ANTI GUN CONTROL.   Term Paper ID:26789 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Presents 3 arguments against legality & effectiveness of gun control laws.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Presents 3 arguments against legality & effectiveness of gun control laws. Paper Introduction: THE MAJOR ARGUMENTS AGAINST GUN CONTROL Gun control is one of the most controversial topics in America, and this discussion is even spreading to other parts of the world (Goldring, 1999). This paper will attempt to summarize one part of this international debate; specifically, it will deal with the arguments against gun control. This will be accomplished by arguing the following premises in this order. 1. The right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Constitution. 2. There is little empirical evidence that gun control is an effective deterrent against crime. 3. There is much empirical evidence that suggests that owning a gun can be a valid and efficient method of self-defense. Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Argument 2: Gun Control Does Not Reduce Crime In 1911, the first person sentenced under a strong New York GunControl Law, an Italian immigrant, was lectured by the judge: "It isunfortunate that this is the custom with you and your kind, and that fact,combined with your irascible nature, furnishes much of the criminalbusiness in this country" (Kopel, 1992, 2 ). * 79 per cent opposed banning assault weapons. (1992), The samurai, the mountie, and the cowboy, New York:Penguin Lipman, H. states have some gun control laws. Will, or has, this law made a difference? 3. In 1993 the Congress of the United States passed the Brady Bill, namedafter former White House press secretary James Brady. .amongcitizens of foreign birth" (Kopel, 1992, 17). David Kopel in his 1992 book, The Samurai, the Mountie, and theCowboy, talks about how the influx of immigrants from Central, Southern,and Eastern Europe fed support for gun-control measures in the Northeast.In 19 3, for example, the New York Tribune complained about pistols found"chiefly in the pockets of ignorant and quarrelsome immigrants of law-breaking propensities" and condemned "the practice of going armed. There is much empirical evidence that suggests that owning a guncan be a valid and efficient method of self-defense. . Argument 3: Owning a Gun Is Valid for Self-DefenseMany guns are owned, either primarily or secondarily, for defense againstcrime, and there exists a substantial number of opinions about howeffective these are in self defense. The federal government and all U.S. .does a society that is manifestly incapable ofprotecting its citizens from crime and predation really have any moralauthority to tell people what they may and may not own or do to protectthemselves?" (Kates, 1995, 32). (1995, March 6), Shot down, National Review, 49-54 Kopel, D. . Likewise, women tend to be harsher indetermining who should lose their right to own a gun. Some U.S. There is little empirical evidence that gun control is aneffective deterrent against crime. The right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Constitution. In 1991, Law Enforcement Technology magazine polled 2 policemenacross the nation and 76 per cent of street officers believed that licensesto carry concealed handguns for protection should be issued to everytrained, responsible adult applicant (Kates, 1995). That poll showed thattheir departments were "understaffed and unable to adequately protectindividuals; that law-abiding, responsible adults should have the right toown 'any type of firearm' for self-defense; and that banning guns will notreduce crime" (Kates, 1995, 51).Other polls show further conflicting opinions. "Though a large majority of the people think gun ownership should be aconstitutional right and almost half have owned guns at some time, almosttwo out of every three Americans think their society as a whole views gunowners in a negative way" (Lipman, 1997, 3A). But who, exactly, do we expect to comply with such laws?" (Kates, 1995,5 ). (1994, Oct. In 1992 Washington Post reporters interviewed the 114 inmates inD.C.'s Lorton Prison who had been convicted of at least one gun crime. In addition: * 91 per cent of street officers opposed banning semi-automatic assault rifles. "After the Civil War, several Southern statespassed laws aimed at limiting access to cheap firearms by emancipatedblacks. 16), Gun violence in america,ABC Nightline Transcript Kates, D.B. 2. Arkansas enacted asimilar ban in 1881" (Sullum, 1994, 27). (1997, Oct. For example, would a poor, unemployed, ethnic mother in a housingproject need a gun more than the affluent suburbanite? (1999, Sept. 1), The nra goes global, Bulletin of theAtomic Scientists, 6 Sullum, J. As Kates (1995) points out Murder is already against the law, yet murderers still murder; armed robbery is against the law, yet robbers still rob. states have adopted laws based on these strategies. * 94 per cent of street officers felt that private citizens should keep handguns in their homes and offices for self-defense. This paper will attempt to summarize one part of this internationaldebate; specifically, it will deal with the arguments against gun control.This will be accomplished by arguing the following premises in this order. Theconsensus was clear: "Gun control is not the answer, the inmates agreed."And they anticipated no difficulty obtaining an illegal gun. * 93 per cent of the respondents supported defensive ownership of handguns. An additional poll conducted by the National Association of Chiefs ofPolice surveyed fifteen thousand police agencies. * 85 per cent felt gun control had little potential to reduce crime. * 63 per cent supported widespread carrying of concealed handguns by trained civilians" (Kates, 1995, 5 ). 1), Voodoo social policy: exorcizing the twindemons, guns and drugs, Reason, 26-32 Though manyclaimed to want to go straight, 25 per cent flatly said they would get agun as soon as they emerged from prison" (Foreman & Wallace, 1999). (1999. 19), Gun poll: right and regulation diverseresponses point to constitution, Denver Rocky Mountain News, 3A. THE MAJOR ARGUMENTS AGAINST GUN CONTROL Gun control is one of the most controversial topics in America, andthis discussion is even spreading to other parts of the world (Goldring,1999). The law, which wentinto effect in 1994, provided a five-day waiting period for individualspurchasing handguns and established a federal firearm license fee and anannual license renewal fee. 1. And as a matter of fact, gun acquisition by felons, whether from retail or private sources, is also already illegal, yet felons still acquire guns. Sullum(1994) pointed out the historical precedent of gun control laws, which wereoriginally racial in nature. We can certainly pass a law requiring that every gun transfer be registered with the police, or one requiring that the buyer and seller both trundle off to a licensed dealer to document the transaction and run the mandatory background check. Jan. Women, in general, tend tothink having a gun in the home makes it less safe to live there, while mostmen think just the opposite. More importantly,argues Kates ". References Foreman, T.; Wallace, C. Goldring, N.J. Inherent in the question of "is self-defense a legitimate reason for gun ownership" is a broader philosophicalquestion of who should be empowered to decide whose need for self-protection is "legitimate" and whose is not? Argument 1: Constitutional Guarantee The primary basis for many of the arguments against gun control isfound in the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States,which states that "A well-regulated militia being necessary to the securityof a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not beinfringed" (Encarta, 1999). However, the courts have never struck down agun control law because of this provision. These laws are based on several strategies: forbidding people who areconsidered to be unreliable from obtaining any firearms; prohibiting anyoneother than the police, the military, and persons with special needs fromacquiring high-risk guns (those that are particularly likely to bemisused); and requiring waiting periods before purchasing a gun or gunlicense. In 187 , Tennessee banned the sale of all but the most expensivehandguns, which blacks generally could not afford. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.