Trevor Schultz April 30, 2021 Issue Paper: Gun Control U.S.

Gov’t & Politics

Gun Control
Gun control has become a heavily debated topic within the United States. Not only is it a

citizen’s constitutional right to purchase, operate, and privately sell a firearm, there is a

responsibility from the federal government in enforcing appropriate use of firearms and

regulating the general access to every day, and potentially dangerous, weapons. The idea of guns

and their ownership is a tense social issue in the United States; a polarizing series of events that

has commanded attention over the last few decades. Many believe it to be their constitutional

right to purchase and own any gun or weapon as long as they prove their competence mentally,

physically, through licensing, and/or via a background check. The federal government has

imposed bans on certain types of weapons and firearms and requires significant records to be

kept on individuals who legally own these types of weapons due to legal loopholes (grandfather

clauses, manufactured before a certain year, purchased from the government, etc). Additionally,

they impose fines and jail time on individuals who attempt to illegally solicit and deal with

firearms without a license.

The Framers of the Constitution felt strongly that every American should have the means

and ability to protect themselves from threats abroad, domestically, and even from federal and

local governments. Because of such, the Second Amendment regarding gun ownership and the

‘right to bear arms’ was written into the Constitution, right next to our rights to speech, the press,

religion, and others. Guns, and their culture, have become synonymous with the American

lifestyle. The design of guns has also changed dramatically since the 18th century. Every citizen

who purchases a gun in the United States needs to be at least 18 years of age, pass a background

check, and cannot be a felon. This process was mandated by the federal government through the
Trevor Schultz April 30, 2021 Issue Paper: Gun Control U.S. Gov’t & Politics

Gun Control Act (GCA) of 1968 and is administered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,

Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The GCA was a direct response to the assassinations of

President John Kennedy, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther

King, Jr.1 Many Americans supported the change to their civil liberties as it did not generally

impose on their constitutional right to owning a gun.

However, this legislation did not consider other types of military-grade firearms private

citizens could own. Such examples include 50-caliber rifles and machine guns, sometimes

referred to as fully-automatic weapons. Near the 20-year anniversary of the GCA, the Firearms

Owners' Protection Act of 1986 was enacted to expand the legal control of the ATF and its right

to seize and/or document guns within certain firearm classes, specifically Class 3

(fully-automatics). Again, many law-abiding citizens were not phased by the changes to their

civil liberties. Class 3 weapons are either used solely for military use or are obtained illegally

through black markets and cartels. As mentioned earlier, legal loopholes do exist. If a private

citizen wishes to obtain a Class 3 weapon, they must meet all federal requirements to own a gun,

the gun must have been manufactured before 1986, and you are required to register your

information, fingerprints, and entire background to the ATF who will also require approval of an

‘ATF Form 4’ application. From a friend of mine whose dad owns a fully-automatic weapon, you

are required to register a copy of the key to your front door with the ATF (also known as a

‘rolling search warrant’), but I could not confirm nor deny that. Modern problems require

modern solutions, I guess. I’m not an expert on guns, but I feel those regulations would be

effective in combating gun violence and reducing the accessibility to incredibly unnecessary and

1
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Gun Control Act | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives. (2020, January).
https://www.atf.gov/rules-and-regulations/gun-control-act#:~:text=Gun%20Control%20Act%20of%201968,
persons%22%2C%20and%20licensing%20provisions.
Trevor Schultz April 30, 2021 Issue Paper: Gun Control U.S. Gov’t & Politics

dangerous weapons for any private individual to possess, regardless of means or potential for

security.

A main reason why gun control is a tense social issue is because of gun violence and

what horrendous acts have been committed with the use of a gun. A common event we see in the

United States showcasing gun violence is mass shootings and killings; innocent people are

murdered due to purely random events, their religion, sexual orientation, or other factors. For

example, a school shooting that occurred in 2017 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in

Florida, that killed 17 people and injured many others, was carried out by a mentally ill person.

Their weapon, a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 .223, was legally purchased a year prior and was

privately stored on the perpetrator’s property.2 Should semi-automatic weapons such as these be

legal to own? Even though pistols and handguns are technically considered as semi-automatic

weapons, should we only ban ‘long’ guns from private ownership? A hardship of the gun control

debate is how to avoid punishing responsible, law-abiding gun owners for practicing their

Second Amendment rights while simultaneously limiting the general access to firearms from

felons, organized crime members, the mentally ill, and others who are circumstanced similarly.

As mentioned earlier, the Second Amendment is another legal obstacle, “....the right of the

people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”3 Where do we draw the line in determining

who can legally be discriminated against for gun ownership?

