Views on The Second Amendment (1 Viewer)

[Moser]

So I wrote this for a school project, I tried my best to make it unbiased.
If I could add anything or if you have any comments just say so and I'll except them.

The Right to Own a Firearm

Gun rights are very controversial in the U.S. It is an issue that is, and has been heavily divided for decades. There are many facts that keep the issue divided as people fight to keep their right to own a firearm, or fight to take the right to own a firearm away. There is very good reasoning on both sides of the argument. Like any political issue, a side must be taken only with the proper knowledge and facts for a decision to be just.

Why is This Issue so Divided?
The political issue of owning a firearm in the U.S. has always been a growing concern. Nowadays, the economy has become a larger concern, but the issue still exists, and must be taken into consideration. A firearm is a dangerous object to own, and it takes plenty of responsibility to own, care for, and use one in a safe and proper way. Because of different facts against gun laws, like hunting and self defense, and facts for gun laws, such as school and criminal shootings, this is one of the most divided issues in politics, and it requires much information to make the proper decision. Depending on where you live, you might have your own opinion on the right to own a firearm according to your area’s situation.

How to be an Informed Citizen
To be an informed citizen, you must weigh a good amount of facts and information to make the decision that is best for you, and the people around you. The largest argument for both, owning a firearm and not owning a firearm comes from the Constitution. Many parts of the U.S. Constitution are involved in political arguments going back and forth, to try to interpret what the Constitution actually means, and how it applies to modern society. One of the biggest reasons for the right to own and handle a firearm is the Second Amendment. It explains that one has the right to bear arms. The Second Amendment’s meaning of this is hugely divided. It states that “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 Pros of the Right to Own a Firearm
To start off, take a look at the Second Amendment. It clearly states the right to bear arms. Pro-gun citizens believe that the right to bear arms is essential to keeping peace inside of the country. When a just citizen has a firearm, they can use it for their own self defense against criminals, or come to the aid of other citizens that may not be able to protect themselves. Another belief is that the citizens of the United States are the government itself, and they should be able to own a firearm. Many people also believe that if the federal government becomes corrupt, they have the right to overthrow it and create a new one to replace it.
Although the chances of that are very slim, there have been concerns of past leaders becoming too powerful during office. One example was Franklin Roosevelt. He was elected four times in a row, and gained a large amount of power before the Supreme Court started to declare some of his acts unconstitutional. He even tried to change the Constitution to allow more members of the Supreme Court in order to let him pick more members that would support his decisions. This was struck down, and brought his political reputation down. Many people believe that the original purpose of the Second Amendment was to stop this sort of concern, except it was more meant for defense against the British monarchy.
Many anti-gun citizens believe that the fewer firearms available, the less crime rates will occur. The U.S. Department of Justice released a 1995 report concerning guns used in crime. The article’s facts largely supported the right to own a firearm in the U.S. stating that out of the 43.6 million crimes (in the U.S.) in 1993, only 1.3 million (2.9%) of those crimes were committed with a firearm. Also, many of the same anti-gun citizens argue that the sale of firearms is an open door for criminals and terrorists to buy weapons without worry. The same report states that the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) contains more than 2 million reports of stolen firearms. This means that most gun crimes are committed with stolen firearms, not ones obtained at a gun store.
Most citizens of the 25% in the U.S. who own a firearm claim that they own firearms for hunting, not self-defense. This is supported by the fact that most gun owners live in rural areas in small towns, and these citizens tend to have no criminal records.

The Cons of the Right to Own a Firearm
On the other “side” of the Second Amendment, people believe that citizens should not have the right to own a firearm. There are also many variations of beliefs among the community on this issue. Some people believe that the writers of the Constitution made the Second Amendment to have the purpose to let America defend itself against Britain. Since the chances of another government attacking the U.S. homeland are so slim, many people believe that there is simply no point to owning a firearm. Some other critics believe that citizens should not own a firearm, but firearms should be stored at a local armory. This way, incase of an enemy attack, citizens could go to the armory and get weaponry.
School shootings have also increased in the past years. After the 1999 school shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, gun bans was placed and was very strict, but they eventually expired and the laws came back to normal. Firearms were also used in the killing of many important people including Martin Luther King and Robert F Kennedy. This issue still poses a threat to even to high ranking politicians, and people such as the president. You still have the ability to go out and buy armor-piercing .50 caliber rifles. Weapons of such a sort are still considered small arms, although heavy, they are portable, and with a skilled shooter, can be carried and fired at targets over one mile away. One specific American made rifle, the M82 Barrett is a .50 caliber sniper rifle. The shooter has ten chances to hit the target with its enormous 10 round magazine. Each bullet is very large and can penetrate lightly armored vehicles. Even with an armor plated limousine, the president is not always safe from harms way.

