Wednesday, December 05, 2007

US Supreme Court ponders gun law

It has been 70 years since the U.S. Supreme Court has considered the right of Americans to bear firearms. However, recent tragedies have provoked considering banning handguns once again. Many argue that they have the right to protect themselves and feel safe as the Second Amendment states, "...the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Some opponents to firearms interpret the Second Amendment as meaning that only the militia and police forces are entitled to bearing arms.

Two-thirds of murders use firearms and about 42.2% of robberies within the country use firearms according to the FBI. Therefore, it can be argued that guns are the root of a lot of crimes in the U.S. Do you think that people should have the right to feel protected and in control by bearing arms? Or would people feel more safe if everyday citizens were prohibitted from owning firearms? Could probitting the ownership of firearms put an end to tragedies such as today's horrible news from a shopping centre in Nebraska that resulted in the murder of eight people, five people wounded, two people in critical condition and the suicide of the murderer?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

In my mind the argument that people should have firearms, particularly handguns, because they feel safe is idiotic. If a person were being robbed, the gun that was making them "safe" would most likely be useless, and in the event that they did actually draw the gun most people are not trained to fire guns. So in the hands of someone who has little experience, drawing a gun would only add to the danger of other people around.
In addition, more stringent laws should be passed even if a ban is not approved. The punishments for crimes involving guns should be increased, although i do not support the death sentence.

KaiserPatrick said...

In no way should the 2nd Amendment right be infringed. Gun control is just an excuse to destroy my constitutional rights. Thats like saying we should control the right to practice any religion. Why is it that people are scared of gun violence when every single friend I know in Colorado owns or has a firearm in their house. Gun violence in the city I live is 0%. People I know own pistols and assualt weapons with no intention to go on a killing spree.
Cars are more dangerous than guns. I would not stand for Congress to ban any brand of firearm. Taking away guns from good citizens mean that only thugs will have guns. Gun Laws should be limited and there are already too many limitations on guns.

Unknown said...

I agree with andrew to the extent that an inexperienced person with a gun is just plain dangerous to everyone. But, in the defense of those you consider idiotic, who I might add make up a very large portion of the world if not all of it, according to weapons theory in social psychology, possession of or even the mere presence of a firearm triggers a series a chemical reactions that effect the brain, such as the release of serotonin and norepinephrine along with a few other notable neurotransmitters causing increased aggression in both men and women, although it is higher in men. For only those in possession of a firearm it has been noted the much higher levels of dopamine in the brain causing the person to experience feelings of comfort and is pleasure, which would lead a person to also feel safer and in extreme circumstances feelings of invulnerability. While this may be the case I do still agree that not everyone should be able to posses a firearm, but if it is not legal to posses a firearm then the only ones who have guns are police and those who don't care. I am reminded of Chris Rock in his song "No sex in the champagne room" where he says "Don't go into clubs with metal detectors; sure you feel safe inside, but what about all those [expletive censored] outside guns? they know you don't have one." this could cause those who don't respect the law and would carry guns for their criminal acts to potentially become a lot bolder if they knew that your average joe doesn't carry a firearm (not saying that your average joe does now).

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