Gun Control: Restricting Rights or Protecting People
The article carried on the New York Times dated 28 February 2013 christened 'Guns and Gun Control' highlights a number of issues that relates to the whole issue of guns. The debate surrounding the issue of gun possession and a prohibition of the same is a thorny issue and as such, it has been an elicited debate at different levels of government in the United States. For the purpose of this paper, the discourse will take a multi-angle analysis of the contents captured in the aforementioned article.
The assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And President Kennedy ushered in a new constitutional dispensation, which was characterized by the legislation of strict federal laws aimed at controlling the proliferation and possession of guns among the citizens. This law on gun control remained in force for about three and a half decades a democratic-controlled Congress revisited the issue, instituting new restrictions on the purchase and possession of assault rifles.
The legislators also proposed a host of requirements that a potential gun owner must fulfill before he could be allowed to own a gun. Top on this list of requirements was that which required that a thorough background check must be done for every gun purchase. Al gore's defeat in 2000 was a proclamation on the fraction of the Americans that they preferred a pro-gun administration...
The National Rifle Association, NRA has emerged to be known as a strong advocate for pro-gun legislations ("Guns and Gun Control," 2013). This association enjoys a wide following in the U.S. They are said to possess strong political and financial muscles.
The Second Amendment is also pro-gun in its self. According to this Amendment, the Bill of Rights expressly permits people to own guns. The ruling by the Supreme Court in 2008, which affirmed the position of the Bill of Rights for individuals to own guns, dealt a defeating blow to the strict gun laws of some cities in the U.S. The cities such as Washington, New York and Chicago are considered politically and economically significant and as thus, these cities need to be shielded from the proliferation of guns. Additionally, the strict gun control laws adopted by the State administrators in these cities aimed at preventing the recurrence of gun violence that had been witnessed at some point in time in history in these States ("Guns and Gun Control," 2013).
Gun control is further advocated for by the events of gun violence, which took place in the not so distant past. The horrendous mass shootings that have been witnessed in public places and schools, with some leaving behind large numbers of fatalities, also helps shape the debate towards a more gun-controlled society. The introduction of Bills to restrict the sale…
