Emily Shultz Mr. Sipsey English block 7 3/18/09 Gun Control in America Gun control is an issue in America that can not be resolved by a simple solution. There have been problems with gun control since the second amendment was ratified in1791 in The Bill of Rights. This amendment is the main reason that there are so many different feelings towards gun control and gun bans. Though the second amendment gives citizens the right to bear arms, there are many laws in the united states that have been put against them to control the use and sale of these so called “weapons.” Gun control is not a simple, black and white issue so the solution to fixing the problems we have with guns cannot be a simple solution. The second amendment states that 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. (U.S. Constitution) This amendment leads to problems with gun control because of how and when it was written. It was written at a time when the gun was a daily necessity and when they may have the need to assemble to fight enemies. Because of this people have many different views on guns and their controls. The quote by A.E. Dick Howard, “it’s very difficult to find an absolute right in the constitution” can help to explain why it is so hard for people to know exactly what the second amendment means and what it truly means to the people of the United States. The first view is from people who want the guns to have stricter controls or bans. They believe that this amendment was primarily made so that citizens could assemble in an army when
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needed in a battle. This view point also goes with the thought that guns aren’t a daily necessity anymore and because we have an organized trained army that the everyday citizen doesn’t need to have a gun. The opposing side of this argument states that the second amendment still applies and that every U.S. citizen still has the right to bear arms. The second amendment and the different perspectives on it have led to different laws and bans in the United States. Not surprisingly, the toughest gun control laws in the country are in Washington D.C. For 31 years, it has been illegal to buy, sell or own a hand gun in D.C. Residents may keep shotguns or rifles – but only if they are stored unloaded, and either disassembled or disabled with trigger locks. (Brant) The gun ban in D.C. is an example of how the U.S. could be if the controls in the country were turned into bans. Linda Singer agrees that the gun ban hasn’t done enough to keep down street shootings. But with out it, she says, “we would have far more guns in the city.”(Brant) On June 26, 2008 the ban on hand gun possession in the nation’s capital, Washington D.C. was overturned by the Supreme Court. The decision the court made has finally put an end to all of the decisions made by the smaller courts about the second amendment. It maintained that the second amendment guarantees an individuals right to own a gun for self defense. This was a land mark decision and the first time in the nation’s history that the second amendment guaranteed the right to own a gun. (Barnes 1) In America 3 million guns are bought each year. Two thirds of the 3 million are sold through the mail. It is said that Americans have turned their country into an arsenal. Today between 50 million and 200 million guns including, pistols, revolvers, shotguns, and rifles along with an uncounted amount of machine guns, hand grenades, bazookas, mortars and even antitank guns, are owned in the United States. (The Gun) Other facts compiled about the amount of firearms sold in the U.S. and about how many are used in criminal acts is an outstanding number.
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The amount of deaths attributed to firearms in the U.S. each year is 30,000, as of 1990. (Lacayo) Also by December 3 of 2007, 169 people had been murdered in Washington D.C. The percentage of those deaths caused by shootings was 77%. (Brant) Though this number is high I can’t help but to think that it is because Washington D.C. has the gun ban. Washington D.C. is sandwiched in between Maryland and Virginia. In both of those states it is legal to own a hand gun. Because of this, it is very easy to get a gun in the capital city. (Brant) It may be easy to get a gun, but for citizens that obey laws they wouldn’t disobey them. This causes a problem because the people getting the firearms are the ones that are disobedient to the law. These are the people who will use the guns as weapons because there already breaking the laws having them. These are the criminals, the ones the bans are meant to keep the guns from. When this happens it is the law obeying citizens that get hurt. They are striped of their guns and virtually striped of their protection against the criminals. The ban in Washington shows that if this were to happen to the entire country and every law obeying citizen turned in their firearms, than the crime rates would rise because of the citizens not being able to protect themselves. “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people” (The Gun) is perfect to explain that the guns are not the problem in society. The problem is in which the hands the gun lies. It is easy to write a law stating that all guns are banned. Doing so may cause many problems for not just the government but also for the citizens of the United States. What is hard is to write laws that keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people but still allow for the citizens to keep their constitutional rights and protect them selves. For protection purposes, if it w ere possible to take away every gun and weapon that Americans had then there would be no great need to have a gun for protection. But there are many other things that Americans use firearms for. More than just a
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weapon, the firearm is used for sporting like hunting, marksmanship, and other categories like trap and skeet shooting. These sports in the gun world have no part in using the gun as a weapon. Why should people who obey the law and find something different to use the gun for, have their right to bear arms be taken away. The truth is that no matter how much time, money, and resources the government could put into taking away every fire arm from the people of the U.S. they could never get every single one. Weather the government likes it or not, guns are brought in to the country every day from outside countries weather it is from Mexico or mailed in, it would just be impossible to get everything. Then that leaves the people who their guns were taken away vulnerable and they could no longer protect them selves or their families. If there wasn’t such a problem with violence with guns then it wouldn’t be as much of an issue for a person to have one. “An armed citizen” says Chris Cox “capable of defending itself will reduce crime, as shown by studies, commonsense, and experience, in recent years.” (Hoar) The two most important laws on the federal books about gun control are The National Firearms Act of 1934 and The Pallid federal firearms Act of 1938. These laws are to help keep felons from getting guns and to lower interstate shipments of firearms. The National Firearms Act of 1934 is the taxing of interstate shipments of machine guns and sawed-off shotguns. The act I think is more important is The Pallid federal firearms Act of 1938. This act prohibits interstate gun shipments to felons. (The Gun) Keeping the firearms out of the wrong hands is the gun control that the country needs. Finding a way to letting the citizens of the United States keep their second amendment rights but keeping the guns out of the wrong hand is a hard thing to do. Gun control may be needed to a certain extent in the country, but20unarming its citizens could be more dangerous
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than letting the citizens have the firearms. The Bill of Rights grants the citizens of the U.S. to bear arms. (U.S. Constitution) The different views of this amendment cause for a lot of examination of it in America. The examination of the amendment leads to people thinking of it in different ways. Gun bans and controls will always be around, it is what the controls are that is what is important to the balance of safety and right.
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Works Cited
Barnes, Robert “Supreme Court Affirms Gun Rights” Washington Post 27 June 2008 New York Times Company
Brant, Martha and Stuart Taylor Jr. “A New Shot at History” Newsweek 3 Dec ember 2007
Hoar, William P. “Correction Please” Business 20 August 2007 The New American
Lacayo, Richard “Under Fire” Time 29 June 1990
“The Gun Under Fire” Time 21 June 1968
U.S. Constitution “The Bill Of Rights” Second Amendment Ratified 1791
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