Gun Control. In this paper, the author will discuss the magnitude of gun control regulation its implementation; and the impact it has on American culture and values. For the sake of argument, guns are not criminals, people who use guns are; and

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        Crime is inevitable, and its history dates back to the beginning of creation.  American culture is a “cops and robbers” society, and firearms play an important role in American history and continues to play a defining role in shaping American values.  Similarly, the media implies guns influence crime and violence.  However, speculation and much debate suggest that the government is impartial to the laws of gun control.  Stringent laws mandate the regulation of gun distribution, examination, and utilization in this country.  In this paper, the author will discuss the magnitude of gun control regulation – its implementation; and the impact it has on American culture and values.  For the sake of argument, guns are not criminals, people who use guns are; and rigid gun control statutes is America’s intervention to prevent firearms from being abused.

        The Second Amendment 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.”  According to The Right to Bear Arms (1999), the Supreme Court defines the Second Amendment as giving states the right to maintain a militia separate from a federally controlled army.  It does not recognize an unconditional right for an individual to own firearms, nor has any lower court so ruled..  In 2008 for the first time in history guns were favorable to individuals who carry them. In the case of the District of Columbia v. Heller, the majority found the provision in the D.C. law requiring licenses for guns carried only in the home to be unconstitutional.  Under the statute, handguns stored in the home require disassembly, or with a trigger lock be disabled.  The court ruled that the storage procedures violated a handgun owners' Second Amendment rights because such a stored gun is not functional.  The case marked the first time in decades that a case interpreting the Second Amendment was heard, and the decision maintained the high court's long-held position that the Second Amendment grants individuals the right to keep and bear arms (Brown, 2008).

In an attempt to regulate gun control the Commerce Clause of the Constitution empowers states and the federal government to: (1) deny certain individuals, (convicted felons and the mentally incompetent) the right to own firearms; (2) require licenses and make owners pass a firearms safety examination; (3) make illegal the possession and transfer of certain firearms; and (4) require registration for certain classes of firearms (The Right to Bear Arms, 1999).

In addition to the Commerce Clause, there are multiple gun control acts throughout American history.  The National Firearms Act of 1934, still in effect today, passed to hinder acquirement of certain dangerous weapons, including machine guns and sawed-off shotguns.  The Federal Firearms Act of 1938 mandated federal licensing of firearms dealers; regulated firearm transportation across state lines by dealers; outlawed the transportation of stolen guns with the manufacturer’s mark eradicated or changed; and outlawed firearms from being sent to fugitives, indicted defendants, or convicted felons.  The Gun Control Act of 1968 contained far-reaching requirements, pertaining to licensing, sales, buyer requirements, and the introduction of non-sporting guns.  Finally in 1986, the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act passed, amending the 1968 law.  The 1986 Gun Control Act imposed some new restrictions and extended prior ones, but in some instances it eased requirements of the 1968 law.  The 1986 Firearms Owners Protection Act banned machine guns made after 19 May 1986 from sale (The Right to Bear Arms, 1999).  

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In 1990 the  bans the manufacturing, and importing of semiautomatic assault weapons in the U.S., and “Gun-free school zones" carry specific penalties for violations.  The  of 1994 imposes a five-day waiting period on the purchase of a handgun and requires that local law enforcement agencies conduct background checks on purchasers of handguns.  The  banned sale, manufacture, introduction, or possession of a number of specific types of assault weapons.  In 1997, the Supreme Court, in the case of , declares the background check requirement of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act unconstitutional.  It was not until 1998 that permanent provisions of ...

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