Gun Control Policy a Review of the Literature Essay Example

Gun Control Policy: a Review of the Literature Essay Gun Control and Policy: A Review of the Literature Abstract â€Å"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. † Amendment II, Bill of Rights Constitution of the U. S The Second Amendment has been a major issue in American politics since 1876. The nations powerful gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, holds that it means the right to keep and bear arms any arms. One day an innocent kid walking home from school gets shot in a drive by shooting is he just a victim of circumstance or could this of been easily prevented. There are lobbyist for the private ownership of guns and lobbyist for legislation to ban personal possession of guns for good. In this paper I hope that just maybe I can persuade you to think differently on a topic that’s stirring up the nation. The lobbyist give credibility to this statement by adding that criminal violence continues to increase in cities like New York and Washington DC, even though gun control statutes were put into effect. According to the NRA, anti-crime measures are the way to conquer urban violence, not anti-gun measures. The hope of most members in the association is to educate people about guns. The association is willing to reveal proper usage of guns to non-gun owners. Introduction The Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights gives people the right to keep and bear arms. (Lubanski, 2006) The ideas of setting strict laws that allow only hunting rifle use, and laws that allow more freedom have been argued over for many years. The best argument protecting the Second Amendment is that people have more security when possessing a gun. Although this is possibly true, gun control provides much more than comfort for the people. We will write a custom essay sample on Gun Control Policy: a Review of the Literature specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Gun Control Policy: a Review of the Literature specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Gun Control Policy: a Review of the Literature specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The second amendment has some benefits, but many dangers also come with having the right to own a gun. One of these dangers includes violence and death with our youth. If Gun Control laws are put into action, they will help prevent deaths of innocent people who carry guns. Gun Control will also help prevent terrorism against us or anyone else with the terrorists using guns from our own country. Gun control will also help prevent robberies and other treacherous hostage situations. U. S. gun control policy, past to present The United States Constitution was written over two hundred years ago by a group of societies finest. These men shaped the United States as we live in a world of democracy. These well mannered men controlled most of the land, harbors, and agriculture within the United States. Living in the new world law and order needed to be formed. To defend and gather men to fight against the enemy a law had to be passed. Citizens would use arms to defeat the enemy and protect the ones valuables. According to Lee (2009), The Constitution did not adequately define â€Å"arms†. When it was adopted, â€Å"arms† included muzzle loaded muskets and pistols, swords, knives, bow with arrows, and spears. However, a common law definition would be â€Å"light infantry weapons which can be carried and used, together with ammunition, by a single militiaman, functionally equivalent to those commonly used by infantrymen in land warfare†. â€Å"The advantage of being armed Americans possess over the people of all other nations. Notwithstanding the military establishments in the several Kingdoms of Europe, which are carried as far as the public resources will bear, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. † (Lubanski, 2006) The use of guns is often the American technique of choice for all kinds of conflict resolution. Our famous Constitution, about which many of us are generally so proud, enshrines along with the right to freedom of speech, press, religion and assembles the right to own guns. Not all of us are so proud and triumphant about the gun guarantee clause. (Press, 2008) The right to free speech, press, religion and assembly and so on seem to be working well, but the gun part not so much. According to Lee (2009), James Madison is the role in the creation of the American bill of right from 1787 to 1791. He worked tirelessly including Constitutional convention, the Virginia ratifying convention, and to see the Bills of Right of approved. Without Madison, those ten amendments, this became the foundation of liberty and might not have come part of constitution. The Second amendments provide â€Å"A will regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of Free states, the right of people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. † (Lee, 2009) According to Joibu (2001) the present research draws on two strands of empirical investigation to derive the hypothesis that the less confidence people have in the federal government, the more likely they are to own guns. Some gun owners have manifested a distrust of the federal government in light of gun control legislation. Any discourse about gun polices that focuses exclusively on the positive and negative consequences of gun ownership for the individual, community, and society may be valuable but will miss an essential point: specifically for many people think gun is an icon for evil and violence, but for others the same gun is an icon for democracy and personal empowerment. Teenage students and children misguided use of gun According to the Associated Press (2008), some misguided people will focus on the fact that the twenty three years old student who killed his classmates and other at Virginia Tech was ethnically Korean; this is one of those observations that are 99. 