A. Glamour Magazine
Is owning a gun a protected act under the constitution? Yes it is. The first 10 amendments of the constitution are known collectively as the Bill of Rights. The basic premise of the constitution is to allow people to the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Someone s right to life can not be taken by someone else. However there are times when people try. When that time comes the victim must have a way to protect himself. A handgun carried concealed is a great way to offer that protection.
Does the constitution offer protection for private individuals choosing to own guns? Yes it does. The 2nd says A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. An interpretivist view is the most appropriate view to understand the constitution. If we look at the 2nd amendment using an interpretivist view we would see that it has more than one meaning. The interpretivist view is better because the ideas of our founding fathers are represented, not solely the words. It means that both a well regulated militia and the right of individuals to own guns are protected. Just like it was outline earlier in this paper, a militia that is supported by the state is protected. However, the argument from the gun-control advocate side of this paper does not recognize the second part of the second amendment. Specifically the part that says the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. This means that each individual has the power over whether they can posses a gun or not. If the person chooses to commit a violent crime or has any mental problems they forfeit their right to a gun. Everyone else therefore has a right to choose whether they want to carry a gun or not.
Handguns and long guns are not little killing machines. They are not time bombs waiting to explode. Guns require a someone to operate it, without a person to operate it they can not kill people, therefore they cannot be morally objectionable. The factor that changes in the equation above is the presence of a man. It is clear in the Lott-Mustard study that citizens of the United States who are not convicted felons or mental patients can and do carry concealed handguns without posing a risk to their fellow Americans. As long as the government disallows ownership of guns to people who have committed violent crimes and to mental patients there is no reason they should limit the rest of the society from owning them.
Work Cited
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Carlile, Dr. Simon. FAQ’s Re Gun Control. http://www.med.usyd.edu.au/medfac/GunControl/fp_10_1.htm. Friday,
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Ethical Spectacle, The. What the Court Really Say About the Second Amendment.
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Ethical Spectacle, The. Where are the Illegal Guns?. http://www.spectacle.org/495/guns5.html. Friday, Jan. 17, 1997.
Lott, John R. Jr., Mustard, David B. Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns.
http://www.law.lib.uchicago.edu/faculty/lott/guncont.html. Friday, Jan. 17, 1997.
Sterba, James P. Morality in Practice. San Francisco: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1997
Sugarmann, Josh. Reverse FIRE. http://bsd.mojones.com/mother_jones/JF94/sugarmann.html. Friday, Jan. 17, 1997.