The gun control debate in America is a battle between personal freedom
and public safety. For nearly 160 years, there were no limits to the Second
Amendment, which guarantees "the right of the people to keep and bear arms."
In 1934, however, and especially in the last four decades, Americans have
begun to proscribe and debate the extent of that right. The National
Firearms Act of 1934 was the first restriction on gun rights in American
history. As a result, fully automatic weapons are available only after an
extensive background check on the owner.
In 1968, the term "gun control" gained new meaning with the passage of
the federal Gun Control Act. Ratified in the wake of two important political
assassinations -- Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. -- the Act
requires that all guns carry serial numbers forever tied to the original
purchaser. Additionally, it prohibited gun ownership by convicted felons
and, as a result of a 1990s amendment, it requires a criminal background
check for purchasers at the time of sale.
Certain states have their own gun control legislation, although all are
governed by the federal Act of 1968. Individual states can deem their own
levels of restriction on concealed weapons and open carry, or the visible
transporting of a weapon. And restrictions vary widely by state, with New
York and Illinois seen as the most restrictive and Arizona and Texas, the
most relaxed.
The latest incarnation of the gun control debate has been in the form of
the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994, which Congress failed to uphold in its
latest session. The law prohibited the sale of any semi-automatic assault
weapons manufactured after 1994. Supporters of the ban said it helped keep
violent weapons off the street, while opponents claimed it imposed a
confusing classification system, was overly restrictive and had little
effect on controlling violent crime.
Gun rights advocates argue that a well-armed public helps prevent crime
and ensure personal safety. Gun control proponents, on the other hand, fear
that widespread gun ownership actually increases crime rates and leads to
other negative outcomes, both public and private. Is the Second Amendment
out-of-date, or does it guarantee an integral right?
About The Author
Kenny Du
OpineTree encourages debate on todays most controversial
political topics, including abortion, affirmative action, cloning,
the death penalty, euthanasia, gay marriage, gun control, health
care, social security, stem cells, as well as other debate topics.
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