...crime. Many innocent people feel they have the right to bear arms for protection, or even just the pleasure of hunting. Americans have a constitutional right to own hand guns and stricter laws and licensing will not affectively save lives. The second amendment states “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” The Founding Fathers included this in the Bill of Rights because they feared the Federal Government might oppress the population if the people did not have the means to defend themselves as a nation or individuals. “We established however some, although not all its (self-government) important principles. The constitutions of most of our states assert, that all power is inherent in the people; that they exercise it by themselves, in all cases to which they think themselves competent; (as in electing their functionaries executive and legislative, and deciding by a jury of themselves, in all judiciary cases in which any fact is involved,) or may they act by representatives, freely and equally chosen that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed” (Jefferson). It is believed that The Founding Fathers thought that the society benefited from guns being in the hands of the people. This way all citizens were able to defend themselves at all times. The government has passed many laws regarding the ownership and use of firearms. Currently the...
Words: 1360 - Pages: 6
...violence is not a new issue, nor is gun control a new argument. The “war on guns” dates all the way back to the infancy of the United States of America; the right to bear arms was guaranteed in the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, and has been seen, in the more than two centuries since, as a cornerstone of American liberty. However, in the last few years, repeated mass killings have placed the gun control debate at the eye of the American political storm. In an effort to balance beliefs from both ends of the political spectrum - that gun ownership needs to be protected, while restricted enough to keep guns out of the hands of those who may do deadly harm with them - has come a lack of serious, effective legislation on the matter. The Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act - seen at its enactment as a milestone in the gun control movement - has proven itself ineffective at preventing the type of mass shooting that is, unfortunately, all too common today. These killings, and the high rates of gun violence overall, challenge the core values of social work practice, and the short- and long-term economic impact of this violence is, at best, counter-productive. Based on the research outlined in this document, it is necessary as social workers to create a culture of safety, and as a country to enact sensible gun...
Words: 1428 - Pages: 6
...individuals choose to use firearms inappropriately. Our society has passed laws regulating the ownership and use of firearms, and more legislation is being considered. Most of this legislation restricts, to some degree, the rights of individuals to possess or use firearms. Some restrictions may be necessary, but some recent legislation has gone too far. Society benefits from firearms in the hands of responsible citizens. Attempts to keep firearms away from these citizens do more harm than good. The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution states: “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.” The Founding Fathers included this in our bill of Rights because they feared the Federal Government might oppress the population if the people did not have the means to defend themselves as a nation and as individuals. This idea was not new. The Founding Fathers’ thoughts on the right to keep and bear arms were influenced by Aristotle, Cicero, John Locke, and Algernon Sidney. The militia referred to cannot be construed as meaning the Army or National...
Words: 2226 - Pages: 9
...prevalent problem of Gun Control. Our founding fathers form the Bill of Rights specifically the second amendment to protect American citizens just in case the government turns tyrannical. Presently, the 2nd amendment is being debated on the extent gun rights apply in the expense of public safety. In the last half a century senseless mass shootings has shaped American history, from the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, and (attempted) John Regan. Additionally, mass shootings has made a similar impact on society from the Columbine, Tucson, and Sandy Hook. As a result, those events caused a media frenzy and public outcry...
Words: 747 - Pages: 3
...000 children and teenagers. In the past few years, many steps have been taken to help reduce the risk of fatal accidents or intentions. One of these steps was the ban of assault weapons. Several years ago, congress passed a landmark bill, banning the sale, manufacture and, importation of semi-automatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition clips. Due to this ban, the number of crimes traced to assault weapons has decreased almost 20% from 1994 to 1996. This ban was repealed by the House of Representatives. On March 22, 1996 another big legislation in the fight against guns was the Brady bill, which demands a 5 day waiting period for all handgun purchases. These legislation's are somewhat effective and in different ways. The only real way to eliminate most gun violence is to eliminate the availability of guns. Surely making guns illegal would do this but this raises a very important issue. If you outlaw guns, only the outlaws will have guns. Simply put, no matter how many bans you put out, there will always be the black market to support the criminals in the U.S. Needless to say the law abiding citizens of our country would be defenseless. The NRA has made sure that this will never happen. What the United States needs is someone to pass a bill that...
Words: 2431 - Pages: 10
...Photographers of the 19th Century – Present Mathew Brady (Brady) was born in 1823 in Warren County, New York, to Irish immigrant parents, Andrew and Julia Brady. Brady moved to New York City at the age of 16 or 17 where he took his first job was working in a department store as a clerk. Brady started a small business that manufactured jewelry cases shortly after he started working as a store clerk and in his spare time he studied photography. He studied photography under a number of teachers, which included the famous inventor of the telegraph, Samuel F.B. Morse. Brady seemed to have a natural gift for photography and by 1844 had started his own photography studio in New York. By 1845 he started exhibiting his portraits of famous Americans....
Words: 305 - Pages: 2
...Are there any legitimate restrictions on gun ownership? Informal Logic / PHI103 The sometimes-explosive topic of an individual’s right to bear arms is a long-standing debate both nationally and internationally. Center fire of such debates is the interpretation, definition, and intention of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, the right to bear arms. Scholars, policy makers, and everyday citizens are faced with answering the question, are there any legitimate restrictions on firearm ownership? The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution states, “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.” (NARA, n.d) This statement, set forth by society’s Founding Fathers, has created a multitude of debates, beliefs, and restrictions. Congress passed the National Firearms Act In 1934, then later the President of the United States signed a law requiring gun dealers be licensed while recording the purchasers names and addresses. The 1968 Federal Gun Control Act, was enacted by Congress making it law following a turbulent time in history which was marred with the assassinations of several prominent public officials. The deaths, all due to firearms, included President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. This law categorizes people prohibited from owning guns including, those convicted of a felony, a fugitive, those who...
Words: 2471 - Pages: 10
...order to fully understand how gauge whether a Supreme Court case is impactful, it is necessary to understand the types of Supreme Court cases that make up the majority of cases. According to Hall, the Supreme Court has roughly five limited functions; these are “regime enforcement, division of labor, overcoming gridlock, blame avoidance, and legitimation.” These functions are important to understand to really classify a Supreme Court case as truly important. For most people, who do not know history very well, it can be hard to understand how a case tried over 200 years impacts their life today. In the cases succeeding Marbury V. Madison (the first case to use a process known as Judicial Review) we can see these functions being exercised and develop over time....
Words: 846 - Pages: 4
...State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed" (Caplan p32). "Underlying this amendment are two goals of an individual and collective defense from violence and aggression, which have been recognized by Congress" ( Caplan P.32). The second amendment should help secure right of the people to have a gun in their home. " The government should not be permitted to declare who would or would not be able to bear arms on the basis of vague religious tests or any other nebulous standard or artifice" ( Caplan p.39). The first infringement on the Second Amendment came on November 30, 1993 when President Clinton signed Brady Bill I. The law required that there be a five day waiting period on all hand gun purchases. The Brady Bill also banned semi-automatic rifles and other military type weapons. ( Moore 1994 p.434) The five day waiting period is suppose to stop felons from buying guns. But, Waiting periods do not stop felons from getting guns. Since 1968 it has been illegal for a felon to possess any firearm. ( Moore 1994 p 440) Most of the criminals do not get their guns from stores, most get them by theft or on the black market. " While legitimate users of...
Words: 1296 - Pages: 6
...CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LOS ANGELES | POLICY RESEARCH PAPER | POLS 462 PUBLIC POLICY | | Victor Chang | 3/18/2013 | [Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.] | It can be easily argued that we are currently living in a culture of violence. As we watch, read or listen to the news; daily incidents of individuals becoming victims of gun violence trumps the headlines. With tragic incidents such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut that occurred in December of 2012, as well as the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado in July of 2012 occurring less than six months away from each other, prompted debate on a national level regarding the importance of gun control and mental illness. Other highly publicized mass shootings, such as the one that occurred in Tucson, Arizona in January of 2011, involving former US Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the mass shooting at Virginia Tech, along with the two events mentioned above, “all shared two common characteristics: all four shooters were mentally ill, and all four used guns with large capacity magazines, allowing them to fire multiple rounds of ammunition without reloading (Barry, 2013).” As the Second Amendment guarantees an individual’s right to bear arms, the issue at hand is: how can the government...