99 percent irrelevant. What are we to make of the fact that he is Korean? Just disregard all the hoopla about the race of student responsible for the slayings. These students were not killed by a Korean; they were killed by a nine millimeter handgun and a point twenty two caliber handgun. Which it was legal for him to obtain? Storing a personal fire arm on college campus is prohibited by law. So when this Virginia Tech student completed his rampage, did anyone notice that he purchased a lot of ammo and showed signs of abnormal behaviors? We can only speculate what caused his former peers. How many people’s think guns are necessary to protect their self? Is anyone feeling the same way that how often guns kill children? According to Phelps (2009), magazines and media usually tell people how beautiful and powerful guns are and never mention how many children get hurt by guns every day. In fact that guns are a weapons of violence, they take more lives away every year, and they make people blind to the fact they killing their own children. The gun control laws would help cut back on the store robberies, bank robberies, gang shootings etc. Gun laws that restrict the sale of handguns would help keep hand guns out of criminals’ hands. I understand the beliefs of some who feel that by banning guns the streets on communities would be a much a safer place. (Phelps, 2009) According to Weil (1997), Prof. John Lott of the University of Chicago recent studies show that owning guns reduces crime. Criminals usually attack those that appear vulnerable. Thus having a gun will ward of criminals, showed that by adopting shall issue concealed carry handgun laws, thirty one states have reduced murders, on average, by seven percent, rapes by five percents, aggravated assaults by seven percent and robbery by three percent. Children aged five to fourteen living in one of the five high gun states were twice as likely to commit suicide or to be murdered, three times as likely to die from firearm homicide, seven times as likely to die from firearm suicide, and sixteen times as likely to die from a firearm related accident. Humphries, 2002) According to Humphries (2002) study suggests the higher death rates are largely related to gun availability and are not due to difference in levels of poverty, education or urbanization in these states. According to the American Students Association (2009) Gun use in America is associated with a number of medical problems for primary care physicians, in cluding traumatic injury, homicide, suicide and domestic violence. All patients are susceptible to firearm violence: children playing with loaded weapons, teenagers walking unsafe streets, women in abusive relationships and adults defending their homes. Firearm-related injury and death occurs with surprising frequency. One child in America dies from a gunshot wound every ninety minutes, and thirty children and adolescents under age of nineteen a school classroom die every two days as a result of firearms. The number of violent events is growing; the incidence of firearm-related homicides has increased sharply over the past decade, peaking at 38,500 deaths in 1994, very nearly the same as the number of people died in a motor vehicle accident in 1994 and even though the use of motor vehicles is more widespread. Although physicians recognize the gravity of this epidemic of violence, very few promote gun safety in clinical encounters or publicly advocate control of gun violence. District of Columbria’s gun control policy According to Pratt (2008), over forty million Americans own a gun. Between 55,000 and 120,000 times a year, an American uses his gun in self-defense. Dick Heller, a special police officer in District of Columbia, was licensed to carry handgun during his shift at the Federal Judicial Center. He challenged D. C. s gun control Laws on Second Amendment grounds and sought to have them enjoined as unconstitutional. The Supreme Court addressed the scope of the Second Amendments right to bear arms in striking down D. C. laws that strictly regulated handguns and other firearms. The Court unanimously held that the Second Amendment confers an individual right, and a bare majority of the Court held that this right includes possessing weapons in the home for self-defense. Eighteen months after Congress established home rule for the District of Columbia Council votes 12 to 1 in favor of a bill restricting city residents from acquiring handguns. Pratt, 2008) According to Heller (2008) the law exempts guards, police officers and owners who had registered their handguns before it took effect. Under the bill, all firearms (including rifles and shotguns, which were not