Gun Control And Violence In The United States

Introduction Gun control is a highly complex and emotionally charged debate. Fear drives both sides of the gun control discussion in the United States. On one side Americans seem to religiously quote the Second Amendment within the Constitution. The Second Amendment states that people have the right to keep and bear arms in order for them to protect themselves from government overreach in confiscating their firearms; “this amendment’s core purpose is to in fact protect the individual’s interest in self-defense” (Giles & Lund, 2013, pp. 38). In simple terms, it means that people want the option and the right to protect themselves because they are afraid of what others are capable of (Hargrove & Perdue, 2015).
The opposite argue that we need …show more content…
Not only are there similar issues present when trying to manage the “War on drugs” but we still have a prevalence of them throughout our nation. This is often due to the fact that criminals do not abide by the policies set to counter the use of drugs, and in this case, guns as well. “Over half of 20,000 gun related murders in America every year include the use of drugs; this ensures a sure-fire relationship between drugs, firearms and violence” (Newhard, 2015, pp. 14). Despite the laws to prevent criminals from obtaining firearms, they gain access through illegal means. Simply, laws do not deter …show more content…
Therefore, they manage the use and possession of firearms in general. Some common aspects of this include, but are not limited to: waiting periods, background checks, gun permits and registration, bans on certain types of guns (such as, assault and automatic rifles, large magazines and other guns who have large capacities), the possession of guns in a school zone, and they also restrict certain groups of people, such as convicted felons, minors, the mentally ill, and illegal aliens to obtain firearms (DeGrazia,