In 1994, President Clinton signed into law the Federal Assault Weapons Ban (FAWB)

which aimed “to prohibit the manufacture, transfer, or possession of a semi-automatic assault

2
Jansen, B. (2018, February 15). Florida shooting suspect bought gun legally, authorities say. USA
Today.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/02/15/florida-shooting-suspect-bought-gun-legally-authorities-
say/340606002/.
3
United States: Gun Ownership and the Supreme Court. Second Amendment | Law Library of Congress.
(2012, May 1). https://www.loc.gov/law/help/usconlaw/second-amendment.php.
Trevor Schultz April 30, 2021 Issue Paper: Gun Control U.S. Gov’t & Politics

weapon for civilian use."4 The bill banned more than a dozen specific firearms and certain

features on guns, but because there are hundreds of modifications that can be made on firearms

and the fact that it did not outright ban all semi-automatic weapons, many guns continued to be

used legally. Ironically, during the years of this ban, one of the deadliest mass shootings in

United States history occurred: Columbine High School in 1999. Infamously, this tragedy was

carried out using a weapon known as a TEC-9, a semi-automatic pistol. Even though the

weapons were initially purchased legally, they were purchased privately by the Columbine

perpetrators without subjection to background checks. Because these types of weapons were not

completely banned 5 years prior in 1994, these types of tragedies had continued to occur. In

2004, when the Federal Assault Weapons Ban lapsed due to a sunshine provision that President

George Bush did not renew, assault weapons became legal again for citizens to privately own.

Because this ban was not renewed, it can be argued that gun violence and mass shootings have

increased 183% since.5

Since then, there has not been any significant changes or overhauls to gun policy within

the United States. Throughout the last decade, with many major mass shootings including the

events of Sandy Hook in Connecticut and the Pulse Nightclub in Florida, we would expect that a

desire to draft legislation that addresses these public safety concerns would exist. I understand

that this issue is bigger and more multifaceted than just one person or institution, and requires an

immense amount of bicameral support and collaboration, but a solution is possible. I believe that

it should only be legal to own one type of firearm within each class ranking, but not multiples

within the same class. I think that the federal government should mandate training for every
4
Jansen, B. (2018). ABC News "Understanding the 1994 assault weapons ban and why it ended". ABC
News. https://abcnews.go.com/US/understanding-1994-assault-weapons-ban-ended/story?id=65546858.
5
Ingraham, C. (2019, April 27). Analysis | It's time to bring back the assault weapons ban, gun violence
experts say. The Washington Post.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/02/15/its-time-to-bring-back-the-assault-weapons-b
an-gun-violence-experts-say.
Trevor Schultz April 30, 2021 Issue Paper: Gun Control U.S. Gov’t & Politics

competent adult seeking ownership of a firearm along with a collection of their background and

fingerprints in a federal database. I understand this is already a standard practice, including

registering the serial numbers of guns involved in private gun transfers/purchases, but this would

include purchases from non-licensed firearms dealers (commonly found at gun shows) who are

not legally required to conduct background searches of buyers when conducting business in this

setting. This is known as the ‘gun show loophole’ and I think it must be redressed. It is your right

to own a gun (certain terms apply), but the process to purchase a gun should be consistent

industry-wide.
Trevor Schultz April 30, 2021 Issue Paper: Gun Control U.S. Gov’t & Politics

Works Cited

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Gun Control Act | Bureau of Alcohol,

Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. (2020, January).

https://www.atf.gov/rules-and-regulations/gun-control-act#:~:text=Gun%20Control%20A

ct%20of%201968,persons%22%2C%20and%20licensing%20provisions.

Jansen, B. (2018, February 15). Florida shooting suspect bought gun legally, authorities

say. USA Today.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/02/15/florida-shooting-suspect-bought-gun-l

egally-authorities-say/340606002/

United States: Gun Ownership and the Supreme Court. Second Amendment | Law

Library of Congress. (2012, May 1).

https://www.loc.gov/law/help/usconlaw/second-amendment.php.

Jansen, B. (2018). ABC News "Understanding the 1994 assault weapons ban and why it

ended". ABC News

https://abcnews.go.com/US/understanding-1994-assault-weapons-ban-ended/story?id=65

546858.

Ingraham, C. (2019, April 27). Analysis | It's time to bring back the assault weapons ban, gun

violence experts say. The Washington Post.

Trevor Schultz April 30, 2021 Issue Paper: Gun Control U.S. Gov’t & Politics

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/02/15/its-time-to-bring-back-the-a

ssault-weapons-ban-gun-violence-experts-say.