Gun Control in the United States of America

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Gun Control in the United States of America is a topic that has had some criticism and support by many citizens. The critical people of this topic believe that the guns do not kill people, it is the people that kill people. The supporters of this topic believe that guns lead to violence and a feeling of power over others. They also believe that if guns were eliminated from the public, then violence and death would decrease heavily in this country. These two opposing views leave the federal government open to a decision on whether or not to abolish one of our Constitutional rights, or to keep allowing people the right to own a gun.

There have been many Supreme Court cases that have been gun-related. These cases have led to what is now the policy of the United States on owning a gun. For example, in the Supreme Court Case Printz v. United States, the question was that if a gun dealership doing background check on whoever wanted to buy a gun was constitutional or not. This background check would include the Brady Form, which contained the name, address, date of birth, and a sworn statement that the person was not a convicted felon or had a mental illness. The dealer must also check the identity of the buyer by some form of identification. Once the CLEO is checked, the dealer has a five-day period to check on the background to see if it would violate the law to sell to this potential buyer. A sheriff Jay Printz took this to the Supreme Court saying that this was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled that the CLEO’s were unconstitutional, but the rest of the Brady Act was not found to be unconstitutional. In the Supreme Court case United States v. Miller, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of a lower court’s dismissal of two men who violated the National Firearm Act. Jack Miller and Frank Layton were arrested for carrying a 12-gauge shotgun from Oklahoma to Arkansas. In the Western Arkansas District Court, the lawyers for the men claimed that the National Firearm Act violated the Second Amendment right of bearing arms. The lower court agreed with the lawyers and the two men were dismissed of charges. The Supreme Court argued the decision over after the men were freed. The men were not retried during the argument, however.

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