Andrew Fuller

Professor Jamie Nelson

Political Science 1100-406

3 October 2017

Federalism Paper
There is so much controversy around gun laws and policies. Much of the laws

have been determined by our state governments, but we are starting to see the federal

government start to show a presence, and even talk about laws that could be enacted.

So the question is, should gun laws be be more of a state or federal question? Opinions

vary widely, but my purpose is to argue that guns need be regulated by state

governments and not the federal government.

Some of the most recent gun control debates have come from events that have

sparked serious questions concerning guns and about how much the should be

regulated, and how much power the federal government should have to enforce

legislation. The most current and terrible massacre in recent history, the massacre in

Las Vegas, has become a pinpoint of much political debate. Occurring less than a

month ago, the shooting and other events that have caused controversy. There is

unfortunately, quite a list of terrible shootings. The Las Vegas Massacre involved nearly

22,000 people at a Jason Aldean country concert, and resulted with 58 deaths, and

injuring upwards of 500 people. The man responsible for this ended his own life

moments before police stormed his hotel room. In 2012, a 20 year old man stormed into

Sandy Hook Elementary with automatic guns killing 26 people, 20 of them being
children, and 6 of them being employees. The man had killed his mother earlier that

day, and ended his life at the school, just before police could get to him.

Again in 2012, Aurora Co. experienced a shooting when a screening of The

Dark Knight Rises was playing. A man dressed like a villain from the previous show,

clad with body armour opened fire. 12 people died, and over 70 were wounded. This list

goes on. 2016 Orlando Florida nightclub shooting, 49 people killed, 53 injured. 2015

San Bernardino conference hall shooting, 14 dead and 17 wounded. 2016 Dallas, 5

Police officers were killed by a military sniper veteran. 2007 Virginia Tech University

Shooting, 32 people died with many others being hurt. They gunman killed himself

before police could apprehend him. (By. Mass Shootings in the U.S. The New York

Times, The New York Times, 2 Oct. 2015 www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/mass-

shootings-timeline.html.)

There will always be crime. There will be always be people who feel like they

need to do something violent to be heard in the world or to get a message across.

There will always be people who have irreversible hatred towards individuals, groups of

people, communities, and even nations. There will always be malicious men and

women who want to destroy. There have been 28 major shootings or massacres since

the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting. The question is then, what do we do to prevent violent

activity, even when people like this exist? Is there any hope of finding a solution that will

create a more peaceful community, state, and nation?

It is sickening to see how many men, women, and children have died from

shootings and massacres. In each of us, it invokes feelings of fear, anger, sadness, and

prompts each of us to send our hearts out to those who have been affected by these
tragedies. After the Las Vegas shooting, I found myself asking How did this happen

and how could it have been prevented?. In my child mind, I wished for a Superhero like

ones from comic books to come and save us from the bad guys. But alas, these are

problems we must solve ourselves.

Gun control needs to be a state issue. There is no question about that. When you

consider the differences in population, culture, societal structure, demographics, and

topography within different regions in the United States you are lead to believe that one

sweeping, final law by the Federal government is not the answer to Gun Control. A

senator from New York is going to have a differing opinion on gun control than a senator

from Texas. Why? Because of the differences that come from demographics,

populations, cultures, and available space within the area. Obviously, there is more

wide-open space on a ranch in Wyoming than there is in Times Square in New York. If

you want to be permitted to carry a weapon in Times square the regulations need to be

more comprehensive, detailed, and searching. There is more hazard in allowing people

to carry guns in populated areas that could result in large scale.

This argument could be refuted, by saying that people who wish to do harm could

buy weaponry in a more conservative state and then travel to a heavier populated area

to go and cause harm. This logic makes sense and is happening. So there needs to be

a bar on who can obtain guns. This could be a law or a funded mandate enacted by the

Federal government, and enforced at the state level. But ultimately, Gun control should

be managed on a state level.

The previous paragraph basically describes the current regulation of Gun control.

The federal government sets a standard that all states are required to follow, then the
states further regulate or follow the bare minimum. States like Arizona, Nevada, and

Georgia have loose laws concerning gun control .States like California, Massachusetts,

and New York all are very restrictive with open carry, concealed carry, specific

weapons, modifications,and areas that are ok to use a gun in.

(https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/07/us/gun-control-explained.html)

In light of the recent tragedies, we have before of a slew of incredibly sensitive

and complex problems. We have seen it time after time how guns that are misused

cause great heartache, and repercussions can be felt across the nation. These

shootings often cause us to consider if we are doing all we can to stop these things and

how we can improve. These questions can best be answered at the state level. Each

state has different needs and circumstances, cultures and demographics that would

influence a certain states decision. We ought to leave the decision-making with those

people who know us maybe a little bit better than the federal government.

Works Cited

Mass Shootings in the U.S. The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 Oct. 2015

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/mass-shootings-timeline.html.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/07/us/gun-control-explained.html