Rewriting the U.S. Constitution and Gun Control

The focus of my research project is to prove to the audience that rewriting the U.S. constitution will not change the amount of gun violence that Americans have shown, nor will it make them think to change their actions in the future. Americans are too prideful in their freedom to allow the constitution to be changed, specifically the 2nd amendment. The purpose of my research is to prove those wrong that believe that changing the 2nd amendment will better gun control. Guns cannot hurt people on their own, it is the people behind them. My intended audience is not strictly those of the democrat party but also those that have low knowledge of the 2nd amendment. I want my research to prove that gun control is not the only reason for the 2nd amendment, so I want to fully educate about the 2nd amendment and continue to prove why rewriting it is not the best choice. For gathering information and evidence I do plan to use government resources as well as the constitution for analyzing. Rewriting the 2nd amendment of the U.S. constitution will not increase gun control.

Introduction:

Gun violence seems to be a crime that does not fade away over time. In the past few months gun violence has been brought to the government's attention because there are citizens that believe rewriting the 2nd amendment will increase gun control. I have found in my research that rewriting the 2nd amendment will not actually have an effect on the rates of crimes committed with guns; at most it would control who is protected by the law. Rewriting the 2nd amendment will not increase gun control due to crimes being committed by unregistered guns as well as states attempting to enforce their own guns laws; however, middle ground is being worked on to see how we as a nation can reduce gun violence and still have right to bear arms.

Methods:

My research consisted of me finding books, articles, a website, and creating an online survey. Out of two books I was able to use three chapters that support my argument. One book speaks of how exactly the constitution protects personal owned guns and the other book's chapter speaks on public opinion of control, which I plan to use in comparison in my online survey. I have collected 3 articles that will each support that rewriting the 2nd amendment of the U.S. constitution would not be affective or beneficial to the U.S. One of my three articles focus on the breakdown and understanding of what the 2nd amendment protects; the opposing side often lacks to fully understand its details. There was no trouble finding websites that oppose my view because of gun violence being a current issue in many states. The website I provided in my research stood out to me due to both me questioning Gun Ownership vs. Gun Deaths, and so did the website, but from different views which are both major factors in this study. Using survey monkey I was able to create a 10-question survey consisting of the opinions/interaction people have with gun violence and their general information.

Discussion:

The Second Amendment and a Well-Regulated Firearms Environment

In order to discuss the topic of gun control you need to fully understand the 2nd amendment of the U.S. constitution and what it protects. There are many supporters of rewriting the 2nd amendment that are not aware of what exactly the amendment protects which is, 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. (Gostin, 2018). This amendment was written when the federal government was attempting to disarm the state militia; shall not be infringed, meaning because it is being said in law it shall not be broken. Today's amount of gun violence has tried to be justified by people only paying attention to, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, which is not the case. The people this amendment is referring to are the people of the state militia, not the people of society that feel that gun violence is acceptable and natural. Breaking with 70 years of jurisprudence, the Supreme Court in District of Columbia v Heller (2008) conferred a personal right to bear arms unrelated to a militia. In District of Columbia v Heller it is stated that citizens are permitted to own handguns by license that is distributed by chief of police. This case is what allows citizens to own their handguns; however, this case also touches on where the handgun is permitted. Even if you received your concealed carry license does not mean you may freely carry it; it is permitted in place of business or in law recreational activities. The 2nd amendment of the constitution does not justify any deaths or anyone that causes death. Although the 2nd amendment may not justify these acts of violence, people do find their ways. The law prohibits felons, fugitives, unlawful residents, users of prohibited substances, and persons adjudicated as mentally ill from purchasing a weapon. … No law, however, prohibits individuals on terrorist watch lists, and other dangerous individuals, from purchasing firearms. (Gostin, 2018). There is an issue in which who can have access to a handgun and who cannot. Victims harmed by a criminal's unlawful access to dangerous weapons cannot bring negligence actions against the gun's manufacture or seller, except in rare cases. (Gostin, 2018). When gun violence became an issue manufactures had to save their names and they are not held accountable for any incidents with a gun they sold.

