At Close Range Survival Is Rare Essay

, Research Paper

At Close Range, Survival is Rare

Gun Control issues have been apart of American landscape since the days of pioneers. The use of guns has changed over the years. Once used by settlers to survive, guns are now used in killing humans across the United States. Jim Reibsame, a contributor to the Dallas Morning News stated, .There is an urban outrage at some of the practices at controlling predators. There is a popular notion that we should let the wolves live, which happens to contrast with a century-plus of attitudes that we need to eradicate them. (Reibsame n.pg.). It is in the best interest of the U.S. to set standard gun control laws, and preserve the ones already created by legislation over the past 30 years. By doing so, millions of lives will be saved, guns will not end up in the hands of convicted felons and innocent children, while the powers granted in the Constitution will remain intact.

For Americans the fight over the right to bear arms has been discussed since the creation of the Constitution. The original intent and purpose of the Second Amendment was to preserve and guarantee, not grant the pre-existing right of individuals, to keep and bear arms. Although the amendment emphasizes the need for a militia, membership in any militia let alone a well-regulated one is not required to exercise the right to keep and bear arms. According to Joyce Lee Malcolm from the Harvard University Press, .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. (n.pg.).

If such rights were to be infringed upon, groups such as the NRA (National Rifle Association) would become outraged. The organization of groups such as these have made it harder for the U.S. legislation to pass heavily needed Gun Control laws. Because of the huge following of American citizens, the NRA has strong legal power in the judicial system. By having powerful politicians involved in the NRA, this organization has pushed its way into congress and into the legal system by popular vote among senators who strongly support the right to bear arms. Along with celebrity endorsements the NRA has been a powerful group in keeping the wide spread use of guns legal, and easily obtainable. Celebrities such as Ted Nuget and Tom Selek have been associated with such a group.

Popular celebrities such as these along with the President of the NRA, Charlton Heston have used magazine and television ads to scare many American families into believing they need to possess some type of gun or weapon to remain safe in their own home. Contradictory to that belief, according to the FBI, there were only 126 justifiable handgun homicides compared with a total of 9,390 handgun murders in the U.S. (FBI n.pg.). Heavily promoting hunting season, the NRA has even sponsored hunting skill classes for young teens. When teens do go hunting, they do not know the threat they pose on each other. Wearing camaflouge, they may accidentally shoot one another thinking it was an animal. Many teens today that do get a hunting license are not mature or skilled enough to operate a firearm.

To understand why there is a need for the country to control and restrict guns from teens and felons, it is important to know what role guns play in American society today. According to Jim Reibsame, .Guns are the mouth parts of the violence epidemic. The contemporary urban environment breeds violence no less than swamps breed mosquitoes. (n. pg.). Many others feel the same way and believe that society has done nothing to stop the blaze of gunfire. Mrs. Brady, a strong advocate of gun control believes that, .It took the deaths of 13 innocent children to stop Colorado, Florida, Michigan, and other states from passing NRA-sponsored pro-gun legislation (Brady n. pg.).

Both Reibsame and Brady agree here that guns need to be controlled to stop guns from getting into the hands of unskilled gun users. Guns are spreading at a rapid-fire pace, due to the lack of control over widespread use of guns. If the distribution of guns does not slow down America will never be able to control the violence guns bring out, or the lives lost from guns falling into the wrong hands such as children and criminals. The selling of guns will not bother the NRA, because they feel the more guns people own, the more they will feel safe in their own home. But, the only way to stop them is with states rejecting their .pro-gun legislation. (Brady n.pg.). When people start to identify the problems that guns bring out in society then they will find ways to solve the problem. Over the past ten years, several states have flatly prohibited the carrying of concealed weapon (n.pg.), it is finally time that America is starting to wake up to the harsh reality of gun use.

The introduction of legislation for gun control, to try to reduce the crime in the United States, has been a hotly debated issue in recent years. Although many people feel that gun control violates the right of the people given in the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms. Controlling distribution, sales, and the registration of guns by gun owners is necessary because of the homicide rate involving guns and the violence by criminals using guns. Opponents of Gun control, including the NRA argue that the right to bear arms is guaranteed in the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the