A discussion on how much control there should be on the members of the public who wish to own guns.
This paper discusses how we should respect the right of the American public to possess guns and how, at the same time, given the violence prevailing in our country today, it is important for the authorities to come up with the right regulations to properly monitor and control gun usage. It looks at how it is important for lawmakers from all parties to be responsible on this matter and to do what is right for the country rather than cater to partisan politics. It also examines how associations like the NRA should also not be dogmatic about their position and should not be purely seeking profits for the arms industry, but should do the right thing in protecting the public.
“The key to stopping violent criminals is to enforce the laws. Fussell states ?But here as elsewhere a better solution would be not to fiddle with the constitution but to take it seriously, the way we’ve done with the First Amendment, say, or with the Thirteenth, the one forbidding open or avowed slavery.? (688)The problem is not the type of weapon used, but rather, the failure in America to keep violent criminals off the street. During the Clinton-Gore Administration people have been demanding for more gun control laws and yet this same administration has failed to enforce the current laws. The prosecutions of firearms law violations have declined 44 percent. Criminals convicted of gun crimes are serving less and less time in prison.”