The Rights to Bear Arms Essay -- Bill Rights second amendment Constitu

The Rights to Bear Arms   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gun control is a very controversial issue among society at present. Many feel guns are the cause of a great amount of crime. This has been an especially popular topic recently in lieu of the shooting at Columbine and other high schools across the country. Are these crimes reason to take away our freedom to bear arms? I do not believe so. The average person uses guns mainly as a means of protection. If limitations are placed on guns, they will only stop the average American from obtaining a gun. The real criminals out there will still be able to obtain guns through the black market. Every American should have the right to protect them self. The second amendment to the constitution of the United States says, â€Å"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.†1 This amendment enforced a practice that had been occurring in America for years. When the constitution was forming, there was not a large standing army. Many inhabitants were minutemen, who needed a gun to help protect society; this is why the militia was mentioned in the amendment. The militia clause is merely a rationale for preserving the right.1 Even if today's well-regulated militia were the National Guard, the Second Amendment still protects an individual right to keep and bear arms.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people feel this amendment should be changed, or more restrictions should be placed on people who want to purchase guns. Some believe that guns hurt more than they help, even though statistics prove otherwise. I feel that guns are not as big of a threat to society as people are lead to believe, mainly by the media. Fatal gun accidents declined by almost sixty percent from 1975 to 1995, even though the number of guns per capita increased by almost forty percent.2 The cart below shows that a number of crimes have started decreasing, even though sales in guns has increased. Recently, the media has shown many incidents of shootings in schools. This is nothing new, as the media makes it out to be. Schools have had trouble with crime for many years. Years ago metal detectors were installed in schools across the nation to stop violence in schools. These detectors were placed because there was a problem in the past. Crime related to guns has, in fact, gone down. The reality does not... ...were to happen here. Although we are a democracy, as more freedoms are taken away, we move farther and farther away from the very idea of America. The history of mankind has many examples of what happens when the state becomes too powerful and there is no check on it by an armed population.5 It is impossible for the government to control the sales of gun through the black market, which provides these dangerous weapons to murders and drug dealers. Shouldn’t it be the government’s duty to allow the average law abiding citizen to protect them self. Bibliography Bieber, James D. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms. http://www.yaf.com/philosophy.html Gun Accidents. http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcgvacci.html. 2/13/2000. Illinois State Firearm Laws. http://nraila.org/research/19990716-BillofRightsCivilRights-015.html. September 1997. Larson, Erik. "The Story of a Gun", The Atlantic Monthly. January 1993. Origional Intent and Purpose of the Second Amendment. http://www.guncite.com/gc2ndpur.html, 1/12/2000. Schools and Gun Violence. http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcgvscho.html. 6/13/199 Second Amendment Stuff. http://secondamendmentstuff.com/. 1/16/2000