Gun Control :: Second Amendment The Right To Bear Arms

Gun ControlA Well regulated militia, being necessary to thesecurity of a free State, the right of the heapto keep and bear arms , shall non be infringed.Amendment II, Bill of RightsConstitution of the U.S.The Second Amendment has been a major come out of the closet in American politics since1876. In question is the intent of this Amendment. Was it meant to insure thatpeople in general have arms for personal improvement, or was it intended to insurearms for military service? The nations powerful gun lobby, the National RifleAssociation, holds that it means the right to keep and bear arms -any arms.This privileged right is given to those 60-65 million people who subscribe to ownguns. The NRA also believes that human character defects cannot be changed by asimple standard of guns. They argue that problems with firearm ownershipcannot be, in any way, associated with whitlow violence. The lobbyist givecredibility to this statement by adding that criminal violence continues toincreas e in cities like New York and Washington DC, even though gun meetstatutes were put into affect. They point out that gun laws would not havestopped most addicted killers. According to the NRA, anti-crime measures arethe way to conquer urban violence, not anti-gun measures. The hope of mostmembers in the association is to educate people about guns. The association iswilling to reveal proper usage of guns to non-gun owners. They feel that thistraining could encourage reduce some of the tragedies involving guns.The issue of gun control has become a dividing line in America. To guncontrol activists, the issue is about crime and the regulation of the weaponsused to commit these crimes. In their opinion, law abiding citizens should haveno need for guns. In this respect, the big controversy seems shallow . However,to the NRA population, a much deeper issue is in question, the issue is freedom.The members believe that the Second Amendment is crucial to the maintenances ofthe democratic pro cess. From their point of view, people who advocate guncontrol are ready to disregard a constitutional right. They believe that, ifthe Second Amendment is abridged, the First Amendment will be the next to go.The Executive Branch of the Federal Government is in a high-profileposition on the issue of gun control. During this current Presidential electionseason, much rhetoric is being exchanged on the issue. It would almost appearthat one must mutation to either camp in order to receive the desired endorsement ofthe strong political lobby groups. In the case of Bob Dole, the Republican