For And Against Gun Control Essay

For or Against Gun Control One of the many topics that have been on the minds of people in the U.S., including the presidential candidates, is gun control. In light of recent events these past years, this topic has been on the minds of more and more citizens. People are begining to take a stance on having stricter gun laws or keeping the ones that are currently in place. The country’s presidential candidates— Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump— are even divided when it comes to the topic of gun control laws. Whether or not a person is in favor of or against stricter gun laws, it is a topic that is impact this country greatly. For centuries guns have had major impacts, both good and bad, in nations and its people. Since the signing of the Constitution, …show more content…
In order to deal with the topic of gun control, Trump has a various steps that he believes will help fix the problems associated with guns while still allowing citizens to maintain their Constitutional right. For instance, Trump plans to enforce the laws that are already in place. By enforcing the laws and ensuring that criminals are off the streets and behind bars, crime rates and gun violence would decrease. Trump cites Project Exile in Richmond, Virginia as a “tremendous program” to help combat crimes by sentencing criminals to 5 years in prison if they commit a crime with the use of a gun (“Protecting Our Second Amendment Rights Will Make America Great Again”). Also, he mentions that in order to fight crime law-abiding gun owners should be allowed to defend themselves when the police cannot. This means that law-abiding gun owners would have the right to shoot someone (who may be innocent) if they felt that their life or the lives of others were in danger. Another way to improve gun control would be to fix the mental health system in the U.S. Part of Trump’s political agenda would be to get people who are violent and have mental health problems off the streets, so they can receive the proper treatment. Lastly, Trump wants to defend the rights of the gun owners. This would include allowing people to own any type of firearm the chose without …show more content…
For instance, Trump is right in the sense that he wants to protect peoples’ Second Amendment right— the right to keep and bear arms. This was a right that was granted to the citizens of the U.S. over 200 years ago and they have a right to express it. At the same time, Trump’s plan can be seen as flawed when he allows gun owners to protect themselves if the police are not able to. This could allow someone who owns a gun to misjudge a situation and possible shot an innocent person. Although that person would see the situation as them defending themselves, an outsider could see it as one person shooting another for no apparent reason. Similarly, Hillary Clinton’s plan to keep guns out of the hands of people with a history of violence and serve mental illness is a good idea. It would help to ensure that people who are known to be violent or incompetent to gain access to a gun and harm people. In contrast, her plan to take on the gun lobby by removing them has its flaws. Gun lobbyists have a right to advocate for laws and policies that they see fit for citizens who own guns. Clinton should not be able take away their right to advocate for policies they believe in. Ultimately, citizens of the U.S. should be able to express their right to keep and bear arms, but the process of obtaining a gun should be stricter in order to keep criminals and other people from using guns in acts