The Right To Bear Arms Analysis

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In Steve Nolan’s article “25 Reasons Why We Need To Preserve Our 2nd Amendment Right To Keep And Bear Arms,” he explains why we should bear arms, and why we should fight to keep our civil liberty to bear arms. This essay is intended to help the reader become more informed on the right to bear arms, how the media only covers gun related incidents, but not instances where guns have saved people, and how many politicians contort the 2nd amendment to aid them in elections. By uncovering some truths about gun owners, Nolan and many other pro-gun activist can shed some light on the truth behind the 2nd amendment. Nolan can affectively argue ones right to the 2nd amendment through studies, statistics, and personal experiences to produce evidence that supports the right to bear arms. The second amendement of the constitution expresses the right for American citizens to bear, or posess guns. The reasoning behind this is simple, to protect oneself or property as a last resort option. Nolan quotes Thomas Jefferson, “Thomas Jefferson, himself a liberal in the truest sense of the definition stated, ‘The strongest reason for people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government” (Nolan). The right to bear arms is legal in every state with some factors that may prohibit certain individuals from possessing a weapon, and it even protects ones right to carry that weapon in public. Gun ownership is a right reserved to every American citizen and should be allowed to be expressed freely. Along with that right comes responsibility as well. Guns should only be used to defend oneself, one’s property, and others in a last resort situation. There are many cases that show where someone has expressed their 2nd amendment right to protect themselves and Nolan uses an example in his argument, “Reason #7 Ohio woman shoots ex-boyfriend that restraining order failed to stop: An Ohio woman who feared that her ex-boyfriend and father of two children was not going to be deterred… [she] armed herself with a pistol and was glad she did when her ex-boyfriend broke into her home and assaulted her with a crowbar. Fearing for her life, she shot and killed the intruder…” Since Ohio’s new Castle Doctrine, she was not charged due to the presumption of self-defense. Conversely, the media would not typically cover this sort of event, but would much rather cover the event of a gun being used in a malicious way. Nolan writes, “It is truly sad that we only hear in the media about tragic incidents like Aurora and never hear of the cases where firearms are legally used in the defense of life, liberty, or property.” The media …show more content…
Recently, many politicians have started to promote more strict gun laws to win over the public. Nolan shows an example of this in his argument, “Now contrast that to New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has made a career calling for stricter gun laws…” Anti-gun advocates are trying to take away every citizen’s right to bear arms. Michael Bloomberg understands that the majority of his voters are anti-gun advocates. Michael Bloomberg’s use of power, along with many other politicians, makes it difficult for pro-gun activist to preserve their right to own and bear

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