Gun Control Essay Example

Argument Against Gun Control Essay

The United States Constitution was constructed from a set of rules, also known as
amendments, which were written with the great intention of securing the basic
rights of all United States citizens and as such, it serves as an outline for the laws
of the land by dictating the powers of the people and what is acceptable under
the watch of the United States government. These rights are considered a
privilege afforded to the people and should be exercised as indicated within the
document.

The history behind the induction of the second amendment began in the
nineteenth century when in the summer of 1787, the Framers (included US
Presidents) conspired with one another to write the articles of the United States
Constitution during the constitutional convention. Fifty-five men drafted this
document which serves as the blueprint of the United States government today.
The motivation to construct and devise such a plan was created in order to give
American citizens the absolute rights to proper enjoyment over their own lives.
This point is further illustrated in an article written by Max Farrand entitled “The
Framing of the Constitution of the United States”. In it, Farrand starts off his book
by stating “Thirteen British colonies had asserted and established their
independence because they declared the form of government under which they
had been living was destructive of their “unalienable rights” of “life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness.” (Farrand, 1913, p. 1) Therefore, the notion of freedom
as a nation is detailed within an absolute vital document written over 200 years
ago and which is very much closely followed today.

One right in particular is the right to own and operate a firearm. For instance, the
second amendment gives us the right to bear arms and states verbatim, “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) Due to
the terms agreed upon by our forefathers, we have the right to protect ourselves
and our families by use of a firearm against threat which can endanger a life.
Firearms are responsible for more than 31,000 deaths and an estimated 74,000
nonfatal injuries among US residents each year, most of which are violence
related. (Siegel, Ross & King, 2013, p. 1)

Over the past several decades, there has been much debate over whether the use
of firearms have been within the standards of the written law due to countless
tragedies which have been tied to the use of handguns. Many believe that these
occurrences could have been prevented if the United States government had
revisited and imposed additional restrictions on the nations gun bearing
population by way of recommending effective ways to combat gun use and
introduce innovative approaches towards the severity of gun activity.

With that being said, it remains transparent that gun control is an issue which has
had a vast negative effect on our society as a whole and as a result, an
evaluation of the second amendment should be conducted and the meaning for
the right of the people to keep and bear arms must be reassessed to benefit all.

Legislation and the United States Supreme court system have been in debate for
quite some time over the issue of gun control. There have been various loopholes
and laws being challenged by groups which are both against and for the use of
firearms. Whether the second amendment has been taken out of context is a
topic of discussion with has had little resolution. By far, the hope will always be to
find common ground in this meeting of the minds so that as a nation, we no
longer have to live through the battles of gun violence and hear about the effect
it has on innocent bystanders. “Ordinary forms of gun control such as licensing
laws, bans on concealed carry, and prohibitions on particular types of weapons
are, by contrast, attempts to regulate the right rather than eliminate it and are
routinely upheld. So long as a gun control measure is not a total ban on the right
to bear arms, the courts will consider it a mere regulation of the night.” (Winkler,
2007, p. 717)

Consequently, the government must take greater responsibility to control who is

given access to firearms due to public safety measures, prevention of violent
crimes and misuse.

Before delving into these touchy subjects, there are six ethical points to touch
upon with relation to gun control which is of importance since the debate is on
each end of the issue. It is fair to accept that there will always be opposing sides
with respect to gun control and groups who will depict the pros and cons of the
second amendment, therefore, it is important to know the difference between all
parties involved. However, it is equally important that privileges are not being
abused or mismanaged rather used for the greater good.

First and foremost, libertarianism and fundamental rights are two sets of
individual groups who are all for the use of firearms. These groups believe in the
second amendment and the ability to protect oneself as well as the rights of loved
ones against imposed threat. To further illustrate, the attitude of someone who is
pro-gun is detailed in the article, “An ethical analysis of the 2nd amendment: The
right to pack heat at work”, as it states “the contention is that criminals will more
carefully think about committing crimes if they know that potential victims might
be armed.” (Martin, 2014, p. 10) In addition, these groups concern themselves
with protecting their assets and strongly believe that state law and the second
amendment defend their right to do so. With that being said, there is statistical
evidence which supports the idea that firearms are in the best interest of the
people and that a trend in possession of firearms is equal to less crime. In Kates
and Moody, “Testing the more guns equals more murder thesis”, “The homicide
rate for 2010 was roughly 32% lower than the rate in 1946. And year by year in
the 2000’s, American murder rates remained nearly the same or dropped—
notwithstanding that each of these years saw the addition of four to five million
new guns to the total gunstock.” (Kates & Moody, 2011, p. 1446)