President Bush's Crime Control Agenda - Essay Example

Running Head: PRESIDENT BUSH'S CRIME CONTROL AGENDA President Bush's Crime Control Agenda In APA Format By University The crime control agenda of President George Bush is often likened to that of President Reagan's as the former served as his vice president for as long as eight years (Marion 1995). Even though Bush cannot be commended for the installation of an extremely strong crime control policy, it becomes notable that during his regime, conservative polices highlight his approach. The crime control agenda of the president revolve on two major issues namely drugs and an omnibus anti-crime bill (Marion 1995).

In addition he is also keen in addressing the issues of firearms and violent crimes. Being a highly debated issue, this paper will look at the specific strategies employed by Bush in combating crimes by establishing gun control policies. In the Des Moines IA GOP Debate in 1999, George Bush states his position on gun control: "I'm in favor of keeping guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them like felons & juveniles. I'm for enforcing the laws on the books.. We need to send a signal to people, don't be illegally selling guns and don't be illegally using guns.

The best accountability for somebody who breaks the law with a gun is called jail, certain jail" (Who is George Bush 2007). In this statement it becomes notable that even though the president supports gun ownership, he sets specific rules and restrictions on how firearms should be handled. The gun control of Bush allows gun to be primarily used solely for hunting and self-protection. Believing in the right of a citizen and his family to be protected against threats of crimes, he stresses that "law-abiding citizens ought to be able to own a gun" (St.

Louis Debate 2000) yet "we ought to get guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them" (St. Louis Debate 2000). Rigorous background checks are put in place in order to ascertain whether a person is allowed to own a gun. However, if gun laws are broken, people are held accountable for the consequences. Bush is also noted for his mandate on rising the legal age of owning a gun from 18-21. This is in recognition to the higher cases of juvenile being involved in gun related crimes. In my opinion, Bush is sincere on his commitment in battling crime by regulating the use of guns in the nation.

His efforts of establishing conservative policies on gun control highlights that this is not only a publicity stunt in order to gain support for the upcoming elections. If so, the president should instead enacted policies which tend to be more lax in order to favor more individuals or groups. Showing his ardent desire to control crimes, Bush has taken gun control issues very seriously by signing gun restrictions and banning automatic and high-capacity ammunition clips and arresting students who carry guns inside the school premises (Issues: Policies and Viewpoints 2000).

These are serious actions which prove his sincerity and commitment. ReferencesIssues: Policies and Viewpoints. (2000). GeorgeWBush.com. Retrieved 19 January 2008, from http://www.govote.com/Celeb/George_W__Bush_Gun_Control.htmMarion, N. (1995) A Primer in the Politics of Criminal Justice. Criminal Justice PressSt. Louis Debate. (2000) Govote.com. Retrieved 19 January 2008, from http://www.govote.com/Celeb/ George_W__Bush_Gun_Control.htmWho is George Bush (2007) About.com. Retrieved 19 January 2008 from http://austin.about.com/cs/ georgewbush/l/aa0112100d.htm