Gun Control
The United States Constitution says that U.S. citizens have the right to bear arms. Even though this guarantee was written with no constraints, there are now laws that limit certain aspects of gun ownership. A main reason people are pushing for more gun control is for personal and public safety. Though there are many safety reasons why private ownership of firearms should be banned, these arguments are outweighed not only by the need for protection, but because the limitation of gun ownership rights could become dangerous to personal freedom.
The Second Amendment reads, "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." When the U.S. Constitution was written, some delegates thought militia was military forces because the federal government had its own army to protect the people. However, the second amendment was made in response to the fear of being helpless before a standing professional army. A leader who is backed by a standing army holds a lot of power; the founding fathers feared that people's freedoms could be taken away by the federal government if it were to become corrupted and tyrannical. So the founding fathers wrote the second amendment to allow militia to bear arms and defend themselves against a tyrannical government or foreign invasion.
Gun control proponents have argued that the use of the word "people" in the second amendment refers not to the civilian population of the United States, but to the State National Guard Units. Thomas Jefferson, who is known as the "Father of the Constitution," clearly stated in the Draft Virginia Constitution in 1776, "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." It can then be concluded that the founding father's intentions were for every American to have the right to self-defense.
The main reason for gun control boils down to the want for personal and public safety. One upsetting fact about...
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