Gun Control Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Gun Control Paper - Essay Example Would the "home of the brave" be a better place with a stricter gun policy Indeed, all we have to do is watch the news to know our country could use a few new gun laws. It seems that every day there are shootings all over the news in all regions in the United States. While some regions are more prone to gun violence than others, this is not acceptable for an entire nation to be victim to a weapon- especially if that weapon is legal. The United States certainly has an excess of gunfire amid its streets and alleys and compare that to England. As the administration has seen very recently, the English are much safer in their country than Americans are here. The Second Amendment has always given us the right to bear arms, and it's perhaps the most upheld Amendment. It is now that Englands's gun laws can be seen as truly beneficial. It has come time to take action; United States gun laws are antiquated. After witnessing the positive progress in England, the United States must follow suit a nd amend the Constitution and it must ban guns to reduce the level of violence England has, for the past ten years, become a much safer counter, largely because of successful gun laws. In 1996, England's gun policy grew much fiercer with the introduction of several new laws that resulted in the banning of handguns in March of 1998 (Gun Control Alliance). It simply took England to go through one school shooting before they realized the danger of handguns. Following the establishment of these laws, crime shootings have continuously dropped (Gun Control Alliance). Though England still carries a surplus of air guns, with which crime is still possible, violent shootings have drastically lowered. Though perhaps it is not possible to promote such restricting laws in the United States right away, the English example can be followed as one that, if adopted in the United States, will gradual make American society safer. Contrary to England, the United States has had a cultural obsession with guns that continues to this day. In the United States are popular not only on TV, but as collector's items, video game symbols, and on the streets as a power icon. Replica guns are just as realistic in appearance as their real counterparts (Gun Culture). In America, the gun is not simply a tool, but an item reflecting our culture. However disturbing this might seem, no policy can erase this from an entire generation's mind that have lived their entire lives with the acceptance of guns. A change in policy can, however, make the United States a safer place in the long run. The Second Amendment has always given Americans the right to bear arms: "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" (The United States Constitution). From the English Common Law of 1689, to the early days of nationhood, to the present day the American Second Amendment has been nearly inviolable. To successfully enact a new gun policy, the Constitution has to be changed, so that there can be no Constitutional challenge to a new law. In order to have a gun policy akin to the English, drastic changes must take place. Procedure There are countless ways to introduce new laws into