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Morgan Anderson
Kurt Shirkey
Political Science 1100

5/1/2014


The Right to Bear Arms

Although the 2
nd
Amendment is only 27 words in its entirety, it has been the focus of
controversy many times in the last 223 years. In 1791 when the second amendment was added to
the bill of rights America did not have a well put together army. They relied on the civilians to
pretty much be the protection if someone invaded their town or city. So an addition was made to
The Bill of Rights the second amendment:

"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."
(Bill of Rights, 2
nd
Amendment U.S. Constitution)


This is one of the rights Americans have, and have fought to keep for over 200 years, this is a
right that wont easily be given up if the government tries to take it away or change it. Americans
deserve to have the unalienable right to bear arms. Many believe that this amendment is abused,
so they think it should be taken away. Just because a few people abuse guns or dont take care to
have them locked up means that the whole nation is now not allowed to own a gun.
There are two kinds of people for this topic, the first are the ones that are in favor of gun
control. These people that say the founding fathers wrote the second amendment for and only for
a citizens militia, and now since there really isnt Americans that are serving in a citizens
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militia they believe that this amendment is outdated and should no longer be in the bill of rights.
Then there are those who oppose gun control, these people say that the founding fathers wrote
the second amendment for the citizens militia but also to keep guns at home for protection of
your home and loved ones, hunting, and any other reason just so long that its legal.
The most correct side to be on is the side of the second kind of people, but not because of
the love of guns and its fun to shoot them and go hunting. There should not be gun control
because if the government can take away our RIGHT to bear arms that has been our RIGHT for
223 years, then what else can the government take away? The last sentence of the Second
Amendment says, The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
Infringed in the dictionary means: to commit a breach or infraction of; violate or transgress.
People are trying to commit a breach or infraction of; violate or transgress on our right to keep
and bear arms.
The last government who tried to take away gun rights was the German government, and
look what happened to them! Now would our government do that? No, but is our government
perfect? Most would say no on that one as well. Lets say somehow the government did take
away the second amendment, and then someone did invade us, how could we have a citizens
militia with no weapons? We understand now we have an army but they cant be everywhere at
once.
Although Americans have the right to bear arms, there should be a regulation on guns,
there should be background checks ran, and the two day cool off period should also be in effect.
If Americans are going to be able to argue that they are allowed to have guns, then they need to
go through a background check and wait the two days before they can pick up their gun. It only
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seems fair to be put through these tests, if you havent done anything bad then there should be
nothing to worry about.
But if you are a convicted felon, or have been to prison for a gun related crime, then
obviously the citizens arent going to want you to have a gun. The citizens need to also take
responsibility and not sell guns to random people that you know nothing about.
Another problem with gun control is, if guns do get banned, if we do lose our Second
amendment, then the same thing is going to happen that happened with the ban of alcohol in
1919. There are going to be bootleggers that smuggle the guns, sell them illegally, there will be
more gangs then there are now, there is going to be a lot of fighting and a lot more death than if
we were to just leave it alone and do our part as citizens to be responsible with the guns that we
have.
On June 26
th
, 2008, in the District of Columbia vs Heller case, the U.S. Supreme Court
said that the Second amendment promises individuals right to own firearms independent of
service in a state militia and to use firearms for lawful purposes, including self-defense within
the home. It was the first Supreme Court case to explore the meaning of the Second amendment
since United States vs miller (1939). The Supreme Court ruled in favor 5-4, so just barely
making it legal to own a firearm in your own home.
Ever since the ruling of this suit, people who are against gun control and the NRA have
been getting ready to file many suits against gun control laws in many states and they believe
because of the outcome of the District of Columbia vs Heller that these laws may be at risk in
being taken down. Although it is good that Americans can have guns, whether they are for the
protection of their home, hunting, or just having them because they are cool to have. There
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comes a point at which their needs to be some regulation of these guns and who is acquiring
them.
The NRA and the people throwing suits at the states need to realize what could happen if
they keep fighting for what they are fighting for. Do they want everyone to have a gun? Even the
criminals who have had violent acts in their past to own a gun? Or even have a concealed
weapons permit? There needs to be a line drawn somewhere, guns are regulated through back
ground checks and the people of America get to own guns in their homes. If you dont pass a
back ground check, you dont get a gun.
Now of course will people always be able to get guns whether they pass a background
check or not? Yes, there is always someone who doesnt care and will sell you a gun. Even if
they did make the gun laws more strict, Americans always know how to get around it. Which is
crazy really to think about, if the people dont like what the government is doing, well then they
just go behind the backs of the government and do it anyway.
There is probably always going to be gun laws and restrictions, people are going to be
fighting that forever, but as long as the people dont abuse the right to have guns, then
Americans will always have guns. Its really simple, be a responsible adult and you will get
treated like a responsible adult.






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Works Cited:
"Does the Second Amendment Protect the Right to Bear Arms?." About.com Civil
Liberties. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
<http://civilliberty.about.com/od/guncontrol/i/2ndamendment_2.htm>.
Duignan, Brian. "District of Columbia v. Heller (law case)." Encyclopedia Britannica
Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1676432/District-of-Columbia-v-Heller>.
"Second Amendment Timeline: History of Gun Rights in America." About.com Civil
Liberties. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://civilliberty.about.com/od/guncontrol/a/Second-
Amendment-History.htm>.
Zhang, BaoBao. "McDonald v. Chicago." PBS. PBS, 30 June 2010. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/five-things/mcdonald-v-chicago/1876/>