Gun_Control

Gun Control Heath Davis COM/220 June 20, 2012 Titilayo Evans Gun Control Gun control has been an issue in Congress throughout history since 1791. With the constant controversy with gun control within the nation, Congress is constantly fighting an uphill battle for gun control (Schwartz, 2008). With the constant debate in the United States, Congress is progressively changing gun control laws to gain control of illegal gun purchases. Unfortunately these changes of gun control laws are not showing any improvements of firearm crimes. Of the many laws in place, Congress should concentrate more effort in making the present gun control laws effective rather than trying to develop newer and stricter gun control laws. The first order of gun control was in 1791 when our forefathers put into place the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment was incorporated to ensure the rights of the people in this amendment would not be infringed. The rights in the Second Amendment are a well-regulated militia, necessary to the security of a free state and the rights of the people to keep and bear arms. These rights were handed down to us so the men and women of this nation can protect their families and their homes (Coulter, 2012). For the next 143 years Congress hadn’t made any significant changes in gun control, during this time gun control was at the digression of the local law enforcement. In 1871 the largest and oldest civil rights group was founded, the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA fights for the American citizen no matter what race, to ensure the American people are able to keep their rights to keep and bear arms and these rights are not infringed upon (Coulter, 2012). This civil rights group was founded by two Union officers, Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate (Gettings, 2012). In 1934 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed off on the National Firearms Act. This act was put into place to take automatic-fire weapons off the street. To help aid the National Firearms Act the Federal Firearms Act of 1938 was pushed through to eliminate the purchasing and transporting of firearms through interstate and foreign commerce channels. The most significant gun control act ever put into place was the Gun Control Act of 1968. Before this act was passed, consumers could purchase firearms through the mail with only their signature agreeing they are of age. The assassination of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy quickly fueled the passing of the Gun Control Act of 1968 (Gettings, 2012). To this day Congress is constantly fighting an uphill battle for gun control. In 1993, the democratic-controlled Congress passed the Brady bill to impose background checks on gun buyers. In 1996, the Republicans took over Congress and tried to repeal this bill but the ban expired when Senate failed to follow up on this appeal in 2004 (Gettings, 2012). In 2000 America’s largest anti-gun publication, the Anti-Gun journal announced that the Brady bill had failed to reduce homicide rates (Gun Owners Foundation, 2004). The Anti-Gun journal reported, “States implementing waiting periods and background checks did not experience reductions in homicide rates or overall suicide rates” (2004). Contrary to what the media will indicate there are more deaths related to high school football than guns. A study showed in a three year period, twice as many football players died of head injuries as compared with students killed by firearms (Gun Owners Foundation, 2004). The gun control topic has its cultural differences between city dwellers and rural residences. The difference between the two are that city dwellers support stricter gun control laws believing this will protect them from criminals and rural residences often oppose stricter gun control laws because hunting is deeply embedded in the culture and stricter gun control laws will prevent the rural residences from protecting themselves from criminals (Schwartz, 2008). Congress is stuck in between the differences trying to regulate gun control while still keeping within the rights of the second amendment. Most citizens that purchase firearms legally are responsible, law abiding people; they are not purchasing the weapon to commit a crime. The technology with forensics in today’s world now would make it easy to trace back the firearm that committed the homicide if the firearm were purchased legally (Hallquist, 2006). The big question is, will the banning of all firearms from the American citizen make America safer' According to Hallquist, gun control is an effort to stop the rise in violent crime by strengthening laws on the ownership of firearms (2006). Taking guns away from the responsible American citizen is not going to stop criminals from acquiring firearms illegally (Hallquist, 2006). As the National Rifle Association states, “If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.” Statistics from the gun control fact-sheet for the Gun Owners of America show that firearms help save more lives than they take. According to this fact-sheet, firearms are used 2.5 million times a year in self-defense. Out of the 2.5 million times only eight percent of these self-defense incidents was where the citizen shot his/her attacker. A detailed study in 1996 showed that crime dropped after certain states made it legal to carry a concealed gun. A recent poll given to convicted felons showed that three out of five felons agreed that a criminal will not invade a victim if he knows