Bang! Bang!
Anna Gresl
Professor Jeffrey Levine
8 December 2012
BANG! BANG!
Thomas Jefferson was against standing peacetime armies--- calling such armies as evil. He was also a strong believer that such militaries could cause more harm than good and making remarks such as, “nor is it conceived needful or safe that a standing army should be kept up in time of peace for defense against invasion.” Although Thomas had this belief system he was not blind to the fact that Americans still needed to protect itself from enemies and Native Americans; therefore, Jefferson believed the best solution to protect the country and prevent dependence of such wickedness, of a standing army, was to allow possession of guns to citizens causing the second Amendment to be adopted, which 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.” However, two hundred twenty- one year later Jefferson belief isn’t the path we have chosen and we have armed ourselves with not only military forces but also forces that remained active during peacetimes causing a war between advocators of gun control and pro-gun supporters in America. One of the many claims that advocators of the second amendment argue is, that gun control is dangerous because it leaves citizens unprotected and has led to some of the most gruesome genocide in history such as the mass killing of educated people in Cambodia, which took place from 1975 until 1979. Gun control laws in Cambodia were passed in 1956 (Jay Simkin). If control gun was the cause of the genocide in Cambodia why did it happen nineteen years later? However, anti- supports refute this claim stating that disarming a population may make extermination easier however; it is not the cause as there have been genocides committed throughout history in which the government did not restrict the ownership and use of guns such as; the regime of Saddam Hussein. Advocates
Professor Jeffrey Levine
8 December 2012
BANG! BANG!
Thomas Jefferson was against standing peacetime armies--- calling such armies as evil. He was also a strong believer that such militaries could cause more harm than good and making remarks such as, “nor is it conceived needful or safe that a standing army should be kept up in time of peace for defense against invasion.” Although Thomas had this belief system he was not blind to the fact that Americans still needed to protect itself from enemies and Native Americans; therefore, Jefferson believed the best solution to protect the country and prevent dependence of such wickedness, of a standing army, was to allow possession of guns to citizens causing the second Amendment to be adopted, which 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.” However, two hundred twenty- one year later Jefferson belief isn’t the path we have chosen and we have armed ourselves with not only military forces but also forces that remained active during peacetimes causing a war between advocators of gun control and pro-gun supporters in America. One of the many claims that advocators of the second amendment argue is, that gun control is dangerous because it leaves citizens unprotected and has led to some of the most gruesome genocide in history such as the mass killing of educated people in Cambodia, which took place from 1975 until 1979. Gun control laws in Cambodia were passed in 1956 (Jay Simkin). If control gun was the cause of the genocide in Cambodia why did it happen nineteen years later? However, anti- supports refute this claim stating that disarming a population may make extermination easier however; it is not the cause as there have been genocides committed throughout history in which the government did not restrict the ownership and use of guns such as; the regime of Saddam Hussein. Advocates