun-related crimes. Instead of considering a ban of private firearm possession, and violating individual ownership rights, it may be more practical to consider the option of partially restricting firearm access.
Gun admirers have statistics that will prove their side on guns saving lives. According to one study by Lott “… for each additional year that laws allowing people to carry concealed handguns were on the books, robberies decli...
He demonstrates when guns are found in every household, gun control can do little to restrict access to guns from potential criminals. (McMahan, 3) So, McMahan’s main premises comes into play, either everyone has guns, including criminals, or nobody has guns. “Gun advocates prefer for both rather than neither to have them” McMahan remarks, but ultimately that will just leave the country open to more violence and tragedies. “As more private individuals acquire guns, the power of the police declines, personal security becomes a matter of self help, and the unarmed have an incentive to get guns.” (McMahan, 2) Now everyone is armed, and everyone has the ability to kill anyone in an instant, making everyone less secure. Just as all the states would be safer if nobody were to possess the nuclear weapons, our country would be safer if guns were banned from private individuals and criminals.
In "Just Take Away Their Guns," author James Q. Wilson argues that "Legal restraints on the lawful purchase of guns will have little effect on the illegal use of guns" (Wilson 63). Wilson points out that it would be tough to remove all legally purchased guns from the streets and nearly impossible to confiscate illegally purchased guns. Gun advocate J. Warren Cassidy argues that "The American people have a right 'to keep and bear arms'. This right is protected by the Second Amendment to the Constitution. . ." in an article titled "The Case for Firearms" (Cassidy 275). James B. Jacobs and Kimberly A. Potter wrote in an article called "Keeping guns out of the "wrong" hands: the Brady law and limits of regulations" that "US law enforcement should concentrate on stiff sentences for crimes committed with guns and recognize that gun control laws do not keep guns from the wrong people" (Jacobs and Potter 1 of 27). Daniel B. Polsby, author of "The false promise: gun control and crime," simply states, "Gun control laws don't work" (Polsby 1 of 11). Polsby feels that "gun control laws are ineffective because [they] have not been proven to be a deterrent to crime" (1 of 11). James D. Wright states, in his article "Second Thoughts about Gun Control," that "If there were fewer guns around, there would also be less crime and less violence" (Wright 93). More gun control laws will only make it a hassle for law abiding citizens to purchase guns. They will not keep guns out of the criminal's hands because they have other methods of obtaining guns, such as the secondary market which is the illegal sale of firearms. Another reason why more gun control legislation will backfire is that those who want to purchase guns to protect themselves a...
Although the Second Amendment prevents the federal government from completely banning guns in America, limited restrictions are allowed on the distribution and possession of firearms. Certain groups of people such as criminals, the mentally unstable, and soldiers dishonorably discharged from the military are prohibited from possessing or interacting with firearms (Flynn). These restrictions are enforced by background checks in some states on both a state and federal level. However, gun laws vary from state to state and are often not thorough enough; the background checks are flawed due to lack of information and misinformation, and guns can easily end up in the hands of criminals and malevolent individuals. The ease of obtaining a firearm in America fosters crime and a dangerous environment. Hence, the Second Amendment should be reinterpreted so that stricter gun laws can be implemented because modern citizens do not require guns, current background checks are flawed, gun...
Lott, Jr. John R. More Gun Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. Print.
Right now the government has limited firearm purchasing only to people who pass certain steps. Gun control has risen as a controversial subject in the United States today. Many say gun control or banning of all firearms will help protect and make our country a better place. Reasons many are wanting to ban firearms are that the 2nd amendment is out dated and unjustified in this date and time. Writer Eugene Robinson states that “farmers wrote of “arms,” thinking about muskets and single shot pistols. They could not have foreseen modern rifles or high-capacity magazines.” Many agree with Mr. Robinson saying that back when the constitution was written they couldn’t have understood what was going to come in the future. Citizens also believe people have no reason to fight against intruders that come in their home that’s what the authorities are for. If people what to defend themselves why waste the money and time on having police? In this day and age why have weapons why not cut out all firearms and just be one happy country, it’s that simple, but is it really that simple? (“Assault Weapons Must Be Banned in
People have questioned gun control long time. Many people wonder if anyone, aside from those who join the law force, should be allowed to carry guns. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Those who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety” (Wright 4). Franklin understood that taking guns away from law-abiding citizens would not uphold their liberty. Some people who argue for gun control state many violent crimes involve guns. Others believe a child could find the gun and something bad could happen to the child or others when a gun is unsafely stored. People who argue against gun control might say there is a huge psychological gap between citizens who shoot to protect themselves or their property and those who go into schools and shoot at others. Criminals will always find a way around gun control laws and will be able to obtain and use guns illegally. The second amendment protects gun rights for individual citizens. Reasonable gun control laws and educational steps can be taken to protect the majority of U.S. citizens. Gun control does not only take guns away from criminals, gun control also limits law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves and their families when necessary.
