Persuasive Essay On Gun Control

Recent mass shootings at San Bernardino and Sandy Hook Elementary have resurfaced the issue of gun control, with citizens appealing to the federal government to change laws concerning firearms. While there are organizations that are for tighter gun laws, groups like the National Rifle Association argue any laws restricting possession and use of firearms ignores the Second Amendment, and therefore reduces a law-abiding citizen’s constitutional right to own a firearm (Stingl, 2015). However, the United States still has a higher crime rate compared to other developed countries that have tighter gun laws, suggesting more restrictive laws could reduce gun violence (Grey House Publishing, 2011). With increasing gun violence and deaths, laws pertaining

“Pro-gun” groups will argue that any person who is trained in the use of firearms have the right to own a firearm (Lindgren, 2015). When the Second Amendment was written in 1791, flintlock rifles were the standard firearm which were very inaccurate and, with a skilled shooter, only shot about two rounds a minute (Bowman, 2016). Since then, advances in weaponry have dramatically increased, further outdating the amendment. However, to supplement the Second Amendment, The Omnibus Crime Control and the Federal Gun Control Act of 1968 significantly increased regulations of obtaining firearms and ammunition (Vizzard, 2015). To further fuel debates about the Second Amendment, lawmakers passed the Stand Your Ground Act, which protects the rights of a private citizen to defend themselves through deadly force if they feel their life is being imminent (Mantel,

Bootlegging is a common way citizens with a criminal background to purchase firearms. Organized criminal groups can obtain guns through dealers who purchase firearms and then sell them in an underground market. Southern states, especially Mississippi, have the highest amount of illegal gun trafficking in the United States, attributable to nearly non-existent laws pertaining to purchasing weapons (Ansari, 2013). Not only are criminals able to obtain common firearms such as shotguns, rifles, and handguns, they can easily access semi-automatic guns and assault rifles as well through bootlegging. Since each state has various laws about gun control, bootlegging further allows the distribution of powerful firearms. Another type of bootlegging, and even more common, is the distribution of firearms through close friends and family (Vizzard, 2015). The shooter who killed nine people at Umpqua Community College in Oregon on October 1, 2015 had six guns that were legally bought by family members, and given to the shooter. This “loophole” exists in part because individual states have different firearm laws, which suggest the federal government needs to pass legislation so all states share one common method for purchasing guns. Having one distinct federal gun law instead of individual state laws could, in theory, lead to a decrease in