Since the start of America the right to own a firearm has been protected and in a more modern time these rules need to change. Mass shootings have taking headlines in too many new stories for people to sit still and do nothing about it. The Second Amendment has been around since 1791 and is outdated. Now we can take steps to help better gun control for a safer environment in America for the future generation. We as a country need to make significant steps to halt mass shootings in the United States. This can be achieved by giving proper mental health checks, changing the age restriction in certain areas, and letting the individual states decided what happens in them.
The NRA or The National Rifle Association was first founded in 1817. According to the official website of the NRA, in the beginning years the organization was mainly used for people to go to shooting ranges, especially younger men. During World War Two they helped arm and train soldiers. