Gun Control Issue

At the heart of the gun control issue lies the debate over the constitutional guarantee of a citizen's right to bear arms. This right, ratified in 1791 as the Second Amendment to the Constitution, was hotly debated even in the 18th century (Cross, 1989, pp. 25-47). One must remember, however, that the issue of bearing firearms in 18th century society was different from 20th century America. Rather than enforcing individual justice and protection, some argue "the modern sociological theory [is] that urban dwellers should forget weapons and rely on police for protection" (Greene, 1987, p. 597).

Overwhelming statistics also show that private ownership of guns significantly contributes to both intentional and accidental crime. For instance, Sarah Brady, wife of Reagan cabinet member James Brady, himself the victim of a shooting, lists the following from her lobby group, Handgun Control Inc.:

1. Someone is injured by a handgun every two an

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he United States. A fourth assumption is that people who buy guns for selfdefense are under a mistaken belief that the ownership of a handgun will protect them in the home. A study of the problem revealed that home ownership of handguns bore little, if any, effective deterrence or protection. Burglary victims seldom have the opportunity to use a gun and if they do, may actually increase their chances of becoming the victim of a violent crime (Yeager, 1976, p. 5). Conversely, the NRA believes that ownership of a gun can provide a significant deterrence to violent crime. Handguns they say, can scare a rapist or would be mugger off, before any damage is done  all that is required is a basic knowledge of the proper use of firearms (Long, 1989, pp. 98-110). Another assumption involves the use of the gun itself. Some believe that homicides are largely "crimes of passion" and that if guns were controlled many crimes would simply not take place because a violent weapon would be unavailable. This assumption addresses many of the more difficult issues surrounding gun control. Of course, potential killers cannot be identified by their ownership of guns, yet there is some truth to the idea that if it were harder to buy a gun it
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Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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