Arguments Against Gun Control

Gun Control

Due to recent shootings and terrorist attacks gun control has been put in the spotlight and has become a very debatable topic that must be taken seriously. Attacks such as Sandy Hook Elementary, San Bernardino, and most recently the attack on the Fort Lauderdale airport are few examples of recent shootings that have taken place. There are two sides to this argument, one that says guns need to be taken out of the hands of citizens, and the other that says citizens have the right to possess firearms. Both sides of this argument have very strong points and both should be taken very seriously. The debate for gun control is one of the most important issues in the United States. However, it is very apparent that enforcing strict gun

Due to multiple assassinations of very prominent people in the U.S. such as President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert Kennedy; President Johnson was forced to renew the fight for gun control (Washington Post, 2012). In 1968, Congress passed the Gun Control Act, which called for better interstate traffic of firearms (NPR, 2008). “Lee Harvey Oswald use a mail-order gun to assassinate President John F. Kennedy” (NPR, 2008). This act made it much more difficult for firearms to end up in the wrong in hands. Before the Gun Control Act, it was much easier for convicted felons to obtain firearms, this made it much more difficult. “The Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986 was issued due to complaints that the government was abusing its power to enforce gun laws” (Washington Post, 2012). All of the gun control acts that the government was passing caused people to think of what they were doing was taking away their constitutional rights. In 1976, D.C. City council banned resident from owning handguns altogether, however, I'm June of 2008. the Supreme Court deemed the ban as unconstitutional (NPR, 2008). For over thirty years, the citizens living in Washington D.C. we're not allowed to own a handgun. During the 1900’s, gun control laws were passed that both attempted to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and that protected the citizen’s right to bear

This one of the biggest arguments for those who believe strict gun control laws as not necessary and should not be enforced. It is the right of U.S. citizens to own their own firearms. In order for the government to take this right away from the people of the United States they would first have to infringe upon the constitution. If the government were to do this, many people would see this as an abuse of its power. In 2008 the Supreme Court said this, “The right to own guns belongs to all American” (Everitt, Pratt, 2015). The second amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right for citizens to own guns, and this right should not be taken