The Commonplace in the 2nd Amendment/Online Survey

Between the law and citizens, the government has tried to come up with a middle-ground solution to the gun violence that has occurred over the years. In 1998 the justification clause was added to the 2nd amendment which was a break down understanding of what/who the 2nd amendment really protects. The right to bear arms, The justification clause can't transform this rather unambiguous term into 'the right of the states' or 'the right of the militia. (Volokh, 1998). According to my article it is suggested that the 2nd amendment could possibly have an expiration date because of how the amendment is written. The amendment reads that as the militia needs to bear arms, they may and should not be stopped from doing so. Many people take this amendment as their right to own a gun; however, there is more to a concealed carry license than citizens realize. The only time you should have access to a handgun as a citizen is after you have received your concealed carry license which as a citizen you are required to take classes to receive one. A middle ground has been met when the concealed carry license was created; this license gave citizens the right to carry a handgun but only in permitted areas. Those that contain a license fail to realize the agreement they make of carrying their handgun in the areas that are permitted. In the Online Survey I have conducted you will see that the 7th question going down provides feedback that 80% of the participants are concerned that the process it takes to obtain a concealed carry license is not adequate; however, 41% of participants also agree that creating a new gun law will not increase gun control. Imagine if a separate survey were done with similar questions but greater diversity in participants and the results came back with near percentages. The feedback my survey provided, people seem to think that the government should modify the process for anyone that further wishes to possess a concealed carry license instead of attempting a new law that may not be successful.

Silencing the Science on Gun Research

What actions can the nation take to prevent more such acts from happening, or at least limit their severity? More broadly, what can be done to reduce the number of U.S. residents who die each year from firearms, currently more than 31,000 annually? (Kellermann, 2013). I feel that these are the right questions to be asked because it shows concern to those that have been effected by gun violence and that a solution other than rewriting the 2nd amendment is being in progress. According to this article a closer research is being done to see how unregistered guns are being accessed, and they have found that any private contract on a handgun does not require any type of background check. Injury prevention research can have real and lasting effects, … Deaths from fires and drowning have been reduced even more, by 38% and 52%, respectively. This progress was achieved without banning automobiles, swimming pools, or matches. Instead, it came from translating research findings into effective interventions. (Kellermann, 2013). This is a great point to make in the case of citizens wanting to rewrite the 2nd amendment that has been around for numerous years. Rewriting the constitutions 2nd amendment will not encourage any increase towards gun control; the government has no control over guns that are unregistered or that are privately distributed. A similar study was done back in 1997, at least 427,000 people have died of gunshot wounds in the United States, including more than 165,000 who were victims of homicide. To put these numbers in context, during the same time period, 4,586 Americans lost their lives in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Kellermann, 2013). I think that if this same study were done, just covering the past 10 years that our nations eyes would open to the fact that gun control is an issue and will continue to be unless we choose to do something about it; however, it really is not an issue that one amendment could change.

Gun Chart of the Day/Online Survey

More than 30,000 people are killed by firearms in the US each year. The vast majority are suicides. (Myers, 2018). In a lot of states suicides are a high percentage of the gun deaths, which is a great factor due to it not being under the category of gun violence. Some states do have an incredibly high death rate due to guns but it also disturbing to see the amount of lives taken by one person being in possession of a gun(s) that is not licensed to them. Mass shootings have unfortunately become a rising issue amongst many states; whether it be, a minor – who is underage so could not possibly purchase a gun – in possession of a handgun in an unregulated area, such as a school or mass hate crimes. Just within the past year numerous mass shootings/hate crimes have occurred and offenders have walked free by the court due to a mental health issue(s). Gun violence, is mere possible in a state's local police department; 87% voted that any life taken by government authority is not justified by the 2nd amendment. (Online Survey). A citizen that was gunned down by a government authority can be a difficult case to battle; all though, my feedback provides that the 2nd amendment does not justify any crime committed by the authority. Here it is proven with great evidence that states that have higher gun ownership also have higher rates of death by gun. (Chart 1). This is an important way to look at this study because then it hopefully allows the states of higher gun deaths to look at what they are doing different. As Myer says, the deaths in Alaska are outstanding compared to New York or Rhode Island; would it not be reasonable for these states to communicate and compare any gun regulations? Opportunities like these are ones that the states should want to take together to help one another succeed as a nation.

Conclusion:

Assuming the concealed carry license is revised and the 2nd amendment is going to be rewritten then the amendment might read something like; All citizens have the right to bear arms under the conditions that the citizen is of age, obtains a concealed carry license, and has never been/nor is mentally ill. An amendment even proposed as such would be turned down to avoid a different up-rise of discrimination of those that are mentally unstable. Rewriting the 2nd amendment will in no way increase gun control because of the amount of crimes being committed by unregistered guns, states trying to enforce their own guns laws; however, a compromise could come from a thorough revision of the concealed carry license. I conclude as such, hoping that I have provided enough information to help you further understand who/what the 2nd amendment protects and how rewriting the amendment is not the action that is necessary to increase the nation's gun control.

Cite this page