Guns have been a vital aspect of early colonial Americans as the whole point of having them was to protect themselves from any potential threats such as the British Army or the Native Americans. America's gun problem goes far much beyond mass shootings. The US is still very much in a mess as the country has split with regards to the issue of guns. This essay reviews the history of gun use in the United States, impact, the potential and current key players of the matter. The article also covers the reason why the issue is still a lingering factor amongst many US citizens, the cause of such a dire situation, and future and potential implications.
The US 2nd Amendment of June 21, 1788
The disagreement that arose when the bill was sent for ratification on December 5, 1791 (Bill of Rights Institute) was due to the fear that it will only enlarge and strengthen the power of the federal government. The primary concern for the Americans was that they wanted to enact a natural right of self-defense much like the British. Again, English settlers viewed many possible threats and thus reasons as to why they should be entitled to hold the arms for protection the people already wanted some form to defend themselves from those posing harm to them ( Dube, et al. 2013) .
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Modern day interpretation and conflict
The 2nd amendment of 1788 has not been clearly understood. There are various interpretations of the amendment that has been confusing from court proceedings and verdicts. Consequently, there have been many instances where Supreme Court had to make a final judgment and interpret the second amendment with conflicting interpretations.
The Political Proponent
The political diversity often results in diverse views and opinions as well as ideologies. The heated rivalry between the two primary political parties Democrat and Republican has been an aspect of US politics ever since its arrival. Thus bipartisanship in a way spurred the continuous divisive gap between the two instances or platforms. Additionally, the views amongst the various social amenities, wage gaps, corruption, taxes, education, and health care are arguably the most coveted discussions during election time as in 2008, 2012 and again in 2016's presidential elections. The diverging opinions between Democrats and Republicans have further fueled the issues.
Cultural and Social Proponents
This is the aspect that deals with the cultural themes and ideas of the population regarding the issue alongside with what the society thinks, since, most societal beliefs and ideology derives from the original culture on what that particular society is built upon. As a result, this meant that the individuals were left and forced to protect their own interests with any means necessary hence the need for guns.
Implications
On a global scale, the continued suspension of any jurisdiction on gun control could be seen as a two-faced knife cutting from both ends. Thus it has both positive and negative implications. As for the positives on the global scale, the weapon industry will renew their continued success as the demands are steady; if not on higher level thus increase in revenue and economic growth. Negatively, with firearms in plenty in the US currently, crimes have increased. The increase in crime probably has been due to easy acquisition of firearms. Looking into the future, there is a higher chance that crime rate may increase.
To conclude, the issue of gun control has been chaotic and hectic from colonial periods in the US. There is a need to try and get to the root causes and the diversified reasons behind its persistence. This involves, dealing with issues on cultural and societal proponents, political effects and conflicting amendment laws with confusing interpretations. These problems need to be addressed by all stakeholders involved.
Reference
Dube, A., Dube, O., & García-Ponce, O. (2013). Cross-border spillover: US gun laws and violence in Mexico. American Political Science Review , 107 (03), 397-417.
