2nd Amendment Argumentative Essay

Americans have a unique relationship with their guns, one not found in most similar first-world countries. American culture idolizes guns through the popularity of hunting, sport shooting, and owning guns for home defense. In America, many celebrate this freedom, but this freedom has a cost. Although America was founded on principles of liberty, the amount of lives lost to gun violence raises an alarming problem which Americans undoubtedly cannot ignore. This problem is not distant or far off from this audience either. According to a publication from Princeton and the Brookings Institute, the annual total of death or injury due to gun violence of those under 20 is over 20,000. (Behrman, Culross, and Reich 1). However, outside of only those
As for their legal justification, gun rights activists use their legal freedoms bestowed upon them by the founding fathers, which are manifested in the 2nd Amendment. In addition, the Supreme Court case District of Columbia v. Heller is also frequently cited because it solidifies the 2nd Amendment argument by interpreting it as allowing Americans to privately own guns for lawful purposes and without needing a connection to service in a militia. As for their moral justification, an attempted attack on a South Carolina nightclub on June 26, 2016 is an example of gun rights activists’ other point that lawful gun owners can protect others in dangerous situations. The attacker was killed by a legal concealed carry permit holder; the attacker could only wound 3 victims before attempting to flee after being shot in the leg by the concealed carry permit holder (Chasmar 1). In cases such as these, there’s no doubt that an armed bystander saved people from potential death or injury, a case that could not have happened if he was not permitted to carry his firearm with