Gun control in America is a big concern and has been a political concern. The debate concerning gun control has been about the right to bear arms and the laws and policies stipulated under the second amendment to the constitution. Gun rights activists argue that it is the right of every American citizen to arm themselves as a means of protecting oneself. The debate of whether stricter gun control need be implemented or modification of the current policies done has been a raging debate. The implementation of stricter gun control continues to be a debate that questions the ethical and moral underline that gun control and gun ownership policies hold. The statistics of gun violence in America are outstanding. The period between 2001 and 2011 reported …show more content…
The underline of the gun struggle has been because of the revenue that guns raise in sales for the United States (Beck, 2013). The profitability of the guns sales empowers the industry to have the monetary firepower that gives them influence. Citizens are divided over the issue of ownership, as one group believes in personal safety while the other believes in the end of community violence. Politicians, on the other hand, have been enjoined into this debate on different sides depending on which side influences …show more content…
The 1775 attempt by the colonial powers to confiscate Concord and Lexington militias’ cannons and gun powered triggered the passage of the first gun control laws. This also led to the first interpretation of the Second Amendment and led to the rise of the ideology of self-conscious gun rights. In 1822, Bliss vs. Commonwealth was a re-evaluation of the right to own and bear arms in defense of oneself. A combination of Bliss and Buzzard cases set a precedent over the discussion between individual and collective right ownership (Lott, 2016). The assassinations of political figures, the murder of John Lennon (1980), and other assassination attempts against Regan forced the Congress to pass the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. The Act underlined the need for a background check on persons owning guns, transporting, or even purchasing firearms. There have been continued advocacy for and against gun ownership. However, the gun ownership debate has been fueled by happenings in the United States that have led to a divide in opinions. There have been many instances of shootings in the United States. Such incidences have raised questions on gun ownership (Cook et al., 2014). The O.J. Simpson case was another case that brought to the foreground the issue of gun ownership and the continued misuse of guns. Today, a number of high school shootings make advocacy groups question the need