Where Have All the Guns Gone essays

Where Have All the Guns Gone essays In todays society guns are everywhere. News casts shower the public with stories about gun violence, movie heroes blow away the bad guys, cartoon characters brazenly shower each other with flying bullets, and children shoot each other in school rooms. When is it going to stop? Gun control advocates believe that the answer lies in more and more laws designed to restrict ownership of firearms to the public. Gun rights advocates think that such laws are an infringement on civil rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. They want more enforcement of existing laws and tougher punishments for breaking current laws. Everyone agrees that something must change. However, what that something should be has sparked fierce public debate. The latest change has been the introduction of background checks and a waiting period before purchasing a firearm. The Brady Handgun Control Act of 1993 incorporated this change and made it mandatory for all States. Recently the Supreme C ourt overturned parts of the law, however, many States adopted similar laws requiring the same checks. Studies and statistics indicate that although some criminals are declined when trying to buy guns legally, many obtain guns anyway. Due to loopholes in the law and poor enforcement of the laws provisions, the Brady Handgun Control Act and others like it do not keep criminals from obtaining weapons. The assassination attempt of President Ronald Reagan by John Warren Hinckley Jr. on March 30, 1981, just two months into President Reagans first term, seems to be a turning point in the gun control debate. Hinckley fired several shots with a revolver, hitting the President in the chest, and his Press Secretary, James Brady in the head. The assassination was an attempt to gain the attention of actress Jody Foster (Issues and Controversies). It also sparked a fierce debate over the ease of accessibility...