Gun Control
Dan Nenninger: Essay # 1 Gun Control
According to the Coalition for Gun Control, last year a total of 291 people were killed by handguns in Australia, Sweden, Great Britain, Japan, and Switzerland. In the United States more than 24,000 people will be killed by the end of this year. So what is the big difference between the U.S. and these other countries? In these other countries it nearly impossible to buy any kind of gun. In these countries there are no gun shows. In these countries you can't buy a gun at a pawnshop or your local Wal-Mart. These countries have strict gun laws and are all about gun control. In this paper I will discus the correct interpretation of the Second Amendment, why guns are such a problem in the U.S., and why guns are more likely to kill a friend instead of a foe. My first argument is the correct interpretation of the Second Amendment. The second amendment to the bill of rights states that " 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." Some critics of gun control believe that the second amendment should be absolute, and any and all arms should be legal. First, it is important to note that no right is absolute. For example, even though the first amendment guarantees me the right to free speech, the right is limited. I cannot publish a newspaper article, which I claim that Mr. Mercandante is a child molester, if that fact is known to me to be completely untrue. Second, the United States court of Appeals indicated that the clause about "a well regulated militia" does not mean that the average citizen is part of that militia. (Stevens vs. U.S., U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 1971) Many people who oppose gun control believe that the second amendment is the Constitution's way of making sure that our government never becomes tyrannical, and ensures that if it does, we will be able to overthrow it. First and most important,
According to the Coalition for Gun Control, last year a total of 291 people were killed by handguns in Australia, Sweden, Great Britain, Japan, and Switzerland. In the United States more than 24,000 people will be killed by the end of this year. So what is the big difference between the U.S. and these other countries? In these other countries it nearly impossible to buy any kind of gun. In these countries there are no gun shows. In these countries you can't buy a gun at a pawnshop or your local Wal-Mart. These countries have strict gun laws and are all about gun control. In this paper I will discus the correct interpretation of the Second Amendment, why guns are such a problem in the U.S., and why guns are more likely to kill a friend instead of a foe. My first argument is the correct interpretation of the Second Amendment. The second amendment to the bill of rights states that " 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." Some critics of gun control believe that the second amendment should be absolute, and any and all arms should be legal. First, it is important to note that no right is absolute. For example, even though the first amendment guarantees me the right to free speech, the right is limited. I cannot publish a newspaper article, which I claim that Mr. Mercandante is a child molester, if that fact is known to me to be completely untrue. Second, the United States court of Appeals indicated that the clause about "a well regulated militia" does not mean that the average citizen is part of that militia. (Stevens vs. U.S., U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 1971) Many people who oppose gun control believe that the second amendment is the Constitution's way of making sure that our government never becomes tyrannical, and ensures that if it does, we will be able to overthrow it. First and most important,