The Ebonics Debate Essay Research Paper Christopher

The Ebonics Debate Essay, Research Paper Christopher Jolliffe CMP 272 Research Paper Final Draft August 22, 1999 The American Arsenal Firearms are so pervasive in this country that sometimes we forget the price we pay for an all-too-easy access to guns. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 10,744 Americans were murdered with firearms in 1996. However, only 174 of these homicides were justifiable. In 1995 alone, 35,957 Americans were killed with firearms, in homicides, suicides and accidents. In comparison, 33,651 Americans were killed in the Korean War and 58,148 Americans were killed in the Vietnam War. Once considered an ethnic-class struggle this issue has risen to epidemic proportions, touching every one of our lives. There is an ever-growing concern for the

safety we all face in our daily lives but few of us realize the actions of others are what lead to our insecurities. We must be able to defend ourselves. We have the right to do so. It is essential to our well being and security as a people. The question is how can we secure this idea of self defense without turning our society into a gun- wielding circus? Is absolute freedom worth absolute fear? Are you ready to break into the new millennium with a finger on the trigger staring at life through the barrel of a gun? The issue of gun control has risen to a fevered pitch in this country. In this paper I will examine the theory of gun control, tracing its origins through modern political policy and then evaluate each justly. I will then suggest a possible courses of action to help

eliminate the problems today=s society faces involving gun violence. It=s time for this country to take a serious step to ensure the safety of its people. AA well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right to bear arms, shall not be infringed.@ This sentence from the second amendment to the constitution constitutes the basis of argument for opponents of gun control. This also constitutes the largest fallacy behind the issue of gun control. Gun ownership is not a fundamental right protected by the two hundred year old doctrine written by the same people who told us Aall men are created equal@, yet continued slavery for another seventy years. The amendment was created to protect the people from tyrannical government – by allowing states to form

militias. There was no standing army under the sole authority of the federal government at the time of the amendment=s conception. It was the intention of the founding fathers that no military power be under the control of the central government at any time. The purpose was to restrict the powers of congress from disarming these militias which were to be Awell regulated@ and not disintegrated. Obviously this amendment is outdated. Upon the formation of a national army this amendment should have been dissolved. State militias were composed of common citizens from the area, not enlisted service men. The national government then recognized the need for a national unified force, made up of well trained and level-headed personnel. This crossover should have marked the end of the

Aright to bear arms@, as well as the second amendment itself. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 (PL 103-159) requires that the backgrounds of perspective handgun purchasers be checked to ensure that the sale is legal. The law provides a five day waiting period so that law enforcement has time to run appropriate background checks. This controversial provision ends in five years when a national instant check system should be established. States that already require background checks which meet minimum standards are exempt. In five years, when the national instant check system is installed, states who wish to maintain a waiting period will be allowed to do so. As this waiting period also gives the Chief Law Enforcement Officer the time to evaluate serial numbers for