One of the most important aspects of the debate centered on gun legislature is the distribution of illegal firearms to felons, criminals and American youth. Witemute’s article hints that there have been several illegal gun sales from unauthorized markets and to those under the legal ages of 18 or 21 depending on the type of firearm being sold. Unfortunately, these illegal sales have resulted in an increase in gun related injuries and deaths. (55)
There is a familiar saying that goes, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”. Punctuation before the end quote. Individuals should be able to protect themselves. Therefore, the 2nd Amendment states that we as citizens have the right to keep and bear arms, and it shall not be infringed. First and foremost, the Second Amendment was adopted into the United States Constitution on December 15, 1791. In today’s society, the Second Amendment has become a huge controversy; due to the ongoing debate over guns. However, people tend to forget that the Second Amendment protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. The right to own a weapon is not against the law. Surprisingly, “the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding”(MacBradaigh, 2013, para. 8). Restrictions on carrying guns in places like schools, courtrooms, and hospitals are more understandable. “The words of the founders make clear they believed the individual right to own firearms was very important: Thomas Jefferson said, “No free man shall be debarred the use of arms” ("NRA-ILA | The Second Amendment", 2013, para. 12). If the Founding Fathers felt the need to address this issue, why shouldn’t the general public do the same? Most importantly, the Second Amendment protects individual rights, not collective. Yet, some people claim differently. Many people believed that the Second Amendment pertained only to “rights that may be exercised only through participation in some corporate body” (MacBradaigh, 2013, para. 2). However, the Bill of Rights was created to protect the rights of individuals, and “in America, rights by definition belong to individuals” (...
Guns are not the trouble, people are. The United States is #1 in world gun ownership, and yet is only 28th in the world in gun murders per 100,000 people. The number of unintentional fatalities due to firearms declined by 58 percent between 1991 and 2011 Based on these facts, one can see the guns not the causes of gun violence. moreover, civilians who get permits take gun safety courses and have criminal background...
Guns, Crime, and Freedom states that, no gun law which restricts the right of law-abiding citizens to own guns has been proven to reduce crime or homicides, not even the Brady Law and the “Clinton Crime Bill.” These two laws st...
Nevertheless, guns are very dangerous and they are used in all sorts of criminal activities already. Therefore, the benefits of having a gun outweigh the drawbacks of not having a gun. No matter what each individual’s beliefs are in regard as to whether gun control should or should not be enforced, the Second Amendment of the Constitution gives each person the right to bear
Gun Violence is one of the United States most serious crime problems. The total cost of gun violence in the United States, including medical, criminal justice, and other government and private costs, are at least 6 to 12 billion a year (Cook, P. J. & Ludwig, J., 2000). The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) mission is to track firearms. It reported that firearms sells have risen since 2005. According to the A...
Gun control is an awfully big issue in the United States today. Many people in America don’t agree with the gun control laws that they have today. Gun control laws only take guns and freedom away from law-abiding citizens. Many citizens have their own reasons for owning a gun. Why would the government want to make it harder for people to own a gun? People that own guns aren’t very likely to be attacked by criminals. Owning a handgun is one of the best ways of protection when used correctly. The second amendment states “the right to bear arms”; does this grant everyone the right to own a gun? Gun control laws have not been proven to do anything for citizens. Gun control laws just make it harder for the good guy average Joe to own a gun. Gun control laws are not a good idea, and are taking part in the loss of our freedom that was given to us.