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Registration of Handguns Legislation

Legislation requiring the registration of handguns and some control over the distribution and sale of handguns should be passed. Legislation banning the sale of any automatic weapon, including assault rifles, should be adopted. Such action should be taken at the federal level because guns, like the issue, cross state lines and make a mockery of the patchwork, state-by-state approach that presently exists. An examination of the issue shows that the arguments of the gun lobby are empty and that instituting controls on handguns in every state would reduce the number of guns in circulation and thus reduce the number of crimes committed with handguns.

There is little argument over the issue of whether or not guns cause devastation in American society, for it is clear that they do. In 1990 it was reported by the U.S. Department of Justice that some 680,000 Americans each year are confronted by criminals with handguns, and more than 24,000 are killed or wounded in these confrontations. This has led the American Bar Association to conclude that the availability of guns in America is out of control and that strong gun control legislation is needed. In response to this perception, the ABA sponsored two measures before Congress in 1991. The first of these was the Brady bill requiring a waiting period before a gun can be purchased in order to give police time to conduct a background check on the purchaser to determine previous criminal convictions or signs of mental illness. The second bill was to limit the availability of military assault weapons. Together, the bills were seen as important steps in the fight against violent crime (Curtin 8).

The NRA statement that "guns don't kill people, people kill people," is a problematic slogan--people kill people with guns whenever they can get their hands on them. This slogan is countered by Andrew Jay McClurg, who finds it unpersuasive. He says the same thing could be said about other pro...

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Registration of Handguns Legislation. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 07:43, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1695492.html