By JUSTIN KANE
“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.” The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the most hotly contested, debated and discussed part of the Constitution.
Even today, more than 200 years after the ratification of this document, Americans are debating its true meaning. People want guns banished and never used by anyone, but guns are an essential part of life and a key in what
America is today.
In Washington, D.C., all guns must be registered with the police by the terms of the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975; that same law also prohibited the possession of all handguns, even in private citizens’ own homes.
Special policeman Anthony Dick Heller lived in D.C. He applied to register a handgun to keep at home and the District refused him because no guns are allowed, which led Heller to file a lawsuit that made it to the
Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Heller in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller. In the ruling the Supreme Court upheld the Second Amendment of the Constitution stating that it guarantees an individual’s right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within
the home.
Florida adopted the Right-to-Carry Law in 1987. This law states that “carry permits be issued to applicants who meet uniform standards established by the state legislature.”
People think anyone can get a gun, which is not true. In order to obtain a gun, one must go through training like passing tests and learning how to properly handle a gun and obtain the proper equipment. After one buys a gun there is a three-day waiting period. In Florida, minors under 21, convicted felons, anyone who chronically or habitually abuses alcohol or other substances; and those committed to a mental institution cannot obtain a gun.
According to the Annual Firearm Manufacturers and Export reports, the number of privately owned guns in the U.S. is over 250 million, an all-time high, and rises about 4.5 million each year. With the regulations on who can get guns, the number of firearm incidents has decreased. Between 1993 and 2008, firearm incidents dropped from 1,054,820 to 303,880, a 71 percent decline.
People say all guns do is harm people, but according to cjselfdefense.com, statistics women using knives or guns in self defense were raped less than one percent of the time. If guns get in the wrong hands, they can hurt people, but guns protect more than they harm.
According to the National Crime Victimization Survey of 42,093 households and 77,852 individuals stated that the violent crime rate declined by 41 percent and the property crime rate fell by 32 percent over a 10-year period
from 1999-2008.
Guns aren’t just used for recreation, they are used as a sport. In the Olympics guns are used for skeet shooting and in the U.S. millions use guns to hunt and provide food and make money. Guns provide protection for hunters from animals in the woods. They also help keep the population of animals under control and keep them tamed.
All of the problems surrounding gun control are not the guns fault; it’s the people who use guns. Like Larry the Cable Guy once said, “Guns don’t kill people, husbands who come home early do.” A gun cannot pull its trigger and shoot someone. People need to stop blaming the guns and the gun laws for all of the gun problems, and they need to blame the people who use guns.
There needs to be stricter punishment for people who use guns for harm, not stricter gun laws. Stricter gun laws are just a challenge to some people to see if they can get a gun and use it to rebel against society. If someone uses a gun to harm they should be locked up for a longer time than someone who commits a crime of lesser degree and should be denied the right to purchase another one.
So America, harshen the punishments for gun crimes and the crime rate will significantly decrease.