Re-Assessing the Effectiveness of the Country’s Gun Laws
America’s Gun Laws Are they Effective
Introduction
Signed into law on the 22nd of Oct, 1968, the Gun Control Act of 1968 is largely considered to be the very first significant attempt at controlling not only interstate firearms commerce, but also firearm ownership. Prior to this particular legislation, there had been other gun-control laws passed. These included but they were not limited to the National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Federal Firearms Act of 1938. These laws did not, however, sufficiently put in place a mechanism for the effective regulation of firearm owners and the firearm industry. However, with the assassination of both Martin Luther King and President J.F. Kennedy, there was a clear need for an interventionist measure in the gun politics realm. Today, gun control remains a rather divisive issue in our nation’s politics. Thanks to an escalation in mass shooting incidences, it may be time to re-assess the effectiveness of our gun-control laws. Stricter gun control laws should be enacted.
Discussion
It is important to note, from the onset, that both opponents and proponents of gun control point out that their position is firmly rooted in the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. As a matter of fact, while those in support of stricter laws are of the opinion that the framers of the Constitution had militias in mind in as far as the Second Amendment is concerned, there are those who are convinced that owning guns is an inalienable constitutional right. With regard to the latter perspective, Hayes (2016) points out that gun ownership is considered to be a longstanding tradition of the American society and one that has the backing of the U.S. Constitution. It therefore follows that having in place gun control laws that are inherently restrictive would be going against not only the very fabric of the society, but also against the supreme law of the land. As per the Second Amendment: “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” (Hayes, 2016, p. 33). There have been several court rulings that appear to reinforce or entrench this perspective. The said rulings include, but they are not limited to McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) (Johnson, Kopel, and Mocsary, 2017). On the other hand, proponents of stricter gun control laws often cite the U.S. Supreme Court majority opinion in District of Columbia et al. v. Heller (2008) in an attempt to advance their position that unlimited rights to gun ownership have no basis in as far as the Second Amendment is concerned. In the said ruling, Justice Antonin Scalia pointed out that:
Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited… nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms...
Gun control has been a controversial subject for the public and the government. Obama administration has come under attack for its silence on the issue. In September 2008, the president promised people that he wouldn't take away their guns, and since then, he has not done anything to introduce stricter laws thus attracting serious criticism from many quarters including the Brady campaign in 2010. (Altman, 2011) With gun-related incidents on
GUN CONTROL & PUSH FOR GUN CONTROL Surname The research paper is on gun control and the push for gun control. To respond to the topic the paper first lays down in the first paragraph basic concepts of the gun control ideals and the pro-gun movement. The introduction explores the basic tenets and motivations of the pro-gun and gun control activists in America. The paper uses the motivation and opposition of both
Opponents of gun control became more proactive and in 1977 after the capture of NRA leader, they began to harm the reputation of the GCA officers and executives. They aimed to scare the gun owners into thinking that they will be harassed and prosecuted for possessing guns. Opponents of gun control pushed the Carter administration to remove the proposals which aimed at changing the execution of the laws. After this
" (Foster, 1999) Within this framework there is no reference to gun ownership by individuals and according to Foster's report: "...it is reasonable to assume that private arms are intended for destruction under the term." (Foster, 1999) The work of David B. Kopel, a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan and presently a practicing attorney in Colorado writes in the work entitled: "Trust the People: The Case Against Gun Control" a
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Embedded into the express rights and freedoms of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights is the right to bear arms. The Second Amendment states explicitly the purpose for its existence: "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." The Second Amendment is not, as may be commonly believed, uniquely
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