Gun Control Debate
The gun control debate has started to raise a lot of attention in the past couple of months among American citizens. The debate is over whether or not there should be stricter laws preventing people to own guns. There should be tougher laws because there is not any structure with gun control. There have been multiple shootings in the news involving guns, and people want answers. The laws that have been created in the past and present, people being injured or even killed, and the president not having any response on the debate are some the issues that need answering. Although gun advocates feel their rights as citizens of the United States will be tampered if the government changes gun laws against them, new gun laws will stop gun violence and lower murder rates.
In the past, there were laws passed for gun control starting with the federal law after the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. It was called the Gun Control Act of 1968. In 1994, Congress passed bills to restrict certain assault weapons and created a national system of background checks for gun purchase. According to “Gun Control” (New York Times), after the bills were passed, the political pendulum began to swing the other way. There are thirty percent of people that feel gun laws should be the same and twelve percent that feel they should be less strict, according to Brian Montopoli, writer for Cbsnews.com. There have been bills set up to change the atmosphere and have more control today but have not been passed yet. New legislation will put more control on guns that is needed among the citizens. Montopli says forty-seven percent of people believe gun laws should be stricter. Gun advocates believe the new legislation will separate them from their rights because putting laws on their firearms will be against Amendment II. The Senate turned aside the latest attempt by gun advocates to expand the rights of gun owners to carry concealed weapons in other states, according to the article “Gun Control” (New Times). But there have been laws signed in their favor. Obama signed a law allowing visitors to national parks and refuges to carry loaded and concealed weapons. Obama should not have signed the law provision because that could be a reason to kill a lot of people at one time. There should be more legislation on gun control.The shooting in Tuscan, Arizona by Jared Loughner is an incident recently that has raised questions about gun laws. Loughner was able to purchase and carry a Glock 19 even though he was barred from his community college campus because administrators saw him as a mentally-unstable security, says Montopli. There should be mental evaluations before the purchases of weapons because a background check is not enough. Mentally unstable people can’t adapt to society, so why should they be able to carry guns? Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence says, "What this shooting did is it showed how weak the gun laws are in this country. And the fact that this person apparently did everything legal until he pulled the trigger just shows how weak those gun laws are” (“Will Tuscan Tragedy Shift Gun Control Debate?”). The shooting at Virginia Tech is another situation where someone with mental issues purchased guns and killed people. With me being a college student, I can relate to the students at VT and the way they may have felt as someone comes into a classroom and threaten my life. These attacks have made citizens want more answers while gun advocates stay silent.
The government has been an issue in the debate as well. In the president’s State of the Union Address, he did not mention anything on the gun control issue. Citizens were upset because they felt he should have made an attempt to address the issues especially with the shooting taking place in Arizona recently. According to “White House to Push Gun Control” (Newsweek), an administration official says Obama didn’t mention guns in his speech because of the omnipresent controversy surrounding the Second Amendment and gun control. Obama’s main reason for the Address was more about the economy. The continuous wait to address the issue is showing America gun control is not as important to the government as the economy. There should be as much attention on gun control because anyone can purchase a gun and carry it anywhere. Less gun laws could mean more deaths. People that are against the government making new laws are upset because they feel they are being stripped from their rights under the Second Amendment. According to he Second Amendment says, “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” They also argue if citizens have guns, they are safe from criminals. According to “Hand Gun Control Debate” (Awesome Library), the National Rifle Association is concerned that federal regulations will continue to increase until owning a handgun will be difficult to achieve, infringing on their Constitutional rights. But the NRA has stayed largely silent after the Arizona shootings. Obama will address the gun issue in a separate speech, likely early February, which is much needed.
In conclusion, opposing the gun control debate is not the right option. New laws are needed because there is an increase in gun violence in the United States. The NRA does have a reason to oppose by saying their rights under the Second Amendment will be stripped from them, but there should be an exception when citizens take advantage of freedom. The shooting in Arizona has raised concern and now citizens of the United States are waiting for answers. Montopli (CBS) says there are more people that want stricter laws while gun advocates think there is nothing wrong with the laws. Gun advocates say guns are for protection, but they are not thinking about the mentally challenged people that should not have them. The government needs to think about this issue and pass major legislation to toughen the laws.
Works Cited
Adams, R. Jerry. "Handgun Control Debate." Awesome Library. EDI, 2011. Web. 17 Jan. 2011
“Gun Control.” New York Times. New York Times, 14 Jan. 2011. Web. 23 Jan. 2011.
Maddox, Bronwen. “Tragedy Will Not Decide Gun Control Debate.” The Times. The Sunday Times, 18 Apr. 2007. Web. 31 Jan. 2011.
Montopoli, Brian. “Will Tucson Tragedy Shift Gun Control Debate?” Cbs News. CBS Interactive Inc. 12 Jan. 2011. Web. 27 Jan. 2011
Stone, Daniel. “White House to Push Gun Control.” 27 Jan. 2011. Newsweek. Web. 27 Jan. 2011