Words: 2685 - Pages: 11
...whether our government has the right to regulate guns. The answer of who has which rights lies within how one interprets the Second Amendment. With this being the case, one must also think about what circumstances the Framers were under when this Amendment was written. There are two major sides to this debate, one being the collective side, which feels that the right was given for collective purposes only. This side is in favor of having stricter gun control laws, as they feel that by having stricter laws the number of crimes that are being committed with guns will be reduced and thus save lives. However while gun control laws may decrease criminals" access to guns, the same laws restricts gun owning citizens who abide by the law; these citizens make up a great majority of the opposing side of this argument. These people argue that the law was made with the individual citizens in mind. This group believes that the Amendment should be interpreted to guarantee citizens free access to firearms. One major group that is in strong opposition of stricter gun control laws is the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA argues that having stricter gun control laws will only hinder law-abiding citizens. The final outcome on this debate will mainly depend on how this Amendment is going to be interpreted. The Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights states: 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...
Words: 2267 - Pages: 10
...bottles of Coca Cola, twelve cans of beer, about five dollars from the cigarette machine and sixty dollars from the juke box were stolen from Bay Harbor Poolroom which belonged to Ira Strickland Jr. A twenty-two year old resident that lived close by, Henry Cook, told the police that he saw Gideon get into a cab after walking out of the pool hall with a bottle of wine and pockets filled with coins. Consequently, Gideon was arrested in a nearby tavern and ordered to stand trial. On August 4, 1961, Clarence Earl Gideon appeared for trial before Judge Robert L. McCrary, Jr. in the Circuit Court of the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida for Bay County. The trial transcript begins as follows: (Lewis P9) The Court: The next case on the docket is the case of...
Words: 3150 - Pages: 13
...Gun Control in America Peter Z Bliss ENG/215 February 2, 2012 Kim Holloway Gun Control in America Gun control is a debate topic that comes up every election and when a major event happens that involving guns. Pro-gun lobbyists say “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people” [ (Hagan, 2007) ] the anti-gun advocates want to take away the right to bear arms. This topic has no right or wrong answer it is a preference of the individual. This is why gun control is such a fiercely debated topic. Implementing gun control Gun control cannot determine an accurate measurement according to research as there are two key components to the research lacking. What is the crime rate with no gun control? There is no documented research showing what the baseline is without gun control. Different government parties have each placed their own gun controls as a universal solution. These controls are mandatory locks sold with every gun purchase, and limitations on different classification of guns a citizen may own (Moorhouse & Wanner, 2006). Part two of measuring gun control is making sure the gun control laws are in place along with proper enforcement of the law. An example of this could have a blanket gun control law for a state. Each county within that state will potentially have a different outcome of this law. With the effort their law enforcement offices and judicial system place on enforcing that law. Gun control law enforcement is a large part of the accurate measurement...
Words: 1313 - Pages: 6
...with a capital offense. Petitioner protest that he had a right to counsel, but was force to put on his case and lost. Petitioner filed a habeas corpus petition to the Florida Supreme Court and challenge his conviction claiming the refusal to appoint counsel in his trial encroached on his 6th Amendment right of the U.S. Constitution. The Florida Supreme Court denied the petitioner relief citing case law from the Betts v. Brady case which held the...
Words: 839 - Pages: 4
...Case Citation Gideon v Wainwright 372 U.S. 335 (1963) Court U.S. Supreme Court Facts Defendant was charged with a felony in a Florida State Court. He was charged with breaking and entering with intent to commit a misdemeanor. He was not appointed counsel even though he was not able to afford one. He was forced to act as his own counsel and was convicted. He was sentenced to five years in a state prison. Defendant was denied counsel due to Florida Law. The law stated that the only time and indigent defendant would get a counsel was if he is charged with a capital offense. Gideon filed a petition for habeas corpus attacking his conviction and sentence on the ground that the trial court’s refusal to appoint counsel denied his constitutional rights and rights guaranteed him under the Bill of Rights. The Florida State Supreme Court denied relief. Because the problem of a defendant’s constitutional right to counsel in state court continued to be source of controversy since Betts v. Brady, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to again review the issue. Issue The issue at hand is whether A prior decision of the Court’s, Betts v. Brady, 316 U.S. 455 (1942), held that the refusal to appoint counsel for an indigent defendant charged with a felony in state court did not necessarily violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court granted Gideon’s petition for a writ of certiorari – that is, agreed to hear Gideon’s case and review the decision...
Words: 280 - Pages: 2