Conclusion
The best thing you can do to be an informed citizen is to have an open mind. Keep in mind that other people have other opinions even on the same subjects. They all have good reasons why. If you keep and open mind, it will help you to understand other peoples’ situations, and it will help you decide what is best for your community, and your nation. There are different situations in different places, and the best way to keep people safe is to make the right decisions.
As long as you keep an open mind, you can be informed, and as long as you are informed, then people will be kept safe. The whole purpose of being an informed citizen is to do what’s right for the country, and to keep people safe in the end. Firearms were originally made to kill, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be used to protect, and if they are in the right hands, then there will be a safe environment for everybody in the community.




Works Consulted List
• A look inside America's gun culture. 17/04/2007. ABC News Online
• http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/guic.pdf
• Majority in U.S. poll support gun ownership rights - CNN.com
• Gun Control
• A look inside America's gun culture. 17/04/2007. ABC News Online
• SecondAmendment.and.Fourteenth - SecondAmendment.and.Fourteenth's Home Page
• LII: Constitution

 

[Captain America]

You lost me around word number 250. :rofl

 

[Ethereal]

Highschool or college?

 

[Ethereal]

You lost me around word number 250. :rofl

Speed-reading is essential...

 

[Captain America]

It's been a long day.

 

[Truth Detector]

Conclusion
The best thing you can do to be an informed citizen is to have an open mind. Keep in mind that other people have other opinions even on the same subjects. They all have good reasons why. If you keep and open mind, it will help you to understand other peoples’ situations, and it will help you decide what is best for your community, and your nation. There are different situations in different places, and the best way to keep people safe is to make the right decisions.
As long as you keep an open mind, you can be informed, and as long as you are informed, then people will be kept safe. The whole purpose of being an informed citizen is to do what’s right for the country, and to keep people safe in the end. Firearms were originally made to kill, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be used to protect, and if they are in the right hands, then there will be a safe environment for everybody in the community.

This is it? This is the conclusion, that in order to be informed you must have an open mind?

All I can say is that this is a disappointing conclusion based on all your sources. I also noticed that one important source of information was omitted; the NRA.

Here is my conclusion; the Supreme Court has consistently ruled in favor of citizens rights to keep and bear arms and interpreted the Constitution that way.

There is no "reasonable" argument on the anti-gun side that makes any rational sense.

Let's look at a few:

"A firearm is a dangerous object to own"

A more dangerous thing to own is a car. Are we going to ban them too?

This is argument is specious at best.

"Some people believe that the writers of the Constitution made the Second Amendment to have the purpose to let America defend itself against Britain"

FALSE; it was there for ANY foreign entity and the Supreme Court has ruled that it is indeed a RIGHT.

"Some other critics believe that citizens should not own a firearm, but firearms should be stored at a local armory. This way, incase of an enemy attack, citizens could go to the armory and get weaponry."

This rational is patently absurd. So our firearms should be locked up so that we cannot defend ourselves and all the Government or foreign invader need do is confiscate all the weapons in dense areas. By the way, this is already the case with the National Guard.

"You still have the ability to go out and buy armor-piercing .50 caliber rifles. Weapons of such a sort are still considered small arms, although heavy, they are portable, and with a skilled shooter, can be carried and fired at targets over one mile away"

First off, the notion that a .50 cal is armor piercing is an emotional argument with rationale. In order to penetrate armor, a .50 round must have the proper tip AND, be targeting thin armor.

The notion that these weapons are portable is absurd in the extreme; they are large unwieldy and heavy weapons as is the ammunition used in them. They are also only used for long range target shooting at steel targets and single shot weapons.

