“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" (Cornell). These are the words directly stated by the Second Amendment, written in the Constitution, made on Sept. 17, 1787. For 234 years, these words have been sewn into the blood and pride of the United States of America. Because of the past 50 years, this Amendment has had a lot of controversy in regards to shootings, gun violence, and more importantly police brutality.
On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold (18 and 17 years old, respectively) were the main perpetrators of the Columbine Highschool Massacre. They used straw purchased (A straw purchase or nominee purchase is any purchase wherein an agent agrees to acquire a good or service for someone who is often unable or unwilling to purchase the good or service themselves, and the agent transfers the goods or services to that person after purchasing them. (Wikipedia)) weapons such as: “Intratec TEC-DC9 assault pistol, Hi-Point 9mm Carbine, Savage 67H pump-action shotgun, and a Savage 311-D 12-gauge shotgun” (Violence Policy Center). With these illegally obtained firearms, they killed 13 innocent teens and injured 24 from both gunfire and other methods, before being killed on the scene by law enforcement.
Founded in 1955, a religious cult called “the Branch Davidians” was created by Benjamin Roden and led at the time by David Koresh. This party believed in ideologies like Annihilationism, Conditional immortality, Historicism, Intermediate state, and Premillennialism. They were to have a warrant served by the Waco Police Department and the County Sherrifes, as well as the AFT (Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco Bureau) for suspicion of stockpiling illegal weapons. On February 28, 1993, search and arrest warrants were to be brought to the doorstep of the cult whilst the ATF and other law enforcement were under the belief that Koresh had created a methamphetamine lab in the compound, as well as storing firearms. Before they could arrive at the area, Koresh and his followers had been armed and ready after being tipped off by another source. At 9:45 AM, the Waco Siege began, and lasted for 51 days. 20 agents and officers were either killed or wounded at the end of the 51 days, while 82 Davidians were killed. This included mothers, children, and the leader, David Koresh.
While the pros and cons lean on each other heavily, firearms are not a real danger, until they’re put into the hands of the people who intend the worst for the future. Having someone of combat experience lead the ATF or as a President, and educating people about the safety and security of most firearms, as well as crunching down on illegal trades and smuggling, the Second Amendment can stay as a whole and we the people can help fight for the Rights we were given so long ago.
Do you think firearm laws should be tightened or not?
Do you think any laws can be put into place to assist firearm safety?
Replies
Well written summary David! One issue is that I would like to see more of your opinions on this topic, specifically based on the questions you ask your audience. The bigger issue is that you didn't reply to any student comments which is worth 30 points. You also didn't have it posted until after first hour which makes it late.
I think the law should be tightened because having a gun is something you need to be really careful with and sometimes people forget about this. I think there should be a revision every period of time to check if the gun is still in good hands. Also i think just people with training should possess a gun because you can make worst a situation if you don't even know what to do with it or if you make a mistake.
I agree that firearms are not really the problem, but the people that use them for violence are the problem. Restricting gun laws could make it much harder for someone who wants to defend themselves to have guns of their own. I agree that we need to avoid illegal trades and smuggling, because that can be part of the problem. But that is the illegal part of the problem which makes it tough to handle. I think assisting firearm safety would be beneficial to the situation, and laws could definetly be put into place for that.
I agree with you. I think that any shape or form of firearm is not dangerous, it is the person that is using it. I don't think there should be a law over banning guns because if there was a person that was using it for a logical reason, and then they had that right taken away from them because a person made a poor choice with a gun that wouldn't be fair. In my Opinion, you just need to be cautious, use it for purpose, be safe, and be smart.
I agree with you, I believe that firearms are not dangerous. It's the people who have control of the guns who are dangerous not the actual guns. I don't believe that firearm laws should be tightened because as long as we're taking the safe route and making sure safe people are the only ones with guns everything should be undercontrol.
I believe that the United States is a great country and the 2nd Amendment is one reason why. I think that it is a good thing that people can own guns. It makes the United States almost impossible to invade. However, I think we need to do a better job of keeping guns out of criminal's hands.
In my opinion i belive that the gun laws are perfectly fine because you have to have a back check, an be at least 18 years old to buy a gun. I believe that all the fire arm laws are perfectly fine because there on restriction on automatic rifles an certain guns. I agree with you on the fact there are pro an cons on the gun laws but i think the the pros out weigh most of the cons. Therefore i belive that the gun laws are perfectly fine because, all the accidents you hear about on the news are not kids buy the gun they are stealing the guns.
I think that people should be able to have their own guns and not be restricted not to. Some people may have guns for the wrong reasons but most people have them just for their safety or for hunting. I think that people having their own guns is fine but if they were to put people in danger they should get that privilege taken away.
I believe that firearm laws should not be tightened anymore than they are now if not relieve some. Any laws they could add probably mental health thingy. We should also just give everyone a gun and train them so that if one shoots everyone else shoots.
I think tighter background checks on some people when purchasing firearms could help put a damper on gun violence, but criminals are always going to be able to obtain them through illegal means, so banning firearms all together probably won't do much. Tighter security measures at places where these mass shootings tend to happen would be a more effective option in my opinion.
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