Exploratory Essay

Caroline Mattox
Draft #4
Exploratory Essay
9/26/14
Should it be a right of every citizen to bear arms? The public, politicians, and many organizations have pursued this question, which in return has transformed this issue into a widespread topic. The various shootings across the United States have led me to the debate of the government controlling firearms. In the beginning of our country’s creation, the Founding Fathers constructed the Constitution to define the United States’ government. Inside the Constitution includes the Bill of Rights, which was signed in 1791. This includes the Second Amendment stating, "…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.” Throughout the years, the debate on firearm control has increased after many citizens have questioned the safety of the public. It is up to the liberal lawmakers and the citizens to acknowledge firearm rights and recognize the laws constitutionally. Many wonder which is constitutional on the opinion of firearm control.
In 2012, a shooting occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which resulted in the death of twenty students and six adults, including the shooter, Adam Lanza, and his mother (Soloman, n. pag). Supporters of firearm control, such as Coalition to Stop Firearm Violence, use the shooting as reasoning behind their endorsement of government gun control. The Children’s Defense Fund also contributes to this opinion by creating their campaign, Protect Children Not Firearms (“Protect Guns” n. pag). On the contrary, members of the NRA, the National Rifle Association, state that the primary goal of the association is to promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis (“About Us” n. pag). The Gun Owners of America find that firearm control is unconstitutional and that the government should reserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of firearm owners (“About Gun Owners” n. pag). However, there are groups such as the Americans for Responsible Solutions, which work for responsible firearm ownership and prevent gun violence. Lawmakers and politicians are hesitant on finding common ground on this issue that appeal to all parties.
Many groups believe that the public disuse and lack of access to firearms removes the major problems the public faces. Firearm control can decrease the amount of violence, including gang activity and homicides. Likewise, enforcing firearm control will remove the opportunity for emotionally disturbed or mentally ill people to receive any type of gun. On January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others were wounded at a political event in Tucson, Arizona. The shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, was diagnosed with a paranoid schizophrenia, at a young age. However, he was able to purchase a gun and attempted to assassinate the representative (“Gun Control Laws” n. pag). Furthermore, the ability to purchase and use a gun has increased the risk of suicides. It has been shown that “a 1% increase in household firearm ownership rate leads to a .5 to .9% increase in suicides” (Beauchamp n. pag.). Advocates of firearm control conclude that the lack of access to guns for public and private use eliminates the opportunity for deaths of millions of Americans.
Opponents of firearm control believe that allowing the government to control the people’s right to bear arms will cause greater problems in the future. The Constitution states that all Americans have the right to bear arms in order to protect themselves and their homes. In June 2008, the Supreme Court made a decision in the case District of Columbia v. Heller. Some citizens did not believe that people should be able to carry a handgun with them, even if they own a permit. The court ruled 5-4 that the handgun ban was unconstitutional. The Heller case established for the first time that the Second Amendment guarantees citizens have the right to bear arms (“The Second Amendment” n. pag). Additionally, the use of firearms increases the safety and welfare of the citizens. A study by David Hemenway, a public-health scholar at Harvard University, suggested, “…about 250,000 to 370,000 uses of firearms defensively happen each year” (qtd in Barrett n. pag). Likewise, placing restrictions on firearms will only benefit criminals by removing guns from potential victims. Criminals are criminals; therefore, they will find a way to obtain a firearm if they want one, whether it is legal or not. It is the government’s responsibility to adhere to the Constitution and guarantee the citizens their right to bear arms.
Firearm control does not have to require banning all guns: the government should allow American citizens to own their guns by limiting the type of guns available to the public, and creating a thorough background check to find out about the buyer’s history. Placing in depth background checks on buyers of firearms will allow the dealers to determine who can purchase a gun. The background checks would be able to show the buyers’ medical, criminal, and financial history. As well as background checks, the government should require the owner to register each of their firearms. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which handles that registration, there were more than 3.1 million registered weapons in the U.S. in March of 2012 (Morgenstern n. pag). Registering all firearms would ensure that the government accounts for all weapons. Additionally, the government regulating firearms would reduce the number of crimes. In addition, prohibiting citizens to owning military grade firearms or high capacity magazines would decrease the number of crimes throughout the country. In 2012, James Holmes entered a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killed 12 people, and injured 58. He brought in an AR-15 rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and two .40-caliber handguns. Holmes bought more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition: more than 3,000 rounds for the AR-15, 3,000 rounds of .40-caliber ammunition for the two handguns, and 300 rounds for the 12-gauge shotguns (Frosch n. pag). Firearms with high capacity magazines have a higher rate of fire; thus, more people can be killed in a shorter amount of time.
Of all the possible positions on regulating firearms, the government should enforce regulated gun usage to eliminate the public safety concerns that surround this issue. Implementing firearm control would overall increase the safety of Americans because guns would be reduced. Opponents of firearm control believe that more regulation of guns will cause more crimes. Many believe that denying citizens the right to bear arms is decreasing the safety of the citizens and ignoring the Bill of Rights. However, studies have shown that the more laws and regulations enacted for firearm control, the less crime and violence. The VPC, Violence Policy Center, states that “In 2011 alone, nearly 32,000 Americans died from guns shot wounds: 19,990 in suicides, 11,068 in firearm homicides, and 591 in unintentional shootings (“Violence Policy Center” n. pag). The VPC’s statistic shows that allowing all citizens to own a firearm immediately puts everyone in danger. The politicians in Congress have the ability to eliminate the problems citizens face, therefore; they should be able to control the citizens and their weapons. With the information needed, citizens and lawmakers should be able to identify both sides of government-regulated firearms and establish their belief.

Works Cited
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"About the Violence Policy Center.” VPG. Violence Policy Center, 1998. Web. 17 September 2014.
"About Us.” NRA. National Rifle Association, 16 January 2014. Web. 17 September 2014.
Barrett, Paul. “How Often Do We Use Firearms in Self-Defense?” Business Week. Bloomberg Business Week, 27 December 2012. Web. 19 September 2014.
Beauchamp, Zack. "More Guns Lead To More Suicides.” Think Progress. Center for American Progress Action Fund, 14 November 2013. Web. 19 September 2014.
Frosch, Dan and Johnson, Kirk. "Gunman Kills 12 in Colorado, Reviving Gun Debate." New York Times. New York Times, 20 July 2012. Web. 19 September 2014
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Morgenstern, Madeleine. “How Many People Own Guns in America? And Is Gun Ownership Actually Declining?” The Blaze. The Blaze, 19 March 2013. Web. 17 September 2014.
"Protect Guns Not Children Campaign." Children Defense Fund. Children Defense Fund, 24 July 2013. Web. 17 September 2014.
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