Gun Control: Overview
English 1302 5th march 2013 Sides of Crime Control Gun control laws have been surrounded by controversy since The Bill of Rights, including the Second amendment was passed in the congress. “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,” the founders wrote. Until recently there was considerable argument over just what the founders intended by their words. Did they mean to provide only for armed units to protect us from invasion, or did they mean that each individual has a right to a gun? However, in the District of Columbia v.
Heller case, the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling upholding the right of individuals to bear arms for hunting and for self-defense. In the light of the Supreme Court’s hearing, the recent mass shooting incidents and growing gun related deaths across the country have called for changes and introduction of new gun related laws i. e. gun control laws to curb gun violence. In this paper I will review five main positions on the issue of gun violence in United States. First, there are those who argue that the only way to reduce gun related deaths is by making stricter gun control laws and enforcing new ones.
These people believe gun related deaths can be reduced significantly by reducing the number of guns in the hands of the citizens. Second, this group argues that gun control laws are not effective means to curb gun related deaths. They argue that focus must increase crime control rather than gun control. They say less guns will not help bring the gun violence figures down. They argue for different laws to curb gun violence such as gun trafficking law. Third, this group argues that more guns will reduce gun violence.
They say as gun ownership increases, criminals will be more cautious to attack and hence reducing gun related deaths. Forth, theses are the people who argue that instead of proposing new laws, whether it is to increase or to decrease gun ownership, the government must implement the current laws efficiently to reduce gun violence. Fifth, this group argues that firearm safety can play an important role in reducing accidental deaths. The issue of gun ownership is one that I always had interest in and it is quiet controversial, as gun control debate remains stunted in congress.
While President Obama is pushing for stricter gun control laws, the republicans are unwilling to support the president on this issue. I will use my knowledge that I have gathered over the past few years to develop my essays. I have already read a fair amount about this issue, and there are lots of articles I can draw upon. Gun owner and author Stephen King’s Guns focuses on the history of gun control in America and addresses both sides of the debate over this issue. Every major newspaper is closely following every development in the congress over this issue.
Washington post is a great source for any information about this issue. Although I am aware of the negative effects of gun ownership in the society, a number of questions must be answered before I can focus on my topic. A few questions are : are crime and guns associated? Do guns necessarily lead to crime? And if so do laws placing restrictions on firearm ownership and use stop the crime or protect the citizens? Who can own a gun? Should assault weapons be sold to general public? What is the number of guns each household or individual can own? What are the benefits of stricter gun control laws?
Which elected officials/public figures argue for stronger gun control laws? What kind of argument are they making? Who are losing from stronger gun control laws? What kind of argument can I make to create common ground and convince political parties and business that stronger laws can benefit everybody? Do gun control laws help or hurt the people the citizens they are trying to protect? Does enacting these laws take away our fundamental rights as citizens? These are the questions many citizens and lawmakers are asking themselves when setting about to create gun control laws.
Answering these questions will help me to map the issue. The key audience for this issue is the government and the citizens of the United States. There are two major parties in the political realm that are lobbying either for or against gun control. These two are the Democrats and the Republicans, the two dominating parties in the country today. The Republicans have long been supporters of the pro gun movement, largely due to both their conservative nature as well as an increased backing over the years by the National Rifle Association, a powerful force in the pro gun ovement Democrats are known to be largely for gun control. This is an important issue to everyone involved in the issue, and extremely important to society as a whole. Guns play a role in everyone’s lives to some degree, whether it is for ones own personal possession of a hunting rifle or a pistol in the hands of a youth in your neighborhood. The second amendment gives every citizen the right to gun ownership. Citizens must decide if gun control laws benefit them or they take their right away. Hence, if I want to propose changes to gun control laws, my audience will be republican, democrats and the society as a whole.
I think most lawmakers and public will oppose this issue as they might view as their rights violated. While the recent mass shooting incidents across the country has called for stricter gun control laws on one side, on the other side more people want to own guns to defend themselves from such incidents. Hence to win both side, I will base my argument not on the quantity ownership of guns but, who can own gun. The aim of my argument will be to make sure criminal or mentally unstable people don’t have access to gun ownership.
Through my research, I have gathered a vast amount of information on this issue. I am excited to learn more about this topic and write a sustained argument about this topic. The issue of gun ownership is one that I always had interest in and it is quiet controversial, as gun control debate remains stunted in congress. While President Obama is pushing for stricter gun control laws, the republicans are unwilling to support the president on this issue. I will use my knowledge that I have gathered over the past few years to develop my essays.
I have already read a fair amount about this issue, and there are lots of articles I can draw upon. Gun owner and author Stephen King’s Guns focuses on the history of gun control in America and addresses both sides of the debate over this issue. Every major newspaper is closely following every development in the congress over this issue. Washington post is a great source for any information about this issue. Although I am aware of the negative effects of gun ownership in the society, a number of questions must be answered before I can focus on my topic.
A few questions are : are crime and guns associated? Do guns necessarily lead to crime? And if so do laws placing restrictions on firearm ownership and use stop the crime or protect the citizens? Who can own a gun? Should assault weapons be sold to general public? What is the number of guns each household or individual can own? What are the benefits of stricter gun control laws? Which elected officials/public figures argue for stronger gun control laws? What kind of argument are they making? Who are losing from stronger gun control laws?
What kind of argument can I make to create common ground and convince political parties and business that stronger laws can benefit everybody? Do gun control laws help or hurt the people the citizens they are trying to protect? Does enacting these laws take away our fundamental rights as citizens? These are the questions many citizens and lawmakers are asking themselves when setting about to create gun control laws. Answering these questions will help me to map the issue. The key audience for this issue is the government and the citizens of the United States.
There are two major parties in the political realm that are lobbying either for or against gun control. These two are the Democrats and the Republicans, the two dominating parties in the country today. The Republicans have long been supporters of the pro gun movement, largely due to both their conservative nature as well as an increased backing over the years by the National Rifle Association, a powerful force in the pro gun movement Democrats are known to be largely for gun control. This is an important issue to everyone involved in the issue, and extremely important to society as a whole.
Guns play a role in everyone’s lives to some degree, whether it is for ones own personal possession of a hunting rifle or a pistol in the hands of a youth in your neighborhood. The second amendment gives every citizen the right to gun ownership. Citizens must decide if gun control laws benefit them or they take their right away. Hence, if I want to propose changes to gun control laws, my audience will be republican, democrats and the society as a whole. I think most lawmakers and public will oppose this issue as they might view as their rights violated.
While the recent mass shooting incidents across the country has called for stricter gun control laws on one side, on the other side more people want to own guns to defend themselves from such incidents. Hence to win both side, I will base my argument not on the quantity ownership of guns but, who can own gun. The aim of my argument will be to make sure criminal or mentally unstable people don’t have access to gun ownership. Through my research, I have gathered a vast amount of information on this issue. I am excited to learn more about this topic and write a sustained argument about this topic.