they are armed. These felons also agreed that they would rather take their chances running from the cops that to meet an armed victim (Gun Owners of America, 2004). To address pro-gun control people have to put themselves in the shoes of a young woman in 1993 that was driving home one evening when she passed car pulled over on the side of the street as she was driving by a shot came from the car through the back glass and hitting her daughter in the head. This woman is one of many who is for strict gun control laws and has all the right to be but did this gunman acquire this weapon legally or illegally' If purchased illegally all of the gun control laws Congress passed wouldn’t have stopped this gunman from purchasing this weapon. Criminals and felons do not purchase their weapons where background checks are used, most illegally purchased firearms are purchased through the black market or stolen (Hallquist, 2006). Through all of the debate of gun control, Congress’s biggest battle is to keep firearms out of the hands of children. The gun control laws in place presently do prevent children under the age of 18 and criminals from purchasing any type of firearm. A child cannot go into the local sporting goods store and purchase a firearm, so why are there so many accidental shootings from children' Children grow up playing GI Joes and cowboys and Indians so when they find their fathers gun in a closet or drawer, they assume it’s a toy and start playing with it. This is where most of the accidental shootings take place; parents do not educate their children about gun safety and the dangers of a firearm. Congress passed a gun bill in 1999 that requires all newly made hand guns to have trigger locks. This bill also updated the extension for the waiting period and background checks of firearms (Hallquist, 2006). Children are bringing firearms to school now more than ever to protect themselves against from bullying (One Hundred Second Congress, 1993). Bullying is another topic of its own but when it makes a child think they have to bring a firearm to school to protect themselves then it becomes a major topic that the school system and the parents need to tend to, quickly. School staff needs to have updated views on bullying and how to identify it. Gun control is a topic that should be addressed but enforcing strict gun control laws on responsible gun owners will not help reduce crime. This is taking away the only means of protection the American citizen has to protect themselves from criminals and taking guns out of the hands of the innocent will only help criminals commit their crimes. The courts repeatedly ruled that cops do not have an obligation to protect citizens, only the public in general (Gun Owners of America, 2004). Through the many gun control laws passed by Congress in the past and present times, crimes committed by illegally purchased firearms remain the same if not on the rise (Hallquist, 2006). In 1791 the Second Amendment was ratified, in 1934 the National Firearms Act was presented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to eliminate automatic weapons (Gettings, 2012). The Federal Firearms Act of 1938 was addressed to stop selling and shipping of firearms through interstate or foreign sources. The Gun Control Act of 1968 abolished the purchasing of mail-order guns. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 banned the manufacture and possession of semiautomatic assault weapons. The Brady Act of 1998 required all gun dealers to run background checks for all firearm sales (Gettings, 2012). These gun control laws are the key laws passed throughout history. So why is there still an abundance of gun violence' These laws passed through Congress throughout time are not followed by the outlaws or criminals intending to commit a crime (Coulter, 2012). Gun control is not reducing firearm violence because only law abiding citizens are following these laws. To reduce firearm violence, Congress should steer away from applying stricter laws on responsible gun owners and place their effort on how to make these laws affective on the criminals committing the firearm violence. In Congress’s effort to make gun control laws already in place effective instead of developing newer and stricter gun control laws, Congress can focus more time on other important topics. Although gun control has its many opinions, the fact is the second amendment states, “The right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed”. This right was given to us from our forefathers so the men and women in this nation can protect their families and their homes (Coulter, 2012). If this right is taken from us what will stop an intruder from invading our homes and what other right will be taken from the citizens of this nation' References Congress of the U.S., Washington DC. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. (1993). Children Carrying Weapons: Why the Recent Increase. One Hundred Second Congress, (), EBSCOhost Coulter, A. (2012, April). Trayvon and a History of Gun Rights. Human Events, 68(14), 24. EBSCOhost Gettings, J. (2000-2012). Milestones in Federal Gun Control Legislation. Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com Gun Owners Foundation. (2004). Gun Control Fact Sheet. Retrieved from http://www.gun owners.org Schwartz, E. (2008, March). In Congress, the Uphill Battle for Gun Control. U.S. News and World Report, 144 (8), 41-43. EBSCOhost Hallquist, D. (2006). A Look on Both Sides of Gun Control. 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