The Pros And Cons Of Gun Control

Background checks are not mandatory in the United States to purchase a lethal weapon, which is something that needs to change. According to Elisha Fieldstadt in the article, "Buying a Gun is So Easy 'It Doesn't Make Sense,'" "Only 13 states require a background check to be performed no matter how a gun is sold or what kind of gun it is according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence" (Fieldstadt). The amount of blindly sold unlicensed guns is mind-blowing considering the number of mass shootings committed by people with mental illnesses, the most recent being the Parkland High shooter in Florida. Guns have become such an ordinary thing to own, that it is somehow overlooked how deadly these weapons can be in the wrong hands. `Fieldstadt

Nelson Lund, a Professor at George Mason University School of Law states, "The right to self-defense and to the means of defending oneself is a basic natural right that grows out of the right to life" (Lund). The second amendment has been used frequently in these debates, enforcing the right to bear arms for self-defense, and that owning a gun is a fundamental right for everyone. These are two valid points that have been a part of our country since the beginning of its history, and to take it away would completely ruin the reputation of our free country. However, the second amendment was instituted in 1791 to protect the citizens of America from the return of the British so homeowners could protect themselves in case on invasions. As Richard Potter states in the article, "What the Founding Fathers Really Meant When They Wrote the Second Amendment," "The Second Amendment was created so that the states could form militias or armies to destroy insurrections or slave rebellions because the federal government had no standing military for a long time" (Potter). The problems that our founding fathers faced in the 1700s are irrelevant today, which are the same problems that made it socially acceptable for everyone to own their own firearm. They had no way of knowing that the current day tragedies would occur because they weren't issues back then, which just questions the importance of that same amendment that much