How do we stop gun violence? Is getting rid of the second amendment the answer?

In a country where gun violence seems to continue rising, gun control is a sensitive subject for the United States. There is an ongoing argument brewing in this country about the validity of the second amendment and the way people interpret it. Throughout the years, there has been much opposition to the right of gun ownership in the United States and many believe that the second amendment should be stricken from the bill of rights. The solution to diminishing gun violence does not lie in amending the bill of rights, but toughening laws in order to take guns out of the hands of criminals. The simple fact is that removing the amendment would only strip law-abiding citizens of their right to owning firearms and would in no way would be effective in reducing or bringing an end to gun violence in the United States. The individuals who want to remove the second amendment are only trying to alter and misconstrue the intention of those who wrote the bill of rights over 200 years ago.

Many would say that the world would be a better place without guns and that the best sensible resolution would be to outlaw them. This is true, but unfortunately, it is impossible to get rid of guns just as it is impossible to get rid of drugs. Making gun ownership illegal would only take firearms away from law-abiding citizens, not the true criminals who get guns from illegal sources on the black market. According to the Bureau of Justice, 80% of inmates in 1997 who committed a crime with a gun got their weapon from family, friends, a street buy, or an illegal source. It is apparent that the law enforcement needs to primarily target the black market to prevent crimes and to get guns off the street. In the cases of homicides involving guns, 81% of the criminals had at least one arrest, 67% had a felony, and 70% had at least one conviction in 2001. Another way to discourage these crimes is by strengthening prison sentences for those who use firearms to commit offenses, as the government has been doing recently. In terms of education, schools in areas of substantial gun violence could work to teach youths about the disadvantages of choosing a criminal lifestyle involving guns or crime in general. Many believe the solution lies in making background checks more elaborate and demanding, however they do not fully solve the problem of violence. Background checks help ensure that criminals or people with substantially flawed records cannot purchase firearms from legal sources but not from the illegal sources. A better answer for decreasing gun crimes could be by routinely checking people, who have a substantial record of violence, for firearms through parole or other types of enforcement. Unfortunately, it would be almost impossible to try and take guns away from those who do not have a criminal record but will use guns to commit homicide because we cannot see the future. The reality remains that only a small percentage of the homicides involving guns occur with legally purchased firearms. It would be much more effective and practical for the government to concentrate on eradicating illegal arms, not by revising established doctrine. It is impossible to get guns away from every criminal just as it is impossible to completely prevent every crime, but there still needs to be a logical effort to do so.

The United States government simply cannot violate the rights of its citizens and should never take firearms from people without criminal records even though a small percentage will use guns in a crime. The majority of legal gun owners do not use their guns in any crime; they use the weapons for protection, sport, target practice, or for collection. People need to understand that there is a problem within our society, not within the bill of rights. At this point, relying on better law enforcement, education, and stronger sentences is all we can do to stop gun violence throughout the nation, for infringing upon the rights of the population is not the answer.

 

Not really, I want this to be read by anyone who takes an interest.

 

Thanks.

 

if guns are banned, then knives will have to be. then chainsaws. then trees. then dental tools. then surgical tools. then hunting bows....etc

you can ban anything you want, and crimes/murders will still happen. psychos will always find a way to use any minor object to commit a crime.

You can use simple household items, and don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out how to use them against someone.

Let me list the things we have:
Bathroom/kitchen cleaners
wood for fireplace kindling
a set of basic cooking knives
basic set of silverware
vast array of craftsman tools & power tools
my husband's extensive dagger/knife/sword collection
solid oak kitchen chairs
various cast iron cooking pans
various stainless steel cooking pans
old wire coat hangers
cayenne pepper
tobasco sauce
pellet gun
2 Tippman paintball guns
several 2x4's (in garage)
basic shaving razor
box cutters
xacto knifes
lighters
a baseball bat

are you gonna ban all this stuff too?

 

They should teach firearms classes in all the public schools.
(right after the sex ed classes)

Guns should be promoted because students need to know.
Students should learn everything from BB guns to bazookas.
The various dangers of mishandling guns should be exposed.
Alternatives to firearms should also be on the agenda.
Then they should pass out bullets to all students.

 

Will gun violence end if the second amendment is struck from the Constitution? In a word, no. Given the number of firearms already in circulation there is no means, short of police-state tactics, of removing them all from circulation.

The best means of reducing gun violence lies in enforcing existing firearms laws, and ensuring that only those who are able to demonstrate their responsibility are permitted access to firearms. The right to keep and bear arms entails enormous responsibility, and those incapable of shouldering that responsibility should be denied that right.

 

HOLY CRAP!!!!! I actually agree with Bully...It must be mighty cold in hell today.

 

I was just thinking the same thing!

 

You dont want to end up the same as us in Britain.It is so hard to get a permit to own a firearm over here i personaly do not know one person who owns a firearm.Even if you do get a permit over here you are not allowed to own semi auto or automatics.Saying that we still have guncrime so it shows that criminals will always find a way to get their mitts on firearms whatever the law tries to enforce.

 

Fuzzy: Except for a couple of these items (the pellet gun and the paintball guns) both of which still qualify as guns, anyway about the other stuff ,you got to get close enough to me to use it and let me tell you, I stand a much better chance of defending myself up close that across the room or whatever. Actually, in self defense training you learn all sorts of ways to
deal with weapons, one thing is that a perp tends to focus on the weapon making it easy to distract them. Another thing is ANYTHING can be used as a weapon, as you stated, and just taking advantage of physical attributes works great in fighting off an attacker.
Guns are a big issue in our society and make it easy to attack from a distance and can have devastating affects. I think all guns should be registered and all original sales and consequent sales should be recorded. It is so totally stupid that I have to go thru a background check to buy a gun and I can literally turn around and sell it to a guy in the parking lot, no questions asked, all very legal.