The Subject of Gun Control in the United States - Essay Example

The human mind has developed and people have started to take a stand for their constitutional rights and civil liberties. Human beings have reached a technological age and have used their intelligence for achievements that were considered to be beyond human control. Therefore, the thinking of the people has broadened and important subjects have started to become matters central to debates. The issue of gun control is one such issue that has sparked arguments in the United States.

Proponents of gun control argue that the availability of firearms for the common man should be made owing to the dramatic increase in the crime rate across the country. They argue that it would assist them in fighting for their security. Opponents present with arguments that increased availability of guns would result in the falling of the weapons into the wrong hands and would therefore bring harm rather than benefit to the nation. The subject of gun control remains controversial in the United States and different rulings and research have been conducted about the matter of gun control.

According to the National Vital statistics, many people succumb to injuries resulting from guns and the data from the year 2001 alone highlighted the fact that 11,001 people lost their lives owing to firearm shots from criminals. In the same year, 16,455 people resorted to suicide by using guns. The great number of fatalities that result due to firearms has led to the marking of guns as the second death-causing reason in the United States. Furthermore, it has been seen in the history of the country that many great figures have lost their lives due to firearm injuries.

The killing of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy who were killed in the year 1968 uphold this fact. Despite these findings, an interesting finding that has been presented is that the number of people who die to due firearm injuries has reduced after the year 1993 owing to the relaxation in gun control laws following this year (Gold 2004; Valdez 2003). The first and most important ruling about gun control got passed in the United States in the year 1939 by the Supreme Court of the country.

According to the ruling, the possession of firearms was restricted and personal firearms were not to be issued. The ruling has been subjected to many arguments since that time and it has undergone many changes since that period. Opponents of this ruling use the Second Amendment in their favor as according to this Amendment, "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." It is argued that the denial of firearms for personal security is a violation of the constitution of the United States (Associated Press 2007).

To uphold his finding, he compared the crime rate with those of the Commonwealth countries and Australia where they practice stronger gun control laws but there was no evident reduction in the crime rate. Thus he highlighted the benefits of relaxation of gun control laws in the country (Mauser 2003).