essay 2 final

Bryce Quigley

Eric Leake

Writ 1122

March 11, 2013

What To Do With Guns

The second amendment, adopted by the United States on December 15, 1791 in order to give the citizens of America the right to bear arms. Now over two hundred years later this amendment has come under a lot of scrutiny. People are questioning if it is a good law and whether it needs to be changed immediately. The idea to change the second amendment is very controversial and over the past few months has been a major topic in the political scene. The following follows the spider web effect the Sandy Hook shooting has had on the second amendment.

            December 14, 2012, twenty-six children as well as adults are gunned down at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newton Connecticut. The shooter was identified as Adam Lanza a 24-year-old man whose mom worked at the school. It was reported that Lanza had three guns as he entered the school (NewsTimes). This shooting event can be identified as the day that started the recent gun control outburst. Some say gun control issues goes back to a shooting in Colorado when a man killed twelve and injured 58 others using high-powered weaponry. These first reports were often inaccurate as the reports came out in a quick and frantic manner.

 Nonetheless these recent shooting have caused a long chain of events to spur. Just four days after the Sandy Hook massacre, Fox news showed gun prices and ammunition prices rising significantly(Fox News). People immediately started buying guns, all because they were worried that soon they would not be able to under the protection of the second amendment. People are clearly scared that something like this may happen again. When is does happen more people want to be prepared in order to stop something terrible.

            December 20, 2012, a report is released by PewResearch stating the new change in opinion on gun control. It stated that as of December 19 about 49% of the us population believe that controlling gun ownership is a must while only 42% believed that gun rights should be protected, 9% were not opinionated. These beliefs are almost equally divided and because of that this topic becomes extremely controversial. In order to repeal a constitutional amendment there needs to be two thirds support in both the house of representative and the Senate. With the current split in beliefs this would be impossible. Furthermore 42% believe strongly in gun control while 37% believe strongly in keeping the right of the second amendment(Pew Research Center for the People and the Press RSS). With two sides so separated as well as holding strong beliefs it can be immediately seen that this is going to cause issues in the government. This form of reporting was purely statistics. However the information may have been skewed depending on who/ where they polled the information.

            December 21, 2012, the National Rifle Association makes a statement regarding their own beliefs of on gun control. In the statement a NRA representative is quoted saying “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,’’. The NRA thoroughly believes that the only way to stop these massacres, such as the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, is some other officer or good citizen with a gun. If there are more armed citizens with good intentions, they will be able to stop the people who are looking to kill. The National Rifle Association has gone under scrutiny during the new conference there were “two interruptions by gun-control proponents unfurling signs and shouting “NRA, stop killing our children’’ and “NRA has blood on its hands.’’ People are very upset with the current control laws and they are making it clear by speaking outwardly about it. There are very strong opposing viewpoints and it was made clear during this news conference.

            January 15, 2013, President Obama makes his first official address regarding the laws on gun control and the possible future. The address proposes an assault weapon ban as well as background checks for gun buyers. "There are specific legislative actions that he will continue to call on Congress to take, including the assault weapons ban, including a measure to ban high-capacity magazine clips, including an effort to close the very big loopholes in the background check system in our country,”( Reuters.). This comes exactly one month after the Newtown elementary school shooting. This proposal was Barack’s first official announcement on gun policies since coming into office just over 4 years ago. This announcement was very important because it shows that the president is recognizing that there is an issue with current gun control. This policy would not fully remove the second amendment but it would serve as a system of regulation. According to the Obama administration large clips and assault weapons are not necessary for normal citizens to own or use. The second amendment, a 200 year law, is getting redefined and is in jeopardy of being changed. President Obama, being a democrat has very liberal views on policies like this. Republicans and Democrats are the most separated in history right now and this new controversy is adding to that separation.

            January 16, 2013, the National Rifle Association responds directly to Obama’s proposal on regulating weapons. A NRA representative was quoted saying "Barack Obama, Joe Biden and their gun ban allies in Congress only want to BLAME you, VILIFY you, BULLY you, and STRIP you of your Second Amendment freedoms,"( The Huffington Post). The battle between the two sides gets heated. It is no longer stating beliefs, but this is rather a direct attack from the NRA on Obama. They both want to protect citizens as best as possible but they have completely different ideas on how to execute that. The National Rifle Association also released a commercial calling Obama an “elitist hypocrite” because his children have their own bodyguards while normal children have to go to school unprotected. The NRA was clearly upset with the proposal Obama gave and they were not going to let it go without a response.

            Febuary 12, 2013, Obama gives the State of The Union address to the country. This is where he updates the country on current policies and tell the citizens what the government is doing. During the address Obama faces the issue on gun control. He made an emotional speech saying, "Each of these proposals deserves a vote in Congress," he said. "If you want to vote no, that’s your choice. But these proposals deserve a vote. Because in the two months since Newtown, more than a thousand birthdays, graduations and anniversaries have been stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun." This proposal allows for a democratic vote in the house and senate. Obama want to make a fair decision in the policy regarding gun control. During the speech Obama also makes it clear his stance on the issue. He tells a story about a little girl that went

 "One of those we lost was a young girl named Hadiya Pendleton. She was 15 years old. She loved Fig Newtons and lip gloss. She was a majorette. She was so good to her friends, they all thought they were her best friend. Just three weeks ago, she was here, in Washington, with her classmates, performing for her country at my inauguration. And a week later, she was shot and killed in a Chicago park after school, just a mile away from my house,". (The Huffington Post)

 The sentimental story gives a perspective on what gun control could actually solved if it were enacted. Obama even describes the girl so that the average parent or sibling could personally relate and feel an emotional connection to her death.

            March 2, 2013 and article is released by Fox news regarding gun control specifically in the state of Colorado. The gun control policy is not just controversial on the national level but it is also up for debate on the state level as well. As noted before Colorado had a mass shooting in a movie theatre and since then the state has been revaluating their policy. The bill calls for making  “it a crime to have magazines that can carry more than 15 rounds, with a stricter limit of eight for shotguns. People who own larger magazines now would be allowed to keep them.”( Fox News) Although this proposal is not extreme, it does call for change, which many people are opposed to. Gun control may have an economic effect as well; there is one gun company that is threatening to leave Colorado if the bill passes. This article from Fox News is written in a very liberal way. The reader could definitely understand that Fox was trying to describe why gun control would be productive.

            So far there is no definite policy regarding gun control. As of now the second amendment is safe and anyone eighteen or older is free to buy all the guns they would like. The conflicting sides have created a heated battle that may not be solved anytime soon. However, the policy is going to be voted on soon and those once legal guns may not be legal anymore. The policy that the government makes a decision one is going to have a lot of repercussions. It is unclear what direction the country is moving in at the moment. One thing that is clear is the country is separated when it comes to guns and even when a decision is made there are going to be some unhappy people one way or another.

Works Cited

"911 Sandy Hook Call Shows Early Confusion." NewsTimes. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.

"After Newtown, Modest Change in Opinion about Gun Control." Pew Research Center for the People and the Press RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.

"Company Will Move If Colorado Approves Gun Control." Fox News. FOX News Network, 02 Mar. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.

"Gun Sales Surge after Connecticut Massacre." Fox News. FOX News Network, 18 Dec. 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.

Mason, Jeff. "Obama to Propose Sweeping Gun Control Measures Wednesday." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 15 Jan. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.

"Politicssource." Politicssource. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.

Wilkie, Christina. "NRA Slams Obama Gun Control Proposal." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 Jan. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.

Wilkie, Christina. "Obama State Of The Union Speech Demands Vote On Gun Control Bills." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.