Gun control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Gun control - Essay Example Many citizens consider it their right to be allowed guns so that they can fight for their protection when the law enforcement agencies fail to do so. On the other hand, there are opponents of the issue who believe that strict gun control measures are essential owing to the fact that they reduce the possibility of the weapons falling in the wrong hands. This debate of gun control has been an essential issue in the United States where it is still considered to be a controversial subject. The National Vital Statistics states the fact that many lives are lost as a result of injuries from firearms. 11,001 people succumbed to injuries resulting from gun shots by criminals only in the year 2001. It was also presented that in 2001, 16,455 lives were lost due to suicides which were committed by using firearms only. This indicates an important aspect that many deaths result in the United States due to guns and deaths due to firearms are labeled as the second cause of death in the country. But an interesting aspect is that the rate of people dying due to the gun shots has lowered following the year 1993 and it has been attributed to changes and leniencies in the gun control laws (Gold 2004). Many important figures in the United States have lost their lives resulting from gun shots. These include the devastating killings of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy that occurred in the year 1968 when these two exemplary figures were shot dead (Valdez 2003). Gun control is an essential subject in the history of the United States. The first most prominent ruling relating to this issue was passed in the year 1939 by the Supreme Court of the country. The court passed a ruling in favor of stricter gun control measures and the ban on personal usage of guns. It justified this on the grounds for the maintenance of security of the individuals. There has been much opposition to this ruling ever since 1939. Opponents of this law utilize the Second Amendment of the Constitution as a point of their justification. According to the Amendment, "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." The opponents of gun control laws argue that this amendment of the constitution upholds the rights of the individuals for the possession of guns for their security. They argue that the denial of the guns for their safety is actually the breach of the constitution of the country as this amendment clearly states in favor of the possession of weapons (Associated Press 2007). Many members of the congress of the United States also consider it important that the ownership of guns is central to the security of their lives. According to the people who favor the possession of guns, firearms tend to provide higher security for the people when the law enforcement agency personnel are not present. Therefore, an individual can guard himself in all situations. These groups argue that after pr oper checking of the criminal records of the people, gun possession should be allowed as this would make the society a safer place to live (Nagourney et al 2011). Many researchers have upheld the benefits that the relaxations of the gun control laws have provided for the United States. According to a research that was done by Mauser, the crime rate in the United States has gone down to lower levels owing to relaxation in the firearm laws. The study upheld this fact with regard to