Preview

The Right to Bear Arms

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
767 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Right to Bear Arms
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. Those words are forever engraved into the minds of the American people. Guns have been a staple in American culture since the Declaration of Independence. Nearly every movie or TV show has a gun in it. The newspapers are filled with stories about guns and gun laws, and thousands of Americans take part in the great debate over guns. The gun issue has been and may always be an important part of American life. The rise in gun violence over the years has caused many people to rethink what the second amendment says. Some may argue that it is the right of every citizen to own and carry a gun without penalty. Other suggest that strict gun laws should be in place to prevent guns from entering the wrong hands. Both sides have valid points and present very enticing arguments, but the fact is, the second amendment will not change. Guns will not be abolished, restricted or prohibited. America is one of the only countries that states in it’s constitution that every citizen can own a gun. Having a gun is the most American thing a person can do. The country was founded on the principles of freedom and letting a citizen carry a firearm is the ultimate freedom. How many people in other countries can openly say they own a gun, or several, and they exercise their second amendment rights on a regular basis? Many people who own guns use them for recreational purposes. They hunt, they go to the shooting range, they go to gun shows and even collect antique rifles and pistols. According to a 1994 survey, 35% of American households own 192 million firearms. (http://www.newsbatch.com/gun control.htm). That is a staggering number compared to other countries. But even with such a large number of guns, most of them are owned by law-abiding citizens. The issue begins with the people who obtain guns illegally,


Cited: 1.NEA Health Information Network. June 17th, 2005. NEA. April 1st, 2008.http://www.neahin.org/programs/schoolsafety/gunsafety/statistics.htm 2. National Rifle Association. 2008. NRA. April 1st, 2008. http://www.nraila.org/GunLaws/Federal/Read.aspx?id=60 3. Newsbatch. July 2005. Newsbatch. April 1st, 2008. http://www.newsbatch.com/guncontrol.htm 4.About.com. 2003. About.com. April1st,2008. http://history1900s.about.com/od/famouscrimesscandals/a/columbine.htm

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Citizens have been bearing arms since the beginning of time, but in today’s time it is becoming more of a problem. Having the proper gun control would play a major part in decreasing the crime and murder rate in the US. 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.”…

    • 165 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many Americans today openly carry their guns with them in public. There are different reasons why some people do open-carry, but one of the main reasons is for self protection. America has had many gun laws passed in the past years, making it more strict. With all of the shootings going on, and terroristic threats, more people have been buying guns for their own protection. People never know when a shooting could happen, and that is a scary thought to many Americans across the nation.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “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 Second Amendment to the United States Constitution has started many debates over the years. The right to bear arms is an issue that many are passionate about because of the impact it may have on public safety. College campuses across America have been debating the issue of allowing concealed weapons on campus for decades.…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the moment, it is a constitutional right for all American citizens - except for those with previous firearm-related convictions - to own as many guns as they wish ...no matter how powerful they may be. These guns are expected…

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.” This amendment is one of the best rules that our forefathers gave us when they wrote the constitution. It allows the people to have some sort of defense if the government decides to rise against it’s own people. However the weapons that middle class people can own are nothing but amazing. The second amendment is good; however, it needs some restrictions on what ordinary people can buy and use in their homes.…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    right to bear arms

    • 277 Words
    • 1 Page

    The banning of firearms in America is an illegal act, and degrades the values this country was founded on. They not only play a vital role in many people's lives, but are useful tools, fun to use, and can protect people from harm. Our founding fathers wanted us to have them to protect ourselves from the government, and would be disgusted at our government's current abuse, and overall disregard of the constitution of the United States. A lot of people argue that guns kill people; this is untrue. Guns in the hands of a negligent person have potential to kill people, just as anything else.…

    • 277 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Gun Control Act from 1968 made the second amendment not necessarily a personal right, it also gave the states and local governments the right to stablished any kind of gun law(3). In June of 2003 there was 20,000 gun laws across the United States (4). As of today January 2013, the total number of guns held by civilians in the United States is around 270,000,000(4). Given that the population of the United States is 315,161,959(5), if each person were giving a gun, about 86% of the population would be armed. However it 's common to own more than one gun specially for people who have gun collections. About 4.5 million firearms and approximately 2 million handguns are sold each year in the Unites States(6).…

    • 1961 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    While guns are owned by many Americans, there are both pro and con arguments for gun control.…

    • 293 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Americans have a natural right with the Second amendment. Nelson Lund, a Professor at George Mason University School of Law, once stated how, “The right to self-defense and to the means of defending oneself is a basic natural right that grows out of the right to life and many gun control laws interfere with the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves against violent criminals” (Gun Control - ProCon). People have a right to safety, and a right to defend themselves. Many citizens acknowledge and defend this right. By implements stricter gun laws the only thing being done is taking away some people's ability to defend themselves against others who won't follow any laws put into place. This walks hand in hand with the second amendment, which “protects an individual’s right to own guns” and states that guns are needed for self-defense from threats ranging from local criminals to foreign invaders. Along with the fact that gun ownership deters crime rather than causes more crime (Second Amendment). America was built upon freedom, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and even the freedom to own guns and protect oneself from whomever may pose a threat. Bad people with guns can only be fought against by good people with the same abilities to have guns. Along with this the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the fundamental right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self-defense (Second Amendment). The second amendment is not the only amendment that protects a humans right to bear arms, here are other amendments this country was built upon that protect an american's right to protect…

    • 1798 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Everyone has either used or seen a gun. It's American to own a gun. In the United States constitution, it states that we have the right to bear arms. Everyone that has shot a gun knows that feeling of adrenaline they get when they shoot an animal or even a target. We need to have laws enforced to keep guns off of certain properties. Today parents should let their kids play with toy guns not just to entertain them, but to show the children gun safety, get the kids more involved with the outdoors, and to show kids what better things in life are instead of staring at a screen most of the day.…

    • 1309 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The United States has been a gun culture country since the day the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776. After many decades, gun ownership had rapidly increased, and many lives have been saved with a gun. An American citizen can legally purchase a handgun at age twenty-one and a rifle at the age of eighteen with a cleared background check by a licensed dealer. In recent months’ guns has become a very conversional topic because of all the incident happening around. For example, Orlando mass shooting, where 49 people died, and Dallas sniper shooting where 5 police officer died. Compared to early days USA have powerful police forces protecting its citizen. All the firearms should be banned because guns have already caused many deaths.…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Guns have a big role in USA’s history, the gunfight at O.K Corral and the story of Jesse James are stories that almost every American is familiar with. Hunting and target shooting is very popular in the U.S, and somehow it seems like almost everyone have some sort of relation to guns whether it’s about using it for hunting, target shooting or self-defense. That’s where I think the problem lies; it’s so many people who are attached to their guns so it’s becoming very hard to convince people that guns causes problems more than doing any good.…

    • 1462 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    People in the United States currently have the right to carry firearms with a license. People have the Second Amendment is for self-defense…

    • 1448 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Second Amendment is one of the most controversial amendments in today’s society. There are commonly two sides that fightthat the American people have the right to not only carry a gun, but to carry any type of gun that they want, while anti-gun groups want to get rid of the right to carry a gun all together unless that person is a soldier or police officer.…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gun Control

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The second amendment of the United States constitution states that we as American’s have the right to bear arms; however certain gun control laws must be put into place in order to keep the public safe and protect the well being of our country.…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays