Gun Control Debate
During the wake of the gun shootings, different debates emerge regarding gun control. In this debate, there are two sides of the debate some supporting gun control laws and the ideas of the constitutional right for Americans to own guns. The legal debate surrounds the second amendment of the constitution with gun control proponents supporting the creation of laws that restrict gun ownership. The opponents, on the other hand, claim the second amendment has given individuals the right to own a gun for self-defense. This document will assess the arguments of both sides of the debate considering major shootings, the constitution, and Texas gun laws. The debate will focus on arguments for more guns or fewer guns and more laws or fewer laws.
Laws that control gun ownership can be traced in the colonial period when guns were common for hunting and self-security. In this period, laws criminalized ownership of guns by the slaves, Catholics, servants, and Native Americans. In 1791, the second amendment of the constitution suggested the individual right of individuals to own guns to collectively serve in the militia (Hartmann 72). Apart from the militia, other American owned guns that were not effective for military use. Since colonial times, gun laws have been developing. In 2016, president Obama increased the measures for a background check before issuing guns, tracking illegal gun trafficking, and funding for gun safety technologies (Philip and Goss 112). Apart from the federal laws, the states have own enacted laws regulating the measures for guns are owned.
When incidences such as the Orlando night club shooting occur, in which a gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub killing 49 people and injuring others, the question of people using guns to fulfill their interests arises (Stonehem 10). Proponents of gun control wish for more laws to prevent mass shootings by including smart gun laws and background checks to limit the mentally ill from buying guns. The opponents of gun control feel that tragedies are used to further objectives that cannot be attained. More laws, according to the opponents, cannot prevent shootings or crime. Laws, according to the opponents, would violate the constitutional right stipulated through the second amendment. The amendment 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” (“Second Amendment”). Proponents argue that if the guns were not allowed to the public, fewer deaths would occur. Opponents, on the other hand, believe that gun ownership would reduce crime. If more individuals had guns during the Orlando shooting, fewer deaths would occur.
The debate rotates on the role of the police in maintaining law and order. The opponents of the gun control law argue that police cannot always protect the people. Gun control laws would, therefore, infringe the right of the people to self-defense and therefore deny them safety (White 23). The law-abiding citizens are affected when laws prevent them from owning guns. The opponents of gun control believe that only a good man with a gun can stop a bad man with a gun. The proponents of the gun laws suggest that restricting some type of guns would reduce the mass murder (Karimu 21). The shooter in Orlando had a high-capacity magazine, which allowed him to kill many people. They argue that killers use high-capacity magazines to compensate for the lack of accuracy and ensure maximum harm. The proponents also argue that individuals can use their guns for personal interests motivated by hate and ideological differences. For instance, a Saudi student who used his gun for an attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola just to express an extremist agenda (Fitz-Gibbon 67).
As a reaction to the shooting attacks, Texas states gun laws changed from September 2019. The state’s laws focused more on the person who can carry a gun as opposed to who owned the gun. The Texan constitution guarantees persons the right to “keep and bear arms in the lawful defense of himself or the State” (Library). The state has power, however, to “regulate the wearing of arms.” The state believes that limiting how and where people carry guns would reduce the level of the mass shooting in the state. In 2019, the state revised its regulations on gun control. The laws allowed a licensed individual to carry guns in schools, apartments, foster homes, worship centers, and during a disaster. The state had loosened its restrictions after experiencing the deadliest mass shootings in 2019.
In conclusion, the two sides of the debate are focused on saving more lives of American citizens. Differences are found on the strategies that can be adopted to achieve this—the proponents of gun control supporting the creation of more laws that would restrict how guns used. The opposes of the gun laws, on the other hand, believing that restriction of ownership of guns is a deprivation of a constitutional right and would not reduce crime or mass shootings.
Work Cited
Fitz-Gibbon, Jorge. “Saudi Students At Pensacola Naval Base To Be Expelled After Shooting.” New York Post, 2020, https://nypost.com/2020/01/12/saudi-students-at- Pensacola-naval-base-to-be-expelled-after-shooting/.
Karimu, Olusola O. “the two sides of gun legislation and control debate in the united states of America.” European Scientific Journal 11.7 (2015). Https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/the-two-sides-of-gun-legislation-and-control-debate-Karimu/bc7e9569d105888a7f60522526ec870062de3dc4
Cook, Philip J., and Kristin A. Goss. The gun debate: What everyone needs to know®. Oxford University Press, USA, 2020.
White, Laura, et al. “Freedom and the Second Amendment.” (2018). https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/freedom-movement-spring-2018/5/
Stoneham, Bill. Orlando Nightclub Shooting.
Hartmann, Thom. The Hidden History Of Guns And The Second Amendment.
Library, Texas. “Guides: Gun Laws: General Information.” Guides.Sll.Texas.Gov, 2020, https://guides.sll.texas.gov/gun-laws.
“Second Amendment.” LII / Legal Information Institute, 2020, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/second_amendment.