The gun control debate in America is a battle between personal freedom and public safety. For nearly 160 years, there were no limits to the Second Amendment, which guarantees "the right of the people to keep and bear arms." In 1934, however, and especially in the last four decades, Americans have begun to proscribe and debate the extent of that right. The National Firearms Act of 1934 was the first restriction on gun rights in American history. As a result, fully automatic weapons are available only after an extensive background check on the owner.
In 1968, the term "gun control" gained new meaning with the passage of the federal Gun Control Act. Ratified in the wake of two important political assassinations -- Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. -- the Act requires that all guns carry serial numbers forever tied to the original purchaser. Additionally, it prohibited gun ownership by convicted felons and, as a result of a 1990s amendment, it requires a criminal background check for purchasers at the time of sale.
Certain states have their own gun control legislation, although all are governed by the federal Act of 1968. Individual states can deem their own levels of restriction on concealed weapons and "open carry," or the visible transporting of a weapon. And restrictions vary widely by state, with New York and Illinois seen as the most restrictive and Arizona and Texas, the most relaxed.
The latest incarnation of the gun control debate has been in the form of the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994, which Congress failed to uphold in its latest session. The law prohibited the sale of any semi-automatic assault weapons manufactured after 1994. Supporters of the ban said it helped keep violent weapons off the street, while opponents claimed it imposed a confusing classification system, was overly restrictive and had little effect on controlling violent crime.
Gun rights advocates argue that a well-armed public helps prevent crime and ensure personal safety. Gun control proponents, on the other hand, fear that widespread gun ownership actually increases crime rates and leads to other negative outcomes, both public and private. Is the Second Amendment out-of-date, or does it guarantee an integral right?
Opine Tree encourages gun control debate on today's most controversial political topics, including abortion, affirmative action, cloning, the death penalty, euthanasia, gay marriage, gun control, health care, social security, stem cells, as well as other debate topics.
move in cleaning service Mundelein ..For anyone who wishes to become an armchair General in... Read More
Even the most devout proponents of free marketry and hidden... Read More
I would like to discuss the blocked persons list of... Read More
Revitalization Downtown projects are all the rage in fact the... Read More
Industrial Recruiting. The absence of a state income tax in... Read More
Is the only way to fight Fundamentalist Extremists becoming one... Read More
The US Homeland Security is worried about Hydrofoil or Skimmer... Read More
Iran has threatened to raise America's fuel prices again. They... Read More
(Note: This article was written slightly before the 2004 election;... Read More
In Police Magazine I read a great article about transient... Read More
Tulipmania - this is the name coined for the first... Read More
Aren't you glad you purchased Alaska? You got a bargain,... Read More
The first reaction of economies in transition is a sharp... Read More
Farmers will eventually be facing federal regulations involving air emissions... Read More
China is serious about breaking into the bio-tech field and... Read More
What has really changed in the housing market with regards... Read More
Continued thoughts while driving down the road in a huge... Read More
This is a thought on the study of Home and... Read More
Journalism, as it is often said, is the 'fourth branch... Read More
Some people say that we cannot put a colony on... Read More
The No Child Left Behind can work if the Federal... Read More
Environmentalists say GM Seeds are bad for the environment, dangerous... Read More
This brings to our consciousness, issues concerning the ever rising... Read More
I. The FactsJust days before a much-awaited donor conference, the... Read More
Well we have certainly been reading a lot about prison... Read More
insured cleaning company Highland Park ..The FBI recently before Congress stated that Eco-Terrorism was on... Read More
There are many issues on the minds of US voters... Read More
September 11, 2001 could have been prevented. We could have... Read More
In a move that rocked the online world and left... Read More
An irresponsible Chinese General made a very telling comment recently.... Read More
Websites designed to help people overcome their gambling addictions have... Read More
Environmentalists say GM Seeds are bad for the environment, dangerous... Read More
The TSA seems to have completely missed the ball at... Read More
The other day I was sucker punched, hoodwinked, bamboozled, had... Read More
One of my favourite pieces of music is the Sex... Read More
How do you feel about Terminator Seeds from Monsanto? I... Read More
As more and more cities and states set up websites... Read More
Why did FDR say Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Count... Read More
In 1966, Dr. Carroll Quigley, a professor of history at... Read More
A SOLUTION FOR EMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS TO AID IN THE FIGHT... Read More
I heard on the news this week how America continues... Read More
President Bush's selection of the Hon. John Roberts is an... Read More
In an age of terrorism, guerilla and total warfare the... Read More
Back-Dooring the CSIS:The US and Israel have admitted they back-doored... Read More
Many people who are expert in the issue of the... Read More
ACCREDITATION: - Scholastic regimentation from the post WWII period has... Read More
The United States has never done a full study on... Read More
The most damaging factor to our economy today is the... Read More
-The Protocol plan 'will remain invisible until the moment when... Read More
We recently saw another ferry accident, this one in NY... Read More
Political |