“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are three “unalienable” rights that the United States Declaration of Independence proclaims the government is created to protect (Jefferson, 1776). However, this task is easier said than done. Many times, preserving one’s personal liberty comes at the cost of someone else’s life, and vice versa. Therefore, issues involving this tradeoff between personal liberty and the safety of others are typically controversial. Individual liberty is a key value of American life to some people; after all, America is commonly referred to as “the land of the free.” To others, personal liberties should be allowed only when they are not infringing on the rights of other people in society to live and pursue happiness.
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Both of these sides want to lessen gun violence in America, but they differ in the ways they believe this can be done and the extent to which personal liberties should be restricted to meet this goal. According to a 2007 poll of American adults, the demographics that supporters of gun rights typically fall into is rural, Republican, white, male, gun owners (Saad, 2007). These supporters value personal liberty; therefore, they believe Constitutional rights like the 2nd Amendment should be protected no matter what (Blackman, 2011). Gun rights advocates also believe owning a weapon is a personal right to defend oneself, and they believe it could even protect others. A vocal gun rights organization called the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) has suggested that “if more law-abiding citizens carried weapons, they would be better prepared to stop criminals from committing murders and other violent crimes,” including the abundance of mass shootings that have occurred in recent years (Alters, 2009, p. 111). Another point raised by gun rights advocates is that although other weapons like knives have been used in violent crimes and murders, no one is trying to restrict or ban their ownership (Alters,
Both of these sides want to lessen gun violence in America, but they differ in the ways they believe this can be done and the extent to which personal liberties should be restricted to meet this goal. According to a 2007 poll of American adults, the demographics that supporters of gun rights typically fall into is rural, Republican, white, male, gun owners (Saad, 2007). These supporters value personal liberty; therefore, they believe Constitutional rights like the 2nd Amendment should be protected no matter what (Blackman, 2011). Gun rights advocates also believe owning a weapon is a personal right to defend oneself, and they believe it could even protect others. A vocal gun rights organization called the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) has suggested that “if more law-abiding citizens carried weapons, they would be better prepared to stop criminals from committing murders and other violent crimes,” including the abundance of mass shootings that have occurred in recent years (Alters, 2009, p. 111). Another point raised by gun rights advocates is that although other weapons like knives have been used in violent crimes and murders, no one is trying to restrict or ban their ownership (Alters,