Jesus

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Erick Alvarez

HUEN 231

GUN CONTROL

Prof: Abel Valentín

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A gun is a mechanical device that expels a projectile. In most cases the projectile is a gyroscopically stabilized bullet which can accurately travel a large distance. Most guns burn solid propellants to produce high-pressure gas, which drives the projectile through the barrel. Guns have been used for hundreds ofyears in the history of our world and nation. Although, gun control has been a major debating issue during the past few decades. On one side there are those who completely agree with the control laws and on the other there are those who oppose gun control laws. Hugh LaFollette stated, “Many of us assume we must either oppose or support gun control. Not so. We have a range of alternatives. Even thisway of speaking oversimplifies our choices since there are two distinct scales on which to place alternatives. One scale concerns the degree (if at all) to which guns should be abolished. This scale moves from those who want no abolition (NA) of any guns, through those who want moderate abolition (MA) - to forbid access to some subclasses of.” There are many gun control opponents that provide manyuses for a gun, such as the second
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amendment, self-defense, hunting, or target practice. The second amendment preserves the right to own a gun, which states, “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.”One does not have to belong to a well-regulated militia in order to have the right to keepand bear arms. The militia clause is merely one, and not the only, rationale for preserving the right. The founders were expressing a preference for a militia over a standing army. Even if today's well-regulated militia is the National Guard, the Second Amendment still protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. There are approximately two million defensive gun uses per year bylaw-abiding citizens. That was one of the findings in a national survey conducted by Gary Kleck, a Florida State University criminologist in 1998. Kleck also analyzed data from the Department of Justice where he found victims that defended themselves with a gun against a robbery or an assault had the least chance of being injured, or of having the crime completed. Doing nothing, trying to escape, reasoningwith the offender, or physical resistance, other than with a gun, all had higher probabilities of injury and crime completion. Using
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more recent data, Lawrence Southwick Jr. found that victims using guns were consistently less likely to lose cash or other property than other victims, and also establishing that this was true regardless of what weaponry was possessed or used by the offenders.Another study also found that burglaries in which victims resisted with guns were far less likely to be completed. Other uses for a gun may include hobbies like target practicing and hunting. There are many shooting ranges in our nation where hundreds of people go to everyday to learn how to use gun or simply for the experience. Also, hunting has been part of our history for years. Hunting wasused to as a food source and now it has become a tradition for many people. On the other side of the debate are gun control advocates who provide many reasons for their stand. On July 19, 1999 California Governor Gray Davis signed two of the toughest gun laws in the country: the nation’s strongest ban on assault weapons and ammunition magazines and a measure to stop gun traffickers by limiting gunbuyers to no more than one handgun per month. Davis, like other successful state candidates, campaigned extensively in support of responsible gun control laws during his 1998 bid for the governorship, after former 10
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Governor Pete Wilson vetoed several gun control bills. California voters elected solid gun control majorities in both houses of the legislature. Every day in America, 13 young...