America is the most well armed nation in the world, with American citizens owning about 270 million of the world’s 875 million firearms (Marshall). Indeed, this is more than a quarter of the world’s registered firearms. The reason why Americans own so many guns is because of the Second Amendment, which 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.” (Rauch) This amendment guarantees U.S. citizens the right to have firearms. Since this amendment is relatively vague, it is up for interpretation, and is often used by gun advocates to argue for lenient gun laws. Hence, gun control is a frequently discussed controversial topic in American politics. 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... ... middle of paper ... ...ared Loughner’s Path in Hour Before Arizona Shooting.” The Daily Beast. The Daily Beast. 12 Jan. 2011. Web. 5 June 2015. Perez, Carmen. “Gun Show Loophole” Wikipedia, 2014. Web. 6 June 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_show_loophole Rauch, Jonathan. “The Right Kind of Gun Rights.” National Journal Vol. 40 Issue 11. Academic Search Complete. 15 Mar. 2013. Web. 6 June 2015. Siemaszko, Corky. “Norway Massacre Suspect Anders Behring Breivik says he Bought Part of his Arsenal in the U.S.” NY Daily News. NY Daily News. 28 Jul. 2011. Web. 6 June 2015. “Shay’s Rebellion.” Infoplease. Infoplease. Web. 7 June 2015. “Texas Gun Laws Made Simple.” Texas Gun Laws. Texas Gun Laws. Web. 5 June 2015. “U.S. Gun Facts, Figures, and the Law.” Gun Policy. Gun Policy. 2. Jun. 2014. Web. 6 June 2015. “Where’d They Get Their Guns.” VPC. VPC. Web. 5 June 2015.
Peters, Jeremy. "Months After Massacre, Obama Seeks to Regain Momentum on Gun Laws." New York Times. N.p.. Web. 3 Dec 2013. .
Carter, Gregg. Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Print.
Right now, the U.S. has a National Instant Background Check System; however, it contains many flaws. This system is meant to act as a filter to stop the wrong people from having guns. In 2007, the Bipartisan legislation was passed to strengthen this system. It relies on data supplied by the states, but the data is often incomplete and inadequate (Merino 104). Unlicensed gun sellers have also created a dangerous loophole. The law makes an exception for gun sellers who aren’t federally licensed gun dealers. These sellers sell guns informally through venues such as gun shows, and are not required to run background checks. This is a dangerous loophole where people who should not have guns can get them (“Gun”). Senator Frank R. Lautenberg once stated, commenting on the gun sh...
Richman, Sheldon. "The Seen and Unseen in Gun Control." The Freeman 1 Oct 1998: 610-611
The Web. The Web. 22 March 2014. Hasen, Richard. The.
The United State of America, established by the Founding Father who lead the American Revolution, accomplished many hardship in order to construct what America is today. As history established America’s future, the suffering the United State encountered through history illustrate America’s ability to identify mistakes and make changes to prevent the predictable. The 2nd Amendment was written by the Founding Father who had their rights to bear arms revoked when they believe rising up to their government was appropriate. The Twentieth Century, American’s are divided on the 2nd Amendment rights, “The right to bear arms.” To understand why the Founding Father written this Amendment, investigating the histories and current measures may help the American people gain a better understanding of gun’s rights in today’s America.
Vogel, Steve; Horwitz, Sari and David A. Fahrenthold. “Sandy Hook massacre: New details but Few Answers.”Washington Post 17 Dec 2012: Pro Quest. Web. 17 Sep. 2013.
Opposing sides have for years fought over the laws that govern firearms. For the purposes of this paper "Gun Control" is defined as policies enacted by the government that limit the legal rights of gun owners to own, carry, or use firearms, with the intent of reducing gun crimes such as murder, armed robbery, aggravated rape, and the like. So defined, gun control understandably brings favorable responses from some, and angry objections from others. The gun control debate is generally publicized because of the efforts of the Pro-Gun Lobby or the Anti-Gun Lobby.
Ring, Ray. “Guns R Us.” High Country News (Paonia, Co) Vol. 39, No. 14 Aug. 6 2007:10-17. Sirs Issues Researcher. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.
Lott, Jr. John R. More Gun Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. Print.
ProQuest Staff. "Topic Overview: Gun Control." ProQuest LLC. 2014: n.pag. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
Carter, Gregg Lee. Gun Control in the United States: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2006.
Gun control is one of the most controversial and one of the most talked about topics in the U.S. Some believe that if guns are taken away that there will be less violence and that the death rate may even go down. While others believe that they have a right to bare arms like it states in the constitution. One of the most talked about reasons on why gun control should be stricter is the obvious: guns are not safe. But what people don’t understand is that everytime a gun is purchased a criminal background check is done right away. What people are unaware if is that the majority of people who purchase guns have already bought one in the past. Another talked about issue is the Right to Bear Arms. The Right to Bear arms has been in the constitution for decades. The constitution is not just something you can edit and re-write everytime you see a problem with it or think its “outdated”