Gun Control Research Paper

Submitted By gwiech12
Words: 1119
Pages: 5

Federal Policy on Gun Control in America Gun control is always a popular debate in America, especially in the recent years. The second amendment has now become an open debate for ratification. The group of people that don’t support any type of gun control is because they feel that it infringes on their second amendment rights and that they will not be able to properly protect their home and family. Whereas others feel gun control is necessary and needs to be improved to save innocent lives and improve crime rates nationwide. With any policy, gun control does come with pros along with cons, which allow political parties and their followers to voice their opinions, and support changes or disapprove of any changes. Gun control has become a big topic in America and in the media because of recent public shootings such as Sandy Hook Elementary school which was one of the most deadly shooting in America, the Aurora theater shooting, and the Virginia Tech shooting being the worst mass shooting in America, killing thirty two people and injuring many others. In January of 2013 President Barack Obama proposed new policies to the current gun laws, those being stricter background checks that eliminate any loop holes that people may have been using in the past to obtain a gun, especially a handgun. New and stronger ban on assault rifles, the magazine clip size and ammunition, President Obama also proposed better enforcement on gun trafficking ("The White House - President Barack Obama." Now Is the Time. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013). President Barack Obama said “If there is even one step we can take to save another child, or another parent, or another town, from the grief that has visited Tucson, and Aurora, and Oak Creek, and Newtown, and communities from Columbine to Blacksburg before that, then surely we have an obligation to try.” Obama’s statement is one that every American can agree with and want some kind of change to come out of the tragedies because it’s become obvious that what America has now is not working and there needs to be changes before more innocent lives are lost at the hand of a crazed murderer. The positives for stricter gun control laws would be that there would be less mass murdering of innocent people and less wounded if there were regulations on the size of the magazine clips and amount of ammunition one person was allowed. It will also help keep guns and ammunition in the hands of people who use them for personal protection and recreational purposes, and out of the hands of criminals’, and people that intend on using them for the wrong reasons or illegal reasons. Another important positive for stricter gun laws is that people who want to own and possess firearms need to become more educated about the general safety rules and laws of owning and operating a firearm. Better background checks nationwide would benefit people. This policy would also keep better track of firearms and who they are owned by to ensure they don’t end up in the wrong persons hand such as somebody whom is mentally unstable or incapable of owning and operating a firearm. Creating and enforcing these policies allow the entire public to become more aware of the importance of stricter regulations. The Democratic Party and people like Piers Morgan support and encourage ratification to the current gun policies. The negative side to the gun policy is that people will feel as if their second amendment right has been stripped from them. The second amendment states “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” ("American Civil Liberties Union." American Civil Liberties Union). It was believed that the second amendment was created for well-regulated militia but in 2008 the Supreme Court ruled different in the District of Columbia V. Heller, where the Supreme Court ruled that the amendment was for individual ownership rights ("Why Do We