restricted by the law) must be kept unloaded and disassembled, except those in business establishments. The D. C. Council and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) approved municipal legislation after the Supreme Court ruling that allows ownership of han dguns in the city, but with restrictions. According to Heller (2008), as of April 2008, District of Columbia can purchase, possess and carry firearms. All rifles and shot guns must be registered with the metropolitan police and to obtain the registration must be 21 years old and above or over 18 years old must have liability signed by guardian. No hand gun will be possessed in metropolitan areas unless it is registered. Carrying hand guns in the District prohibited but all firearms must be kept at one’s home or place of business. Non-residents are prohibited to carry or possess hand guns while traveling in the District. National Rifle Association-Institute for Legislative in Action According to The National Rifle Association created the Institute for Legislative in Action (2009) established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association of America.. Their mission statement entails preserving and protecting the Second Amendment, which guarantees the ability of law-abiding citizens to own and use firearms for legal and acceptable purposes. The Institute is not directly associated with any specific ammunition or gun makers. It receives financial support from member dues and other contributions for the Institutes legislative activity. The National Rifle Association has headquarters in Fairfax, VA, Washington DC, and Sacramento, CA. The Institute is able to employ seven full-time lobbyists on Capitol Hill and over 70 other employees elsewhere. The National Rifle Association has more than 2. 8 million members nationwide. This number has doubled since 1978. The main reason that the NRA is able to fight restrictions on gun control is due to the fact that their membership is so large. Whenever a bill or other form of legislation is proposed, the NRA supporters begin to write and contact their representatives. According to The National Rifle Association created the Institute for Legislative in Action (2009) the institute also educates the public by distributing brochures and articles on ownership, self-defense, and safety of firearms. Additionally, the institute informs the public on the constitutionality of firearm ownership and other means of crime fighting measures. The NRA puts its trust on what they believe is a simple and important truth: when provided with facts, the nations elected officials will recognize that gun control schemes are a proven failure in fighting crime and an infringement on the 2nd Amendment. This belief is undoubtedly deeply embedded into many people in our country. Proof is found in the success and development of the National Rifle Association. According to Billeaud (2009) Senator John McCain and former presidential candidate spoke at NRA nation 138th annual meeting about Mexico drug war should not use an excuse try to limit United States gun right. In Mexico drug organizations are fighting each other for the most profitable drug and immigration smuggling route to United States. The federal agents in United States were saying most guns recovered at killing in Mexico were exported from United States. According to Dionne (2009) there are hundreds or thousands of guns, including assault weapons, were pouring across the Mexican border into Arizona, New Mexico and Southern California, arming criminal gangs who were killing American law enforcement officials and other U. S. citizens. American Gun Lobby is too big and more powerful than Obama and him to push a rational and limited gun regulation through the congress. The Mexican gangs are able to use gun purchased in U. S. because of our loophole gun show and insanely permissive gun regulation. According to Jonsson (2009) The 47,000 gun-loving Americans who attended the 138th NRA Convention bore the hopes of many disgruntled, mostly white Americans who seek to check what they see as Washingtons liberal trajectory. Currently, NRA memberships are growing, guns registrations are sky rocking and ammunition store are back ordered. NRA is proposing cut down on gun-show loopholes that allow paperless gun sales will face major hurdles. Conclusion As a result of the many school shootings that have taken place in the last few years, there has been a huge push for stricter gun control laws. Many people dont feel safe in todays society. There are some people who are opposed to stricter gun control laws. Many gun enthusiasts dont believe that gun control laws really work because only the law abiding citizens would follow them and they arent the ones creating the problem. These people do present some good arguments for getting rid of gun control. Many people think that gun control is right because they think keeping people away from guns will reduce the amount of deaths each year. They also think that guns cause many of the deaths that had been committed each year. Also when ever people hear the word gun, the thoughts are of violence and negativity. Many people, I included think gun control is wrong because we know that it is not necessary, since we know that guns were not involved in many of the deaths caused each year.