" (Oyez Project, 2008). Had the decision gone the other way, gun rights activists and gun owners would have likely felt as though their constitutional rights were under attack.
The District of Columbia v. Heller case illustrates the extent to which gun rights is embedded into the fabric of the United States' cultural experience. Had the decision gone the other way, the United States Supreme Court could have dealt gun ownership a deathblow. Certainly there are many examples of nations that do not allow their citizens to possess firearms, and many of these nations are developed and have low crime rates. But it is very evident that in the United States, the individual, cultural sense of empowerment, entitlement, and freedom make for a recipe of fervent gun ownership attitudes. Certainly it would be theoretically much more difficult to oppress an armed citizenry, and many people feel as though the only thing standing in the way of this oppression is gun rights.
Gun Regulation
The regulation of firearms is no small task. The Brady Bill, introduced after the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan led to the paralysis of his press secretary, James Brady. President Clinton signed the bill into law in 1993 after much debate. The background checks required by the bill made it difficult for some people to obtain a firearm, and impossible for others (Jacobs, 2002). The government regulation of firearm sales represented a step in the direction of fascism, however many gun owners understand the need for background checks on those who may be mentally unstable or otherwise unfit to own a firearm. One of the fiercest opponents of the Brady Bill was the National Rifle Association. In fact, in response to the passage of the bill, the NRA's own publication, American Rifleman (1994), stated, "When Bill Clinton signed the Brady bill into law on November 30, a drop of blood dripped from the finger of the sovereign American citizen ... The executioner's tool is the Brady bill - now the Brady law ... [T]hey'll go house to house, kicking in the law-abiding gun owners' doors." (NRA, 1994). The NRA also filed lawsuits in a dozen states arguing that the Brady Bill represented a contradiction to the United States Constitution.
Whether or not the NRA was acting in an extreme manner is irellevant. The NRA was acting on the behalf of the American people and their Second Amendment rights. Many gun activists use the "slippery slope" argument to argue that government is slowly taking away their Second Amendment rights piece by piece, and that it is necessary to oppose their small infringements on the Second Amendment in order to keep it permanently intact (Lott, 2000). Just as the Second Amendment was relevant when it was created, it is still relevant today, especially politically as many different people and gun activist groups take sides on the argument. From the years 1994 to 2000, the Brady Bill has helped keep over 1.1 million firearms out of the hands of felons, fugitives, and those who could not pass an FBI background check (Lott, 2000). This number is often the center of much dispute, but like anything else in life, the Brady Bill catalyzes both positive and negative ramifications in American culture and politics.
Without a doubt the Second Amendment is just as relevant today as it was nearly 250 years...
Second Amendment to the United States Constitution states: "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." Advocates of civil rights and civil liberties constantly demand unhindered freedom of press, of speech, and religious freedom. But when the issue of the Second Amendment arises, many shy away or shun the concept
In asserting that the right to bear arms must be interpreted in the collectivist point-of-view, the author rationalized that "the more collectively the right is interpreted, the more broadly Congress can legislate to restrict the right to bear arms" (347). In effect, what made sense in Busch's analysis is that this particular right, as stated in the Constitution, must be interpreted in the proper context. Thus, Emerson's ownership of
5 ounces of steel in them. The bill did not pass, but eventually a compromise bill went through requiring all handguns to have at least 3.7 ounces of steel. No completely plastic gun has ever been produced, although guns with a plastic frame are popular because they weigh less. The legislation was unnecessary because, again, no problem existed. Apparently, the gun debate is not the place to look for facts. The
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Assignment 1 Logical fallacies are everywhere, and can be surprisingly persuasive to those who are unaware of their existence. One logical fallacy is red herring, which throws in a random, unrelated idea to throw off the audience. For example, a recent article criticized the anti-gun protesters not because they were violent but because they were “rude to adults.” A more effective means of engaging the protesters would have been to have
Open Field Doctrine The Fourth Amendment is one of the most important and hotly contested and debated amendment within the Bill of Rights to the United State Constitution. Many people focus on the First and Second amendment. The Fourth Amendment, when discussed, usually comes up when speaking of house/car searches and whether warrants are needed and how they can and should be procured. Interpretations of the Fourth Amendment have led to
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