The American 2nd Amendment reads, “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” (Blackman, 2014). The law was developed in order to arm the American citizenry against insecurity. Today, people consider the right to bear arms as a means of protecting oneself (self-defense) against their “enemies” and this has led to extreme misuse of the guns. There are numerous cases in which innocent American citizens have lost their lives because of misuse of guns; people going to public places and shooting at anyone. This essay will focus on the second amendment’s need for evaluation given the increased number of death resulting from mass shootings by people who own guns and the democratic foundation upon which it was founded. . Since it was passed it the law, there have been massive changes and today there is little in relation to protections.
II. Background
The 2nd Amendment was adopted on December 15, 1791 from the Bill of Rights. The reason for the adoption of the law was to create a secure population that would not be vulnerable to external attacks and government oppression. It was meant to empower the people such that they would be able to resist oppression and attacks. The law was adopted from the English Bill of rights of 1689 that sought to provide civil rights for the English people. The English Bill of Rights had a provision of Protestants having arms to protect themselves against cruelty from the dominant Catholics (Caplan, 1976). This is considered the founding stone for the American Amendment II; to have a secured militia in the country.
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At the time, the United States decision makers believed that there was need for the people to have guns so that they could protect themselves against criminals and also be able to resist government oppression and enable them to supplement security forces in case there was a security threat for outside the country. The US had attained independence barely two decades when the law was adopted and it had a stretched and less skilled security personnel and thus vulnerable to attacks from powerful states such as England and Spain. This led to the adoption of the law believing that people would contribute to resistance should something happen. Unlike today, the police force was less developed then and there was little probability that they could respond and stop criminal attacks and thus a need to empower the people such that they can protect themselves.
III. A discussion on the Relevance of the 2nd Amendment to the American democracy
America is one of the few nations that have been built on democratic pillars. The people have the rights to access everything where necessary and question the government’s actions. It was believed that guns would empower the people to resist any oppressive government advances (Force, 2013). People would be able to resist dictatorship, forceful ejection and policies that were oppressive without fearing that the government would use power to override them. The 2nd amendment would enable the American citizens to practice their liberties in secure living conditions. This is because it was believed that Americans had the freedom to settle in any place within their country without fear of attacks.
IV. Discussion about the Necessity for Gun Control
While exploiting the liberties awarded to them by the constitution, most Americans acquired and accumulated guns for other purposes other than protection from an oppressive government (Collier, 2013). However, as many people acquired guns, the use of the guns have become wanting as some owners are careless with the guns causing many death. This has led to calls by people concerned to have policies that ensure the liberty of the people as well as regulating weapon ownership and use to combat violence. There is need for the government to have guns registered under the names of those who acquire them. People who sell guns also need to review the people buying the guns and ensure that they are of sound judgment before selling them to them. This can also be enforced by the federal and state governments (Force, 2013).
V. How Gun Control Undermines Democracy as in the 2nd Amendment
Most pro-gun advocates consider gun control laws as a violation of their rights to gun ownership in the 2 nd amendment as provided by the constitution. Therefore, they hold a view that gun control policies will undermine democracy and crush the historical pillar upon which America is built. This makes it difficult for gun control policies since the constitution mandates people to own them (Force, 2013). However, there is need to have the guns registered and accounted for given the increased number of deaths resulting from guns shots.
VI. Need for Control
The lack of gun control has caused mass killing of innocent victims such as children by mentally ill persons and minority group shootings over the policing mistake of suspects carrying weapons. Gun control policies will play a major role in reducing casualties that happen because of mass shootings (Collier, 2013). Policies also ensure that black markets are closed down so that only authorized people deal in guns.
VII. Conclusion
There is need for the federal and state governments to enforce policies that control guns in the US to help prevent the many deaths that are witnessed today. The policies should not totally deprive Americans of ownership rights but those who have guns should be considered sound and their usage should be defined. Many people have advocated for the guns to be controlled and that should have been that priority for the government long time ago. Though it is constitutionally democratic that the people are allowed to have guns, human life stands above anything else and as a result there is need to have gun control policies.
References
Blackman, J. (2014). The 1st Amendment, 2nd Amendment, and 3D Printed Guns .
Caplan, D. I. (1976). Restoring the Balance: The Second Amendment Revisited. Fordham Urb. LJ, 5, 31.
Collier, C. W. (2013). Gun control in America: An autopsy report. Dissent , 60 (3), 81-86.
Force, G.V.P.T. (2013). It’s time to act: A comprehensive plan that reduces gun violence and respects the 2nd amendment rights of law-abiding Americans. Washington, DC: US House of Representatives .
