Gun Violence in Our Communities - Essay Example

Protecting the Right to Bear Arms We are living in a nation where gun control versus a right to Bear arms is an ongoing controversy. The constitution allows for citizens to bear arms in the second amendment with regards to having an organized militia to protect said citizens, “ 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”(Head 2008). We are However, living in a time where our nation possesses a large military to do just that, protect the citizens and the land of the U.S. So, is the old amendment still valid? The purpose of this paper is to discuss the variables and issues surrounding the right to bear arms versus gun control. The largest reason given by those who feel that a right to bear arms is sacred, is that it is every individual’s right to protect their family and themselves and is additionally Constitutional. The rebuttal given by those in favor of making civilian gun ownership illegal, is that America’s crime rate involving guns is extremely high and must be decreased significantly. The only way that this can happen is by making it illegal to own or carry a gun if one is not an officer of the law or military personnel. The issue of children and guns plays a huge part in the ongoing debate over whether to keep gun ownership legal or not. It is estimated that 135, 000 guns are brought into schools each day, in America. (NEA Health Information 2005). It is also estimated that out of all the nations’ children in the world, America’s children are at the most risk of being a victim to gun violence. Unfortunately, this is due to guns found by children in their own homes. Often times, the screening process for acquiring a gun is lax and faulty record keeping is becoming a bigger and bigger problem, when it comes to who may own a gun and who may not qualify, “According to a report by the Joshephson Institute of Ethics (2000 Report Card: Report #1), 60% of high school and 31% of middle school boys said they could get a gun if they wanted to (April, 2001)”(NEA Health Information 2005). The number of guns in a nation is intrinsically related to the number of murders and suicides by guns. When any nation sees a rise in civilian gun ownership, they see a corollary number in gun related deaths and vice versa. Up to this point, the Supreme Court has yet to overturn legislature permitting gun ownership with a license based on the second amendment of the Constitution. Additionally, it is felt by many that a law forbidding gun ownership may only lead to the revoking of more freedom as well as a trend in deviating from the Constitution. This is a slippery slope, once the Constitution is disregarded in one area, it will most certainly be disregarded in the future leading possibly to legislation that borders on tyranny. For a period of time, the right to bear arms was somewhat omitted from law books and committed to Constitutional exile. At this time however, considering and enforcing the second amendment has become protocol in order to protect the right to bear arms as a fundamental American freedom/ . In fact, in 2001, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of honoring the right to Bear arms as set forth by the second amendment of the Constitution. This particular case was entitled The United States vs. Emerson. The interpretation made by the Appeals Court was not only that individuals have a right to carry or own firearms in the spirit of self defense but also that one could do so without being a part of a militia. The largest issue thus far in interpreting the second amendment, was whether an individual could own a gun as a separate entity from a militia. It was this ruling which laid the gauntlet in the sand and decreed that individuals do possess the right to own firearms completely independently of a militia or militia ties. The first, second and fourth amendments of the Constitution are directly focused on the “right of the people”. This is a crucial portion of the constitution because without these amendments in place, a great deal of civil liberty would not exist. Protecting Constitutional rights for the people is above all the most important part of Constitutional preservation. The right to bear arms in particular, has been so fiercely debated over because it is not only an issue of preserving a right but of protecting one’s self and one’s family. When utilizing the right to bear arms as it was intended, an individual may own a firearm which they keep in a safe place but one in which they can quickly retrieve it if an intruder breaks into their home. On the inverse, many have owned a gun and eventually turned to use it against another individual in anger or against themselves when choosing to commit suicide. Still others have owned a firearm which was not safely stored and ended up in the hands of a child resulting in tragedy. Perhaps the best solution to the overall controversy is to uphold the Constitution by maintaining legalized gun ownership by civilians while employing a more intense screening process for gun purchasing. Additionally, a training course teaching individuals how to properly store guns out of the reach of children and teens, would be an excellent means of prevention against accidental shootings. Due to the waiting period involved in purchasing a gun legally, many opt to purchase guns on the black market, especially if the intended use for the gun is illegal. Each gun which is sold legally, is cataloged and has a serial number. This way, if the gun is ever used in a crime, the ballistics will indicate which gun was used and who the gun was registered to. There are also those who simply seek to maintain their civil liberties and to protect themselves by owning a firearm. With such a largely controversial topic, it is hard to say whether the future will present a continued legalization of bearing firearms or not, but the powers that be must be cautious to not begin stripping the American citizens of their Constitutional rights. Works Cited: Healy, Gene, Levy, Robert, “Cato Handbook for Congress”, Cato Institute, Washington, D.C., retrieved 4 July, 2008, from website at: http://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb108/hb108-18.pdf Nea Health Information (2005) “Statistics: Gun Violence in Our Communities“, retrieved 4 July, 2008 from website at: http://www.neahin.org/programs/schoolsafety/gunsafety/statistics.htm Exploring Constitutional Conflicts, “A Right to Bear Arms“, retrieved 4 July, 2008 from website at: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/beararms.htm Head, Tom, (2008) “Does the Second Amendment Protect the Right to Bear Arms?” Retrieved 4 July, 2008 from website at: http://civilliberty.about.com/od/guncontrol/i/2ndamendment.htm Read More