The Subject of Gun Control - Research Paper Example

Many contend that the right to own handguns, specifically, has turned out to be a detriment to public safety which is opposed to the intentions of the Founding Fathers.

According to The Second 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” (“The Constitution”, 2006). Those who are against limited forms of gun control refuse to consider the important word “militia” within this Amendment. “The Second Amendment was intended solely to guard against the suppression of state militias by the central government and therefore restricted in scope by that intent; or does not guarantee a right that is absolute, but one that can be limited by reasonable requirements” (Krouse, 2011). Advocates of gun control, by and large, desire the weapon that harms the most people, handguns, to not be legal anymore but is agreeable with compromising on shotguns and rifles.  In this way, the constitutionally guaranteed right to keep and bear arms is protected but so are the many thousands of people that are killed by handguns each year. 

When reading the actual wording of the Second Amendment it is clear that armed militias alone have the right to bear arms.  However, given the present passionate emotions tied to this topic and the allure of guns for citizens of the country, a compromise can be the only solution.  Philosophies are formed by a people’s innermost values, refined by many years of thought, and fashioned by life’s many experiences.  Therefore a philosophical debate causes people to be more emotional than any other type.  Political philosophies are tightly and vigorously held and in politically tumultuous times, such as today in a post 9-11 world, this is especially apparent.  The war in Afghanistan, gay marriage, the Occupy Movement, global warming, health care, abortion, health care, stem cell research, the loss of civil liberties, and numerous other politically inspiring subjects have provoked emotional philosophical battles. 

The right to own firearms ranks highly among these political philosophies and any attempt to outlaw any type of gun always makes this point of view even stronger.  To make the argument for upholding the largely voiced ‘right’ to keep and bear arms by permitting shotguns and rifles of a particular length while prohibiting assault rifles and handguns seems the rational answer and a battle that may be won.  This approach has proven effective in other countries such as Japan and many European countries.  Those nations that have ban handguns experience a much lower murder rate than America.

The idea that ready access to handguns has a major impact on the murder rates in the U.S. is supported by overwhelming evidence.  Approximately two-thirds of all murders that occur in the U.S. involve a handgun. Yet, restricting handgun use by legal methods has proven to have little impact on homicide rates.  This is not a surprising revelation given that most criminals do not get their guns from licensed sources (Cramer/Kopel, 2011). 

Each year, at least 3000 American children are killed by the use of handguns.  America’s children are much more likely to die via handgun use than the children of all other developed countries combined.   Compare the number of American children killed with England where fewer than two dozen minors are killed by handguns in a given year. In Japan, the number is consistently fewer than that. Both of these nations have passed strict laws that ban handguns.  (Krug, et al. 1998).  America’s children are dying every day of every year so that those persons who claim they have a “right” to stockpile an arsenal of weapons and who misread the Constitution to rationalize their desires and paranoia can keep their precious guns.  This majority of Americans will never endorse laws that could stop this senseless carnage.

Americans under 14 years of age are killed by handguns at 12 times the rate than the combined number of 25 other developed nations.  “American kids are 16 times more likely to be murdered with a gun, 11 times more likely to commit suicide with a gun, and nine times more likely to die from a firearm accident than children in 25 other industrialized countries combined” (“Trends” 2007).  Ninety thousand American children, 18 and under, have lost their lives due to handgun use in only 22 years (1979-2001) and these numbers have risen ever since.  “In one year, more children and teens died from gunfire than from cancer, pneumonia, influenza, asthma, and HIV/AIDS combined” (Manning, 2010). 

Statistics have confirmed what basic logic tells us, a greater number of handguns lead to greater instances of violence, and fewer,  such as in England and Japan, cause much fewer instances of handgun gun violence.  When read and interpreted in the correct context, the words of the Second Amendment of the Constitution do not permit any person to own guns.  The word ‘gun’ does not appear in the Constitution.  It refers to “arms.” Does this mean citizens have the right to own chemical or nuclear arms?  Any sane person would say no. Everyone draws a line somewhere and that line should be on the side of life. Assault weapons and handguns should be banned.