The Second Amendment of the American Constitution is the amendment and the section of Bill of Rights that was adopted in the United States Constitution in December 1791 that gives America citizens the right to keep and bear firearms (Jacobs, 2016). The issue surrounding the acquisition of guns by private citizens of the country has long been controversial, especially following the recent mass shootings experienced in stares across the country. A section of the American public believes that citizens should not be allowed to keep firearms since it only creates more ground for manslaughter, while the other section believes that with the increasing security threats, it is critical that the citizens are allowed to protect themselves. The law allows for self-defense, in which a citizen can use their firearm to defend themselves against attacks by criminals (Jacobs, 2016). Where to draw the line between defense mechanism and facilitating insecurity and mass killing is the dilemma the United States of America faces as far as the implementation of the Second Amendment is concerned. I believe the Second Amendment should be implemented to the very letter and Americans should be allowed to have firearms. When the amendment was first introduced into the country, James Madison cited the security of a free state as the primary reason for citizens to be allowed to own firearms (Jacobs, 2016). The Amendment at that point was seeking to protect local and state militias against the threats of armies, due to the War of Independence. It is for this same reason that I vote for the Amendment to allow Americans to own firearms. There has been an increasing security concern across the country. With the frequent terror attacks, burglaries and neighborhood mass killing, it is essential that Americans are given room to defend their right for survival the best way in these circumstances. With the ownership of firearms, crime will be reduced significantly, since it will scare away perpetrators due to the fear of losing their lives in the tussle.
Not every citizen may agree with my argument. Many people believe it will only increase insecurity, but what most people fail to realize is the legal procedure involved in the acquisition of private arms that will regulate the use of these firearms. This will be a step in the right direction to ending crime since it will discourage the firearms black market. Many citizens will opt to acquire their guns through the legal means which then will regulate how these firearms are used. A licensed firearm is prohibited by the law to engage in any illegal activities, or any other business apart from that which it is licensed to do (Stroebe, Leander, & Kruglanski, 2017) . The society should push for the effective implementation of the Amendment so that the use of guns is regulated across the country to reduce crime. I hold this stand based on researches I have conducted on the pattern exhibited in the recent mass shootings of citizens in the country. For instance, the recent massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that killed 17 students was carried out by an unlicensed gun holder. The same case goes or the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting by Stephen Paddock that left 58 people dead in a music festival (Stroebe, Leander, & Kruglanski, 2017) . Both guns used in these scenarios were unlicensed and acquired through the firearms black market. The black market thrives at the expense of the lack of proper legal channels for Americans to obtain firearms, and the fight against the illegal acquisition of weapons can only be fought effectively if the Second Amendment is implemented. With the introduction of licensed guns, it becomes easy to investigate and track down perpetrators who use such weapons to conduct mass killings; hence the fight against manslaughter becomes much easier.
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The views opposing the implementation of this amendment, only look at the literal part of the larger and more complex puzzle; the involvement of guns in crime. Whenever a mass shooting occurs, the American society is quick to notice that it was a firearm that was used to carry out these inhuman manslaughters, and fear that should more guns be made accessible to the general public, more cases of manslaughter will be witnessed across the country (Joslyn & Haider‐Markel, 2017) . Such views hold that firearms should be made as inaccessible as humanly possible to any member of the general public, and only the militia should be allowed access to weapons. This argument is not entirely untrue. Most of the mass shooting cases witnessed are carried out by individuals who own guns. However, what this side of reasoning fails to realize is that these guns and their owners are unlicensed and not recognized by the law. This makes it hard for them to be tracked by the security apparatus, and in most cases, the only break through the security forces get is when these terrorists shoot themselves as well once their goal has been accomplished (Joslyn & Haider‐Markel, 2017) . Additionally, these views are misinformed as far as the mental health state of the gun holders is concerned. Most investigations into mass shooting point towards tendencies of psychopathy by the perpetrators. With the legalization of gun ownership, there are medical procedures in place to determine and ascertain the mental health state of a gun holder before they are allowed to own guns (Joslyn & Haider‐Markel, 2017) . These are not the kinds of people that will wake in the morning and just decide to wipe a significant portion of the American community away. In other words, the opposing view on the subject does not consider the legal implications and procedures involved for one to be cleared for firearms ownership.
References
Jacobs, C. J. (2016). The Second Amendment and Private Law. S. Cal. L. Rev. , 90 , 945.
Joslyn, M. R., & Haider‐Markel, D. P. (2017). Gun Ownership and Self‐Serving Attributions for Mass Shooting Tragedies. Social Science Quarterly , 98 (2), 429-442.
Stroebe, W., Leander, N. P., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2017). Is it a dangerous world out there? The motivational bases of American gun ownership. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin , 43 (8), 1071-1085.
