Topic > Gun Control in the United States Research

IndexThe Second AmendmentCrime Rates and Gun ControlRight to Self-DefensePrivacy ConcernsSafe Gun EducationPotential DiscriminationCounterargumentsWorks CitedThe United States has the largest number of people who own firearms, with a Average of eight in every ten individuals own firearms, approximately 270 million guns in the hands of citizens – which is the largest ratio of guns per capita in the world. Of the population, 22 out of 100 Americans own more than one gun, with women in this category owning 12%, while men own 35% (DeGrazia, p. 56-76). Over time, there have been attempts to impose regulations to limit gun ownership in the country, which not only violates the rights of Americans, but is also something unjustifiable. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe Second AmendmentOne of the strongest cases for gun legalization is in the Second Amendment made to the United States Constitution, which explicitly states that the right of citizens to own guns should not be infringed. It should be noted that the possession of firearms by Americans is a thing even older than the country itself. This was recognized by the United States Supreme Court during its ruling on District of Columbia et al. against the Heller case in which the court ruled that the Second Amendment sought to protect the rights of private citizens, who have no ties to the military, to own guns and use them for traditional purposes deemed lawful, such as defending themselves in their own houses (Rostron). From the traditional use of guns in America, read together with the Constitution and the Supreme Court ruling, it is understood that Americans have the right to keep and bear arms, which is an essential aspect of their freedoms – similar to other freedoms such as the right to worship and freedom of speech, among others protected by the government. In essence, the government must protect this right, which means that introducing gun control laws would infringe on this expressed freedom. , this is not supported by statistics and is misleading. According to a survey conducted from 1980 to 2009, it was observed that assault weapons bans imposed in the United States did not have a significant impact on the number of homicides in the states where the bans were imposed. In fact, states with restrictions on carrying concealed weapons ended up having higher homicide rates. Furthermore, it should be noted that in the 20th century the number of firearms in the United States was more than double that of the previous century, which may have led to a notable reduction in the number of homicides. Considering that criminals do not obey the laws in place, developing laws to regulate the use of guns would only help to increase the amount of gun use by criminals who will terrorize civilians who have no guns to protect themselves (Blocher, p. 813 ). Right to Self-Defense Another reason for not controlling gun ownership is that doing so would violate citizens' right to defend themselves and, as a result, deny them the ability to feel safe. Data from the National Rifle Association reveals that people use guns 2.5 million times a year to protect themselves. Considering that the police are not in a position to protect every single citizen, instituting strict gun laws would create a situation in which civilians would have difficulty protecting themselves. The right to self-defense is a natural right that is borrowed from the right to life, where one would be required to defend oneself from people who intend to end the lives of others. Regulationof gun ownership and use would mean that people would have limited means for self-defense and a consequent obstacle to the right to life, especially when the police are unable to offer personalized security to all citizens (Ayres, Ian and Fredrick) . gun control laws, the government and government institutions would violate citizens' privacy. Performing background checks, as a prerequisite to owning a gun, would require the government to establish databases to store personal information relating to people who own guns, such as names, address, psychological health history, and other potentially private information. Creating these databases for an indefinite period would create scope for their use in unprecedented reasons, other than those originally collected. Furthermore, the Constitution allows American civilians to own guns and firearms without government oversight, meaning that the creation of such a database and the collection of private information constitutes a violation of their privacy by the government and its institutions. there is no need to control gun ownership and use, but the government must improve education for safe gun use. There is consensus that guns do not kill, rather guns are used by people to kill or harm others. This means that people need to be educated and educated about the need for safe and responsible gun use, rather than imposing a ban of any kind on the use and ownership of guns. Gun accidents are also common in different parts of America; an aspect that demonstrates that people who own firearms, or those who have access to these weapons, do not have sufficient education on their use. This education should be conducted for all people in society, including children growing up, to ensure they understand the need for responsible use of firearms. Ideally, there are many things in society that are harmful if used for the wrong reasons, but helpful if used for the right reasons. Weapons should be treated as one of these items. Potential Discrimination Finally, these potential gun control laws are discriminatory to some people in society, which would serve to violate their rights and freedoms to fair treatment. Most of these gun control laws require people to pay certain amounts of money in order to own guns. This would inhibit the right of poor citizens who cannot afford the required taxes to own guns, while under this freedom the rich could still afford the required taxes. Other forms of discrimination may arise from personal records collected and used to determine whether an individual will be eligible to own guns, especially in relation to their health and criminal record, where some groups of people may be prevented from owning guns because they have previous health problems psychological or criminal record, although these cases probably have no impact on their predictability of causing harm. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Counterarguments To the contrary, there is some evidence that could be used to regulate gun use in America. Although regulating the possession and use of these weapons could violate citizens' rights, some of these issues need to be critically analyzed, with further research conducted to ascertain their credibility and contribution towards effective use of weapons. However, these should not be used to hack." (2009).