The current debate over gun-control in America is accelerating as statistics mount. The purpose of this research is to examine the pros and cons in this debate through a brief discussion of the history of firearms in America, an analysis of the differing points of view and a look at today's political trends influencing these views based on the statistical realities of gun-related murder and accidents in today's society.
America's romance with the firearm has a long and noble history. It predates not only the Constitution but also the discovery of firearms. Under the rule of Alfred the Great which began in 872 A.D., all English citizens from the nobility to the peasants were obliged to privately purchase weapons and be available for military duty ("The right," 1982, p. 1). This was in sharp contrast to the rest of Europe where armament and military duty were concentrated in the nobility.
Following the American Revolution and the drafting of the U.S. Constitution, several states proposed a Bill of Rights which provided for the right to bear arms. The Founding Fathers had just concluded a bloody war against one form of tyranny and they were equally concerned that the centralized federal government they had just established could evolve into a dictatorship (Gottlieb, 1981, p. 4). In what was to become the Second Amendment to the Constitution, this right was guaranteed on September 25, 1789, and Congress passed the Amendment as follows:
"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 (Gottlieb, 1981, p. 4).
Joseph Story, an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court (l812-45) and a constitutional scholar, summed up the sentiments of many during the early years of America when he wrote:
"The right of the citizen to keep and bear arms has justly been considered the palladium of the liberties of the republic; sin...