Gun Control

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the issue of gun control and whether or not federal legislation will help curb the availability of guns that have lead to an explosion of violence across the country. The author argues that the lack effective legislation that oversees the distribution and monitoring of guns has lead to an explosion in the crime rates over the past two decades. The author presents some of the arguments on both sides of the issue with the help of crime rate statistics and political testimony given on Capitol Hill from the period after September 11. The paper also examines Second Amendment rights regarding the right to bear arms and analyzes some of the different arguments that have been presented that can be transferred to the issue of gun control. The paper also presents some discussion of the NRA, including a short history, its policy goals and record of increased involvement in the shaping of any and all policy regarding guns in the United States. The author sharpens their argument against gun control through a discussion of the fact that terrorist handbooks often note how easy it is to acquire weapons in the United States.

From the Paper:

"It would use a Canadian technology called IBIS (Integrated Ballistics Identification System), currently used by 233 local law enforcement sites around the United States, to produce a 360 degree photographic image of the bullet or shell casing. The software then would translate the picture into a digital signature, which could then be compared with other crime scene evidence. If a national database were created, bullets or casings recovered from a crime scene could then be traced to the point of purchase, which would give detectives new leads. The databases that exist are quite small because only two states "Maryland and New York"? require handgun manufacturers to fire the weapons and record the signature. When critics point out that the current database has solved no crimes and so such a system should not be implemented any more widely, they are obfuscating the issue just as they do when they say gun control in one or two states has not stopped crime. What is needed is a national solution so such arguments would be sown up for the falsehoods they are (Alter 41)."

More papers on Gun Control:

• Argumentative Essay # 139490 : "Why Gun Control is a Good Thing"
• Analytical Essay # 123651 : "Gun Control is Needed"
• Comparison Essay # 33611 : " Costs and Benefits of Gun Control"
• Persuasive Essay # 74503 : "The Gun Control Debate"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: