Gun Control - a Nation's Major Issue

Gun Control - a Nation's Major Issue

For over a century, gun control has been one of our nation’s central issues. It has led to the formation of major organizations such as the Second Amendment Committee, the Brady Campaign, the Coalition for Gun Control, the NRA-ILA, and much more. It has also been the central issue in many Supreme Court cases including the most recent case, District of Columbia vs. Heller. So, what is gun control and why is it such a big issue? According to www.merriam-webster.com, gun control is the regulation of selling, owning, and use of guns. To some, gun control is the invasion of our personal lives by the government so as to strip law abiding citizens of the most effective way to defend themselves. To others, gun control is a sensible way to get guns off our streets and out of the hands of criminals, mentally ill, kids, and others whom have no business possessing a gun. Gun control is such a huge issue today because the outcome of the issue and the extent at which it is carried out will determine the present day meaning of the second amendment.
The second amendment is part of the U.S. Bill of Rights that protects our right as American citizens to keep and bear arms for purposes of self defense. There have been many debates on whether this amendment gives individual American citizens the right to keep and bear arms or those that are part of a “well regulated state militia” i.e. the National Guard. These debates stem from the sentence of the second amendment which reads, “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.” Advocates of gun control say that because the second amendment refers to “a well regulated militia”, the intent of the founding fathers was not to allow every American citizen a gun, but only those who are part of a regulated, state government agency (militia) such as the National Guard (Bradycampaign.org 2008). Opponents of gun control believe the...

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