Gun Safety: An Alternative for America
Timothy L. Jones
COM/220
April 11, 2010
Instructor: Aileen Journey
Introduction
There exists a palpable set of problems in this country, which are high crime rates and many accidental shootings. Both challenges mask the genuine issues, which are handguns and other firearms. After completing extensive research on these predicaments and sorting through both primary areas of conflict in this issue it appears that both sides tend to polarize on the subject. Courts including the U.S. Supreme Court have been hearing arguments for and against gun control, and many cases came before them for decades. Handgun and firearm enthusiasts hold the position that gun ownership should continue unaffected by any governmental agency or court. Gun control groups have been lobbying for stricter measures to come from Congress on the control and even bans on firearms altogether. After much research, it has become clear that these two opposing sides outdate themselves. These two sides of the argument have polarized the country by attempting to achieve one or the other extremes. Although guns are fundamentally dangerous, gun safety regulations are an effectual substitute to gun control, because they lower crime rates and reduce accidental shootings dramatically.
With legislative attempts at eliminating handguns and even hunting rifles there have been many arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has recently had two milestone cases in which the right to bear arms was upheld. The District of Columbia v. Heller being one of the latest cases to come before the Court upheld The United States Court of Appeals decision that the District of Columbia did not have the right to disallow private use of handguns within a federal enclave. The high court upheld another Court of Appeals decision in Parker v. District of Columbia ruling that the District’s same regulation was unconstitutional. Not...