Argumentative Essay: America And The Right To Bear Arms

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America and the Right to Bear Arms COM323: Persuasion and Argumentation December 3, 2012 The issue of gun control and gun laws is one of great disagreement between political parties, state and federal government, and even between neighbors and family members. There are groups that believe violent crime will decrease with the passing of stricter gun laws, which would prohibit the ownership of dangerous weapons. However, the fact of the matter remains that guns do not kill people; other people are responsible for the guns they use to hurt or kill other people. Responsible gun ownership, just like responsible operation and use of any dangerous equipment, including cars, heavy machinery and even kitchen knives, is the only thing that will limit or contain the danger of using such a weapon. When the founding fathers of our young nation debated certain inalienable rights, one leading figure eloquently stated the following: “Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence … from the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurrences…show more content…
Washington, D.C. and Illinois are the only two states/territories of the United States that do not recognize the right to bear arms. On June 26, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court held that American citizens have an individual right to own guns, as defined by the Second Amendment of the Constitution. In District of Columbia v. Heller, the Court stated that an absolute firearm ban for citizens was unconstitutional. The Court further determined that its decision in Heller does not encroach upon all existing statutes and regulations, such as those that prohibit felons and the mentally ill from owning or possessing

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