The Second Amendment: Assault Weapons Unlike many other countries in the world, America allows its citizens to own and carry firearms. The right to do so is protected by the Second Amendment of the US constitution written by the founding fathers of America. If a citizen feels the need to go out and purchase an AR-15, they are welcome to do so, just as long as they meet the requirements such as age, no criminal record, and proof of legal US citizenship. Where do the boundaries lie though?
Are there limits to what type of weaponry can be purchased, stored, and carried by the general public? A common controversy today is whether or not this amendment applies to militaristic-style and other assault weapons. “During the 20th century, the United States consistently took a reactive stance on gun control, pushing for stronger controls and greater restraints on gun sales based on perceived social crises or acts of violence that shocked the nation.
In 1934 that meant restricting access to “gangster weapons” through exorbitant excise taxes, and in 1968 it meant clamping down on inexpensive handguns and mail-order weapons sales because of rising urban crime rates and in response to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. ” (Clarke, Martin, 2016) Should a suburban citizen be allowed to possess an M-16 or any other assault weapon, or does it only apply to simple hunting rifles, shotguns, and pistols?
Did our founding fathers intend upon this, or did they just have muskets and derringers in mind? In 1994, a ban on assault weapons was passed which lasted until 2004 (Clarke, Martin, 2016). Some people believe that since the founding fathers of the United States of America only had low-powered muskets and other muzzle-loaders at the time, the Second Amendment does not apply to today’s higher-functioning guns and other weapons, especially assault weapons. The Second Amendment does in fact apply to these high-powered weapons, however
Brief History The right to purchase, keep, and carry firearms was written by the founding fathers of the nation and is known as the Second Amendment. This was written for citizens to be able to defend themselves against a tyrannical government or potential threat. The founding fathers of the nation did so against the tyrannical English government in 1776. It can also be used to hunt for food, defend yourself, your family and your property against a home intruder, or just as a hobby (collecting, shooting range, etc. ).
Why is it more important for Rosie O’Donnell’s son to have armed protection than for a black youth, or other people living in high-crime neighborhoods to have protection? ” (Opposing Viewpoints: Gun Control, 2014) Opposing Viewpoints Many US politicians and citizens (usually registered Democrat) are in favor of making the nation’s laws regarding firearms much more strict. Some are even for abolishing the Second Amendment and just banning firearms of all types all together. “On September 10th, 1997, five men licensed to carry concealed handguns got into a fight outside a Pittsburg saloon after exchanging “hostile looks.
All of the men fired their weapons and ended up in the hospital. ” Says Douglas Weil (Opposing Viewpoints: Gun Violence, 2014) Many of these liberally-minded people also believe that the founding fathers only intended for the Second Amendment to only apply to the weapons they had access to at the time era in which it was written (muskets, flintlock pistols, etc. ) It does not “take a few bad apples to spoil the crew. ” First, we cannot penalize all of the citizens of America for the actions of a few “bad eggs. “Because handguns and other firearms are so easily accessible to many children, adolescents and other family members in their homes, the risks of gun violence in the home increase drastically. ” Says Handgun Control Inc. (Opposing Viewpoints: Gun Control, 2014) This statement is totally false. Thousands upon thousands of citizens in the United States of America have purchased, owned, and carried firearms of all kinds including military-grade assault weapons and have been law abiding, well behaved, and even used his or her guns to protect his or herself, their families, and other people even.
The American media, however, refuses to broadcast the brave and heroic vigilantes…. CNN, CNBC, ABC, Michael Moore (director) and many other liberally biased news networks and celebrity activists try their hardest to turn the American people against one another. They exploit, politicize, and even scapegoat tragedies and push for stricter gun laws and even bans to be passed. Other networks, such as Fox News, aren’t much better, but at least they tell the truth when it comes to guns.
These liberally biased networks and individuals have taken tragedies such as the Columbine High School massacre (1999), the Aurora Colorado theater shooting (2012), The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and the recent Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting (2016), all involving assault weapons (McEvers, 2016), and used them as propaganda for their liberal agendas. Take Michael Moore’s 2002 documentary film Bowling for Columbine as an example; Moore uses this tragedy to appeal to the emotional side of viewers, whilst discreetly intertwining gun control propaganda.
