In Control or Out of Control There is nothing scarier and threatening than a patriotic American with a shotgun. Since the constitution was created, it gave Americans the right to bare arms. However, many gun users are misusing weapons in an inappropriate manner and taking advantage of it for something really threatening for the population. Even though the Constitution states that people should have the right to bare arms, the United States should take action to prevent future threats to their citizens.
The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution states that “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” which was then passed by Congress in 1789 and ratified it in the Bill of Rights in 1791. The amendment was made for the fact that the thirteen colonies needed their own militia against the English Empire. During the Revolutionary War, the constitutional convention ordered the colonies to regulate standing armies and a militia.
The colonies had relied on ordinary citizens to bear arms who supplied their own weapons that trained and served as part-time soldiers. After the war, the United States developed the Bill of Rights including this amendment. Everyone in the world has the right to bear arms to protect themselves from harm, who oppresses them, and who tries to kill them. The United States passed the Second Amendment to fight for independence from the British Empire. The colonies felt that the government was putting too much power and becoming a tyranny. The colonies decided to overthrow the English government from suppressing rights from the people.
One reason why the Second Amendment was passed is because the people should be able to use weapons “When a government betrays the people by amassing too much power and becoming tyrannical” and the people have no other “choice but to exercise their original right of self defense” quoted by Alexander Hamilton. Ever since the ending of the war, the amendment has help throughout the years. Once the War of 1812 broke out against the British invasion, the United States still did not have a strong army since the country was still new. The States used militias because they were low cost and easily equipped.
The militias had trained soldiers but also citizens. The Second Amendment played a major role in this war against an attack on the United States. Even though that has happened previously, it is known that an invasion like that can happen at any given time at any place. Although a foreign threat can happen at anytime the United States is also known to have threat problems internally within the population. The United States is known to have mass shootings across the nation. Reports show that the victims that were part of such attacks such as the Sandy Hook shooting, no one was equipped with some sort of a defense such as a weapon.
The United States should allow schools to possess weapons to defend any threat at any given time. If the law enforcement can not make it to the scene in time, the school staff will be authorized to carry a weapon to use when necessary. Teachers are well educated who do not have bad backgrounds which is why they have their job, they should be able to have access to small weapons against any threat. Another example of a mass shooting at a school was the Red Lake shooting on March 2005. MPR news reported that “Jeffrey Weise killed his grandfather first” who was a tribal police officer.
He then proceeded to Red Lake High School where he shot an unarmed security guard, five students, and a teacher, and “injured fourteen to fifteen other students” stated by Fox News. Citizens should be prepared for the unexpected. Shooters find schools as an easy target since there are no law enforcement or someone that carries a weapon to protect the school. Changes to let citizens to carry weapons to protect those around them against any threat is needed that can help prevent mass shootings across the country. If people misuse weapons and take the advantage over them, stricter laws must come in.
Gun control can mean anything from government registration of firearms or to ban the manufacture, sale, or possession of certain types of firearms. Gun restrictions are needed for the safety for the people. According to the Brady Campaign, 31 Americans are murdered with guns every day and 151 are treated at a hospital. On average, 55 people kill themselves with a firearm and 46 people are shot or killed in an accident with a weapon. More than 200 million weapons in America have turned the entire country into a battle zone. Thousands of people who own guns are in the temptation to commit a crime.
Some countries have banned assault weapons according to the Bustle Article but handguns are widely used and cheaper than assault weapons. Many firearms involved in crimes are cheap handguns called “Saturday Night Specials”. Many families own these types of handguns because they feel the need to protect themselves but eventually end up killing one another or use it for wrong doings. On December 14, 2012, twenty year old Adam Lanza killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, before killing twenty children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut.
CNN stated that Nancy Lanza had purchased the weapons and that Adam Lanza was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Ever since the mass shooting, it has changed how people view guns. On Obama’s executive action on gun control, he said “Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad,” while pausing and wiping away tears. People take advantage of guns and use them for crimes such as stealing and rape. More gun control laws need to be passed to protect women against domestic violence and stalkers. Stricter restriction that surpass background checks are needed since criminals will find a way to access weapons.
As said by the Gun Control Pro/Con website, “background checks are not required on all gun sales, so domestic abusers prohibited from gun ownership can easily circumvent the gun-ownership ban by buying a gun from a private seller,” and by doing so they can continue committing violent crimes. On December 2, 2015, a couple “opened fire at a holiday party at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino” and killed fourteen and injured twenty-two people, as reported by LA Times. In July 22, 2012 in Aurora Colorado, twelve people were killed and 58 were injured at a local theater premiering “The Dark Knight Rises”.
The United States should put consideration on the restriction of guns to prevent more and unexpected shootings around the nation. The author Stephen King quoted “How many have to die before we will give up these dangerous toys? ” in his book “Guns”. Controlling weapons and passing laws can not end every crime but the majority of gun shootings around the nation, ending the bloodbath the nation experiences every year. There has been many organizations developed to support both sides of the debate. One of the oldest organization is the National Rifle Association which was assembled 1871.
The association educates those who want to possess a weapon. More than 125,000 gun instructors teach and “train more than 1,000,000 gun owners a year” as said in their website. Other organizations against gun control are the Gun Owners Foundation and the National Association for Gun Rights. All of these organizations see the Second Amendment important to the people of the United States. The most widely association acknowledged as a greatest political force to oppose gun restrictions iis the National Rifle Association. On the other hand, organizations such as the Brady Campaign and Everytown for Gun Safety are with gun control.
These organizations are at a mission to create a better and safer United States that will lead to the decline of gun deaths and injuries. As stated by the campaign, ever since “the Brady law took place in 1994, over 2. 4 million purchases have been blocked” which saved lives from this act. Organizations from both sides are putting effort to make people and government officials to lean more on either side of the debate. These organizations will do everything they can to support their side of the debate and their solutions. The debate whether to pass gun laws or not is at an all time high.
The debate has been discussed recently do to the fact that there has been many mass shootings the 21 century. As years go by, guns become faster and far more powerful than before. What the Founding Fathers did not think about were the future of weapons and how deadly they can become. The Constitution has stated that “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State” but the reality is that the United States has law enforcements to protect every individual. Instead of making a militia to protect the citizens by having access to guns, criminals are using that access to guns and kill people.
Citizens should be allowed to carry weapons for protection against criminals and have something to defend themselves with, but those citizens could use those weapons inappropriately for malicious reasons. Republicans are against gun control while Liberals and Democrats are with gun control. Other organizations such as the National Rifle Association are against gun control. On Black Friday 2015, more background checks were processed for gun sales than any other day on record in the history of America. Stephen Fischer, the FBI’s chief, stated that it “was an approximate 5% increase over the 175,754 received” on the previous year.
Gun control or not, will cause more violence or protection. Gun control is seen as both required and unneeded. The debate whether guns should be restricted or not has become a major struggle to solve. Ever since the Second Amendment was created, it said that citizens have the right to bare arms. As some see the right as security and protection for oneself but others see it as an advantage to cause harm to others. Gun control or no control can both solve the nation’s problems, however they can result to harmful consequences either way.
Arming our citizens can cause the criminals to back down and be afraid to commit a crime. Although arming our citizens can help them protect themselves, it can lead to the urge to use the weapon for a crime. Even the most innocent people have a sinister side to them, which can be used when holding a gun. Whether which side is right, and whether a solution is promoted, there will be problems with it. Whatever resolution is used and permitted, let that solution secure a better future for the citizen of the United States.
