Assignment:
Two responses of at least 200 words each to classmates
Q1. The second amendment on the right to bear and carry guns is vague and leaves room for varied interpretation. Nobody can say with authority that they know what the draftsmen meant and intended by the Second Amendment to the federal constitution. At most, what many scholars give are their opinions concerning the Second Amendment to the constitution. Also, the judiciary has given conflicting rulings over the same Amendment. The question then is, should there be stricter limits on gun ownership and carrying?
Government should formulate stricter policies concerning gun ownership and carrying. The number of casualties in the United States of America as a result of gun violence continues to hit all-time high. In 2017 alone, there were 346 mass shootings in the United States, bringing to question and scrutiny the need to allow private citizens own guns (Carlson pg. 184). Whereas the government should not absolutely criminalize gun ownership, they should at least formulate certain policies that establish irreducible minimums that any private citizen who intends to own a gun must meet. Among those irreducible minimums should include certain sanity levels to avoid trusting guns at the hands of people who are not mentally sound (Carlson pg. 192).
Also, the government should keep tracking licensed gun holders to monitor their conducts with the guns as a way of ensuring public security from gun holders. Private gun ownership may also explain the increased cases of crime and violence as people misuse the terms of such gun ownership. Lastly, there should be stricter policies to regulate gun ownership and carrying to guarantee police safety when effecting arrest.
Q2. I strongly believe there should be stricter rules and regulations on gun ownership. The presence of a weapon posing a threat to security should always be under strict scrutiny, as human beings are extremely complicated creatures and we never know what they are going to do with a gun in their hand. I think most women would say they would feel much more vulnerable and insecure around an armed man at his house than otherwise. There would be potentially dangerous situations that may occur, in which a woman's safety may be in danger should her armed husband/boyfriend/stepdad lost his temper and had his gun out of control. There should be regulations on where a gun may be present, since having young kids exposed to guns could cause potentially irreversible consequences. Unfortunately, there are individuals out there who are not educated and well-informed enough to make sound decisions on what they should do with their guns. They do not put their guns in places their kids can never be able to find, or they carry guns in public as if it was not anyone else's business.
There are well-documented loopholes in the current legislation on gun control. It is almost impossible to ensure every gun seller and buyer in the United States perform their background checks. I think the United States is one of the easiest places on earth to obtain a gun, given the rampant presence of gun shops and the high likelihood of being able to obtain a gun illegally without proving your identity. If we had historically done a great job at making it extremely hard for people to be able to obtain a gun, especially one that is capable of a massacre, we would not have had to endure the tragedies of those like the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 or in El Paso last year.
The Second Amendment clearly states "well-regulated" concerning the scrutiny of a military. These solders are going to enter battlefields or areas where they use guns for military service, they must be "well-regulated". This should apply to all civilians who wish to obtain a gun, since their use of gun would involve the safety of not only themselves but also other people.
I also tend to think that stricter laws should be imposed on gun manufacturers, requiring them to meet safety standards. Being able to use a gun safely should be under the same scrutiny as being able to drive a car safely, since both scenarios involve the safety of not only the user but also other civilians.
Not only should there be stricter gun control regulations in place, there should be further actions on mental illness which has been legitimately claimed as one of the leading causes of gun-related massacres. A mentally sane individual is much less likely to use guns for the purpose of harming others than a mentally insane one.