Gun Control
Gun Control
POL/215
Gun Control
A major public policy issue in today’s society is gun control. Some people feel as if their second amendment rights are being infringed upon and others feel as if the laws are not strict enough. Why is gun control so relevant in today’s society? Are the people’s second amendment rights in danger by new proposed laws and actions or do the laws need to buckle down tighter? In the District of Columbia vs Heller case, the Supreme Court ruled that a ban on ownership of firearms by private citizens in their homes was unconstitutional (Wilkes, 2013).
There are millions of people in America that own and/or carry guns in America today. There are also several different organizations that lobby and rally for the rights and support of these people, the most popular of which is the National Rifle Association (NRA). These people feel as if the laws get any tighter or stricter, the government will be infringing on their second amendment right to keep and bear arms. These groups and people argue new laws are not needed but stricter enforcement of current laws needs to be in place. They also argue that it is unfair to punish honest, law-abiding people for the actions of the criminal and dishonest. The effects on public and private groups is that vulnerable populations will not be able to protect themselves without having to jump through several hoops, causing most of them to feel as if it is not worth it to even try.
On the opposite side of the gun groups, there are the gun control groups with the parents of the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, leading the charge. This group is pushing for several bills and laws to put more of a lock down on guns in America. Their argument is that there needs to be tougher, stricter laws to better control who purchases firearms and to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals and the mentally unstable. A current and popular example of this is the Trayvon Martin case, had
POL/215
Gun Control
A major public policy issue in today’s society is gun control. Some people feel as if their second amendment rights are being infringed upon and others feel as if the laws are not strict enough. Why is gun control so relevant in today’s society? Are the people’s second amendment rights in danger by new proposed laws and actions or do the laws need to buckle down tighter? In the District of Columbia vs Heller case, the Supreme Court ruled that a ban on ownership of firearms by private citizens in their homes was unconstitutional (Wilkes, 2013).
There are millions of people in America that own and/or carry guns in America today. There are also several different organizations that lobby and rally for the rights and support of these people, the most popular of which is the National Rifle Association (NRA). These people feel as if the laws get any tighter or stricter, the government will be infringing on their second amendment right to keep and bear arms. These groups and people argue new laws are not needed but stricter enforcement of current laws needs to be in place. They also argue that it is unfair to punish honest, law-abiding people for the actions of the criminal and dishonest. The effects on public and private groups is that vulnerable populations will not be able to protect themselves without having to jump through several hoops, causing most of them to feel as if it is not worth it to even try.
On the opposite side of the gun groups, there are the gun control groups with the parents of the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, leading the charge. This group is pushing for several bills and laws to put more of a lock down on guns in America. Their argument is that there needs to be tougher, stricter laws to better control who purchases firearms and to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals and the mentally unstable. A current and popular example of this is the Trayvon Martin case, had
References: Henigan, D. A. (2012). THE WOOLLARD DECISION AND THE LESSONS OF THE TRAYVON MARTIN TRAGEDY. Maryland Law Review, 71(4), 1188-1204. Retrieved from EBCSOhost Kellermann, A. L., & Rivara, F. P. (2013). Silencing the Science on Gun Research. JAMA, 309(6), 549-550. Retrieved from http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1487470&buffer_share=77837&utm_source=buffer Levy, R. A. (2013). Reflections on Gun Control by a Second Amendment Advocate. Retrieved from http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/reflections-gun-control-second-amendment-advocate?mc_cid=6e14df92fb&mc_eid=639b1e4ac8 Now is the Time| The White House. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/preventing-gun-violence Swanson, J. (2013, February). Mental Illness and New Gun Law Reforms The Promise and Peril of Crisis-Driven Policy. The Journal of the American Medical Association, Retrieved from http://internationalpsychoanalysis.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/JamaSwansonGunControl.pdf Wilkes Jr, D. E. (2013). The Conservative Court Has Spoken. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1179&context=fac_pm