Gun Control In America

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Brian Jackson Roberts LSPSY 200 August 19, 2013 Gun Control in America After the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution was accepted in 1791, citizens of the USA obtained the right to possess guns. The right was not questioned until 1822 in case Bliss v. Commonwealth. The man was accused of carrying a sword hidden in a cane and fined $100. After Bliss appealed the conviction on the basis of right provided by the Second Amendment, the court overturned the conviction as unconstitutional. Over one hundred years later, in 1934, National Firearms Act was adopted, which started the gun control policy. The Act was governmental reaction to the St. Valentine’s massacre and was aimed at controlling “gangster weapons” such as fully…show more content…
The anti-gun control groups consider that banning of guns or restricting individuals on the possession of guns as unconstitutional (Brown & Abel, 2003). The anti-gun control groups support the Second Amendment, which protects the rights of civilians from undergoing infringement for a safe state. Individuals can acquire, possess, and use their guns for their own personal safety. The Gun Owners of America (GOA) refers to a lobbyist group preserving and defending the Second Amendment (Brown & Abel, 2003). This lobbyist group considers the right to acquire and possess guns as a freedom issue among the civilians. It has been evident that GOA is against compromising and accepting the status quo. GOA has committed itself in building a network of attorneys, who will help in challenging the strict gun control laws in courts. Furthermore, the lobbyist group has frozen senators, who support bills to strengthen background checks and enhance penalties for those individuals purchasing guns illegally. GOA empowers those individuals with a strong background of gun rights. Therefore, GOA aims at advancing and maintaining pro-gun rights and…show more content…
The reduction of the crime rates following the reduction of gun-related violence can be used to justify gun control. However, the official statistics does not support this assumption. The reasoning that guns cause crimes arises numerous disputations, as it does not consider that guns are just another mean of committing a crime. Pro-gun advocates usually assert, “Guns do not kill people; people kill people.” The Vice President, Wayne Lapierre argued that the best solution to the Newton Massacre was to allow citizens to own guns. He stated”The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun” (Spitzer,
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