America Needs Gun Control

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Recommended: Definition of the 2nd amendment controversy if any sounding the amendment

For years proposals for gun control and the ownership of firearms have been among the most controversial issues in modern American politics. The public debate over guns in the United States is often seen as having two side. Some people passionately assert that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to own guns while others assert that the Second Amendment does no more than protect the right of states to maintain militias. There are many people who insist that the Constitution is a "living document" and that circumstances have changed in regard to an individual’s right to bear arms that the Second Amendment upholds. The Constitution is not a document of total clarity and the Second Amendment is perhaps one of the worst drafted of all its amendments and has left many Americans divided over the true intent. 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... ... middle of paper ... ... “Why Obama's Silence on Gun Control Pleases No One.” Time.Com. 7 Feb. 2011. Web. 9 Feb. 2011 Carter, Gregg Lee. Guns in American Society: A - L. Santa Barbara; ABC-CLIO, Inc Print. D’Andrilli, Stephen and Kopel, David B. “What America Can Learn From Switzerland Is That The Best Way To Reduce Gun Misuse Is To Promote Responsible Gun Ownership.” GUNCITE. Feb. 1990. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. “Do Guns Provide Safety? At What Cost?” Southern Medical Journal. Feb. 2010. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. “Facts Gun Violence.” Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. “Gun Law European Style.” Time Europe Vol. 159 No. 19. 13 May 2002. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. Lepore, Jill. “Why is American History So Murderous?” NewYorker. 9 Nov. 2009. Web. 9 Feb. 2011 “Protect Children, Not Guns 2009.” Children's Defense Fund, 16 September 2009. Web. 9 Feb. 2011.

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