He travels to K-Marts across America pushing them to stop selling bullets and ammunition and questions actor and activist Charlton Heston about his support of the National Rifle Association (NRA). On a lighter note, many citizens have used their Amendment Rights for good. These liberal-minded fools just refuse to talk about these “good Samaritans. ” As quoted by Israeli criminologist Abraham Tennenbaum, “The homicide rate in Israel has always been very low-much lower than the United States... despite the greater availability of guns to law-abiding civilians. (Gun Violence: Opposing Viewpoints, 2014) Israel, with much more experience regarding violence and killings licenses trained adults with guns so civilians and children are much safer. (Gun Control: Opposing Viewpoints, 2014) The shooters involved in the shootings mentioned above are just absolutely horrible examples of gun owners in America. Fair Match As previously stated, one common argument against the right of private gun ownership of citizens is that the founding fathers only intended on citizens owning low powered muskets and derringers. What sense does that make though?
If ISIS, Russia, or North Korea were to invade the US, they would be using AK-47s, grenade launchers, RPGs, and other high powered destructive weapons. Just imagine how defenseless a person would be if all he or she had was a musket against said threat. If they only had muskets also, it would be different. If they invaded the nation in the suburban, civilian-occupied areas, it is very doubtful they will say: “Oh, looks like we have got to start using hunting rifles and shotguns, so it is a fair fight. ” The civilian would not stand a chance if all that he or she had was a . 2 caliber rifle, and the oppressor had an M60 machine gun. Also, if the government were to issue a ban on all guns (which is highly unconstitutional) and sent out military and riot police to collect and confiscate all civilian-owned weapons, they too would have high-powered assault weaponry. After all, this amendment was created so that a civilian could protect and defend his or herself and his or her family and loved-ones against a tyrannical government of any kind.
This would include the citizen’s own government, as the founding fathers had to do o against England in the 1700’s. The ownership of handguns and other firearms has doubled over the past twenty years causing the number of homicides in the US to decline drastically. (Opposing Viewpoints: Gun Control, 2014) For years the National Rifle Association has fought against gun control of any kind and for American citizens’ rights to own possess and carry firearms (Clarke, Martin, 2016). So, unless Russia, ISIS, North Korea or whoever the threat might be starts using muskets, which is highly doubtful, then we must have the high-powered weaponry that they possess.
Technology Advances as Time Progresses Last, the founding fathers of the USA knew that as time went on, our technology and machinery would only get more advanced. It would be completely and utterly irrational to think that we would have the same weaponry (muskets) forever, so the fathers knew what they were doing when they wrote the Second Amendment. At the time the Second Amendment was written, America was just coming out of a revolutionary war, so it was already becoming more advanced because it had its own independence to do what it wanted to like invent new things and patent them.
Human beings’ primitive ancestors had only sticks and stones as weapons, so that shows how a society becomes more civilized and advanced as it progresses. Also, as the founding fathers grew up from young children to men, they saw many advances in medicine, technology, and machinery. George Washington would have been amazed at the Gatling gun, if he was to have seen it during the civil war, and Lincoln would be too at the automatic Gatling gun (“Minigun” or “Chaingun”), a highly improved version of the Gatling gun.
So, all in all, the founding fathers were smart enough to know that as years passed and America became more advanced, it would have better, higher-powered weaponry when they wrote the Second Amendment. In conclusion, it is clear that the Second amendment of the American Constitution does in fact apply to all weaponry, including assault weapons. Guns can save lives or take them, it all depends on the person behind the trigger. These deranged people who have caused terror in the USA are good examples of bad gun owners.
Every citizen in the US shouldn’t have his or her rights taken away because someone else abuses his or hers. Other political parties such as Republicans and Libertarians are firm advocates of the Second Amendment and are quicker to recognize the vigilantes who put use his or her Second Amendment rights and put his or her life on the line to save others. In order to take extreme countermeasures for the ongoing problem of gun-violence and homicide in the US, all citizens who choose to do so should be armed and trained with assault weaponry.
Switzerland does this and is statistically one of the best-off countries with one of the lowest homicide-rates in the world. If more good people own guns and know how to use them, the fewer burglars and other home intruders will feel compelled to breaking and entering a private residence. If a bank robber were speeding down a highway, they could cause a lot of destruction, whereas a good police officer speeding down a highway could cause great things like catching a bad person. It takes a good person to do good things.