Advocates for gun rights had a significant victory on Thursday, June 26. The Supreme Court struck down the Washington, D.C ban on handguns in a 5-4 decision, ruling that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to bear arms. This is the first time the Court has ruled that the Constitution provides for individual self-defense, rather than a right that applies only to a state militia. However, this decision will do nothing but contribute to more crime, violence in schools, and an overall more dangerous society.
While self-defense is an important constitutional right, allowing the indiscriminate use of handguns will do nothing but wreak havoc. There have been too many instances of the wrong people getting a hold of guns. From Columbine and the Amish school shootings to the catastrophe at Virginia Tech last year, there are countless instances of minors, non-licensed gun owners, etc having access. One might argue that if guns were banned, victims of assault would be at a disadvantage. However, if victims didn't have guns wouldn't it be very unlikely that attackers would? More specifically, keeping a ban on handguns would significantly decrease the national number as well as the severity of assaults.
Also, there is a direct correlation between crime and the availability of guns. According to http://www.vpc.org,of all firearm-related crime in
The United States should look to Western European nations as role models. According to http://www.iansa.org, handguns are generally restricted or, in some cases, banned from civilian ownership in these countries. The only people allowed guns in
Furthermore, the Supreme Court should have reconsidered the intended meaning of the Second Amendment instead of making a decision which allows anyone to own a gun. Given the number of crimes and deaths caused by handguns in our society, the Founding Fathers would highly recommend that we curtail the "right to bear arms."
Friday, June 27, 2008
Court ruling on handgun ban is a recipe for disaster
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2 comments:
According to “Beltway 08” believes that the US Supreme Court made a mistake is a 5-4 decision against the ban of handguns. Well I have to disagree, now I do not believe that killing people with guns or any other type of weapon is humane but I do believe that sometimes they may come in handy one time or other. I also believe that not everyone should have one and to have a handgun it needs to be legal and the owner needs a license with the gun registered to the owner’s name. I think that parents should not allow their children to know they have this gun that way it will not end up in the wrong hands and turn into events like Virginia Tech and Columbian. Not everybody who owns a handgun is going to go shoot people a lot of people now a days have them for protection against people and against animals if they are hunters. Even though England has less deaths by a gun because the only people are allowed to have one doesn’t meant that it will lower the crime rate in the US because I believe that we have more crimes because of the amount of diversity that the US entitles. The Violence policy center says that the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution allows individuals the right to possess a firearm. This is the first time that the Supreme Court has sided with the constitution instead of a right that applies to state militia.
Sure, in a perfect world no guns would mean no violence. Unfortunately our world is far from perfect. The ability to own a weapon helps ensure American freedom. A gun provides the owner protection from others. Yes, some people abuse this liberty, but denying it from everyone will most certainly lead to just as big of a disaster.
I am not arguing that crime rates would not decline with such a ban. I merely point out that a criminal seeking a handgun could get one just as easily as a drug addict finds his fix. Not only would this criminal still be a threat to the public, citizens would now have no means of defending themselves. Eventually criminals would recognize this trend and become more confident when committing acts of violence. This last thing we need is confident criminals.
With this in mind, it is important that I clarify my point of view. I believe Americans should have the right to own a gun, in accordance with some fine print. Restrictions should be put in place to limit the people purchasing weapons: past felons, children, etc. I would also strongly support gun registration and control laws. These would cut down on certain people having access to guns and speed up disciplinary action for those connected with weapons used in crimes.
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