"Many anti-gun citizens believe that the fewer firearms available, the less crime rates will occur. "

False; in States where there are the most stringent gun laws, crime is also correspondingly higher than States and Cities which have lax laws regarding firearms possession.

"Also, many of the same anti-gun citizens argue that the sale of firearms is an open door for criminals and terrorists to buy weapons without worry"

False; terrorists are not going to be worried about the weapons they need to use to commit atrocities, they can already obtain illegally automatic weapons and laws won't change that fact.

The bottom line for the "informed" citizen is this; there is no rationale for violating any US citizens 2nd amendment right to own and carry firearms.

There are sufficient laws on the books to prevent criminal gun use; but all the laws in the world will not prevent people from committing gun crimes. Gun laws only target law abiding citizens and do not prevent crimes but may actually encourage gun crimes against citizens who are dis-armed by local Governments who enforce irrational and emotional restrictions on the constitutional rights of their citizens.

The Supreme Court has already put this issue to rest; the 2nd Amendment does allow US Citizens the right to keep and bear arms and protect their property.

FACT: police and laws do not prevent crimes. Police arrive AFTER the fact. US citizens have the Constitutional RIGHT to own a firearm, to protect their private property from those attempting to take it or take their lives and any attempt to abridge that right is in direct conflict of the 2nd amendment.

The anti-gunners do not have one rational argument to support their cause other than pure emotion based on false information, outright lies and deliberate distortions of the facts.

These are the ONLY conclusions one can have when armed with the FACTS and if INFORMED.

 

[American]

The Pros of the Right to Own a Firearm
To start off, take a look at the Second Amendment. It clearly states the right to bear arms. Pro-gun citizens believe that the right to bear arms is essential to keeping peace inside of the country. When a just citizen has a firearm, they can use it for their own self defense against criminals, or come to the aid of other citizens that may not be able to protect themselves. Another belief is that the citizens of the United States are the government itself, and they should be able to own a firearm. Many people also believe that if the federal government becomes corrupt, they have the right to overthrow it and create a new one to replace it.
Although the chances of that are very slim, there have been concerns of past leaders becoming too powerful during office. One example was Franklin Roosevelt. He was elected four times in a row, and gained a large amount of power before the Supreme Court started to declare some of his acts unconstitutional. He even tried to change the Constitution to allow more members of the Supreme Court in order to let him pick more members that would support his decisions. This was struck down, and brought his political reputation down. Many people believe that the original purpose of the Second Amendment was to stop this sort of concern, except it was more meant for defense against the British monarchy.
Most citizens of the 25% in the U.S. who own a firearm claim that they own firearms for hunting, not self-defense. This is supported by the fact that most gun owners live in rural areas in small towns, and these citizens tend to have no criminal records.

The Cons of the Right to Own a Firearm
On the other “side” of the Second Amendment, people believe that citizens should not have the right to own a firearm. There are also many variations of beliefs among the community on this issue. Some people believe that the writers of the Constitution made the Second Amendment to have the purpose to let America defend itself against Britain. Since the chances of another government attacking the U.S. homeland are so slim, many people believe that there is simply no point to owning a firearm. Some other critics believe that citizens should not own a firearm, but firearms should be stored at a local armory. This way, incase of an enemy attack, citizens could go to the armory and get weaponry.
School shootings have also increased in the past years. After the 1999 school shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, gun bans was placed and was very strict, but they eventually expired and the laws came back to normal. Firearms were also used in the killing of many important people including Martin Luther King and Robert F Kennedy. This issue still poses a threat to even to high ranking politicians, and people such as the president. You still have the ability to go out and buy armor-piercing .50 caliber rifles. Weapons of such a sort are still considered small arms, although heavy, they are portable, and with a skilled shooter, can be carried and fired at targets over one mile away. One specific American made rifle, the M82 Barrett is a .50 caliber sniper rifle. The shooter has ten chances to hit the target with its enormous 10 round magazine. Each bullet is very large and can penetrate lightly armored vehicles. Even with an armor plated limousine, the president is not always safe from harms way.

This portion of your paper is all that is necessary. The remainder can be deleted.