Running head: PRO-GUN CONTROL ISSUE 1

Pro-Gun Control Issue

Name

Institution
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Pro-Gun Control Issue

Introduction

Owning guns is among the hottest debates in the United States and other governments

over the world. The major reason why some members of the public were allowed to purchase

and own guns was to secure themselves and the state. The Second Amendment of the US

facilitated this right. It enabled the citizens to poses any guns, therefore, leading to a large

number of firearms available to the public. The lack of a strict regulatory framework on the use

of firearms has resulted to the increment in crime, gangsters and mass shootings in public places

hence threatening the country’s security. Politics is a major player in the establishment of such

regulations, but it appears that the government is not firm in its decisions regarding the issue.

Government officials have taken sides, therefore, making it difficult to achieve a consensus.

Thesis statement: private ownership of guns is more likely to endanger the citizens’ lives due to

their unethical use.

The genesis of the Pro-Gun Control Issue

Legal gun ownership in the US began in 1791 when the Second Amendment was ratified

(Garrett, 2017). At this time, there wasn't any control mechanism for the gun owners. This led to

many people handling guns. In 1871, the NRA (National Rifle Association) was founded by a

couple of soldiers; it was aimed at promoting shooting of rifles (Garrett, 2017). The right for

citizens to own guns was first questioned in 1822 when a case of a man carrying a knife

concealed in a cane was presented to the court. This man was fined $ 100, but Bliss appealed the

conviction and referred the case to a provision by the commonwealth that allowed citizens to

own arms for their personal and state security. Therefore, the sentence was overturned in favor of
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Bliss. The major act towards controlling the use of firearms came into force in 1934 when the

National Firearms Act of 1934 came into force (Garrett, 2017). There was a great increase in the

number of citizens owning guns before this establishment. The owners of the guns started

misusing the tools hence giving rise unethical practices that led to rising of criminal offences, the

establishment of gangster groups; thus, the saint valentine's day massacre. New regulations to

gun purchase and use were enacted through the gun control act of 1968 (Garrett, 2017). These

regulations required all gun sellers to have licenses. Online purchasing was prohibited, and the

sellers were not needed to sell rifles to any person with a criminal history. They were supposed

to keep full personal records for all buyers. Taxation was also increased on the importers and

users of guns in essence to reduce the purchasing power. All people with mental conditions and

drug users were not allowed to use firearms.

Denotation and Connotation

Pro-gun control issue denotes the struggle by the government to enact laws and establish

policies that will regulate the privately owned firearms. The US government has adopted policies

that restrict the use of firearms rather than a complete ban. The Supreme Court has also shown

continuous support by allowing all restrictions presented before them. However, the total ban on

the use of firearms among the citizens has not been implemented. The fight against legalization

of private guns appears to be strongly affected by politics (Garrett, 2017). Many politicians have

opened changed their opinion about the issue to a possible reduction of their political support

base. Almost half of the United States families own a gun, therefore; their political opinion

cannot be ignored. These people claim that they use their firearms for personal security, and

hunting, therefore, it's wrong to deny them the right to own them. Their argument is based on the

second amendment which is more of a political symbol rather than legal protection.
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Discussion

Impacts of the Second Amendment

The benefits of private gun ownership are only appropriate to the people who defend gun

ownership in the country. They refer to the second amendment in their rallies to build upon their

support base among the civilians. They argue that due to the vast American population; the

police cannot be able to defend every gathering, therefore; the people should be able to defend

themselves. This argument is deep-rooted into America’s relationship with guns, and those

people who already own the guns are not able to give up on the legacy even though it is not a

clear endorsement of the right to own a gun. According to Pew Research Center (2013), gun

ownership comes with various responsibilities. The right to own a firearm has to coincide with

the ability to use the tool ethically. Lack of ethics among the use of firearms is the major cause of

misuse of rifles. Ethical people will not engage in a physical fight with their opponents; instead,

they seek an ethically moral way of solving their conflicts hence there will be limited cases of

massacres and mass killings of people resulting from publicly owned arms.

Pros and cons of pro-gun control

The amendment allowed the civilians to own any firearm. It only stated that the citizen's

right to own a gun should not be infringed. This right led to a society with more than 129 million

different types of firearms (Garrett, 2017). The amendment gave the states more power to create

regulations on gun use more than the federal government; it only bars the federal government

from restricting the use of firearms by the citizenry, but it does not address the state

governments. The US citizens can comfortably use guns for self-defense without any fear or

intimidation by any authority as a result of the protection that was enshrined in the second
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amendment. It also prevented the country from being ruled by the military. Before the second

amendment was put into place, there was a discussion on how to prevent harsh military

governments should one arise. They agreed that the constitution should allow the citizens to own

firearms so that a military government cannot control them. This amendment to the United States

Constitution is the stepping stone to supporting the Americans who are fighting for their affinity

to guns. During that time when the legislators were amending the constitution to allow public

ownership of guns; the resulting security issues had not occurred.

The second amendment did not cover the possible unethical use of firearms. People

acquired the firearms and others used them inappropriately, therefore, threatening the states'

security until 2008 when effective regulations were introduced. Despite the possible benefits of

owning a gun, there are adverse consequences of allowing such a right. There are various

examples of violent criminal offenses that result from the availability a large number of privately

owned firearms. In October 2017, a fatal shooting occurred at a music festival in Las Vegas that

claimed the lives of 58 people while others hundreds were injured (Goss, 2017). This act is the

deadliest shooting in the history of the United States. Before then, a man armed with a rifle killed

49 people while injuring 58 at a nightclub in Orlando. Two years earlier, another horrific attack

occurred at a social services center in California that killed 14 and injured 22 people. The cases

have triggered discussions about the ban on private ownership of guns which bore insufficient

results. There is a tendency of arousing the cases only when a disaster has occurred, and the

discussions end inconclusively or their decisions are not implemented. Besides the danger caused

to the state, gun ownership provides a dangerous environment for a family setting. While at

home, accidents can occur with the children trying to experiment or use the tools if they are not

kept safe. An example is the accidental deaths caused by toddlers. For instance, Jamie Gilt was
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accidentally killed by his 4-year-old son using a gun that was in the back seat of his car (Goss,

2017).

Conclusion

Some Americans believe that if the gun-use regulatory laws are firm, they won’t be able

to keep their home safe. However, some of them feel that having a ban on gun use would prevent

or reduce the number of deaths in mass shootings and homicides (Pew Research Center, 2013).

protection and safety are the two top major reasons why people want to own a gun. the non-gun

households would still prefer to have no guns in their homes. According to the reported cases

and resulting arguments, the pros supersede the cons; therefore, it is important the US considers

revising the firearms ownership rights and reduce the number of guns at homes.
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References

Garrett, B. (October 07, 2017) The History of Gun Rights in America, A Timeline of the 2nd

Amendment; ThoughtCo. Retrieved from: [Link] the-

second-amendment-721379

Goss, K. A. (June 01, 2017). The Socialization of Conflict and Its Limits: Gender and Gun

Politics in America. Social Science Quarterly, 98, 2, 455-470.

Pew Research Center. (2013). Gun rights proponents more likely to vote on the issue: Broad

support for renewed background checks bill, skepticism about its chances. Washington,

D.C: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.