Are Gun Control Laws in the U.S. Really Protecting Us? | Teen Ink

Are Gun Control Laws in the U.S. Really Protecting Us?

November 11, 2014
By Tidahhh BRONZE, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Tidahhh BRONZE, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

The gun control laws in the U.S. are unconstitutional and, instead of protecting us like they were made to do, are very hazardous. Gun control laws make it very difficult to be able to protect oneself in emergencies. This is very ironic considering gun control laws are made to protect us citizens. So for all the people who consider gun control laws as a safety necessity, have you ever thought about how you would be able to defend yourself when the police aren’t around and you have nothing to protect yourself with? Also, these gun control laws of ours are supposed to be righteous but instead are unconstitutional and violate our rights.To clarify, the only point to the gun control laws in the US is to take away our protection, and violate the constitution. This should not be allowed.
Gun control laws have been a problem for a long time. After a series of crimes committed with fully automatic weapons in the 1930s, the first national gun control laws were passed. Those laws and the laws we have today are to reduce the amount of lethal firearms criminals are able to acquire. However, it is also harder to retrieve guns for the majority of firearm buyers who use guns for sports or for normal everyday citizens that just need a weapon to be able to protect themselves with. In fact, a vast amount of these firearm purchasers are law-abiding citizens. As you can see, because of the pros and cons of U.S. gun control laws, gun control controversies have never been resolved since the first laws were passed.
Our constitution states that we have the right to keep and bear arms by the second amendment (U.S. Constitution. Amend. II). The gun control laws in America violate this right by gradually taking away our privilege of being able to obtain firearms. We have the right to these weapons and shouldn’t let the government take it away. Our rights are not a privilege but a necessity. Having amendments that protect our rights is something to be proud about and we should respect them. However, Infobase learning, an official government website states, “...the Second Amendment irrefutably protects the right to bear arms pro gun control laws don’t respect that” (Should U.S. gun control laws be strengthened?). This shows us that we shouldn’t have gun control laws. They violate our second amendment and disrespect our constitution. Should we really allow such horrid laws in America to protect us?
On the other hand, a lot of pro gun control people suggest we need stronger laws such as stricter background checks. It’s completely understandable because enforcing that would surely prevent shootings of innocent bystanders from criminals and psychos. However, doing this would be unconstitutional under the Tenth Amendment and violate our privacy (U.S. Constitution. Amend. X). For instance, an official government website, Infobase learning, states, “... in the case Printz v. United States (1997), the Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. government had exceeded its authority by requiring local law enforcement to conduct federally mandated background checks. The checks, the Court ruled, were unconstitutional under the Tenth Amendment, which states that the federal government cannot exert authority over states unless a particular power is specifically granted it by the Constitution” (Should U.S. gun control laws be strengthened?). This shows that there really isn’t a way to keep convicts or maniacs from injuring innocent people with firearms. So with this in mind, wouldn’t allowing citizens to have firearms and such on them to protect themselves be a great idea? Instead of stripping us citizens from a way to protect ourselves while criminals inevitably acquire dangerous firearms we should be allowed to possess firearms. This is why we should not have gun control laws in America.
Also, there is another argument that arises often in gun control discussions. Which is that the widespread availability of guns makes it easy for a criminal to obtain them. This is a very reasonable argument because it is saying that guns being so accessible will give criminals many advantages of firearms. However, that is a very biased opinion. “The vast majority of people in the United States who use or buy guns are law-abiding citizens. They buy guns for sport or for protection. Curtailing Americans' rights to bear arms is a violation of the Second Amendment. Placing strict regulations on gun ownership will only benefit criminals by disarming those who are potential victims” (Should U.S. gun control laws be strengthened?). To say that the widespread availability of guns is only beneficial to criminals is disregarding citizen’s way of protecting ourselves.
Gun control laws in America are useless and send bad signals to our children. We are punishing every citizen for the crimes that criminals or mentally ill people commit. I don’t want my children to grow up and think that it’s okay to behave wickedly because everyone will be punished in the end. There have been horrible shootings of many innocent bystanders in the U.S. these past years. For example, in Newtown, Connecticut 2012, in the case, “Newtown School Shooting,” the man killed 20 kids and 6 adults in a school. This is horrifying considering the death of young children went over the single digits. Another example, in the case, “Aurora Theatre Shooting,” in Aurora, Colorado 2012, James Holmes killed 12 people and injured 58. These are horrible crimes. This is what causes gun control laws to become more and more strict. The U.S. blames guns for the tragedies that happen. When in reality, it is not the guns but the people. Instead of punishing us citizens along with the criminals or mentally ill, there should be higher maintenance or treatment for them only. Leave our rights alone and instead of blaming inanimate objects and then punishing everyone, help the people by restraining and treating these people properly.
As you can see, there is no need for these unnecessary gun control laws. Citizens should not have to take punishment along with the guilty. One way or another, gun control laws violate our constitution. Whether it be our second or tenth amendment, our rights are violated. We need to hold people not guns responsible for America’s firearm tragedies. Our rights and constitution are precious and should not be infringed in anyway. I hope you can see after reading this that there is more justice in no gun control laws than with them. The constitution is a precious historical document and we should cherish that. Together, let us try to stop these right violating, unconstitutional, unnecessary U.S. gun control laws.



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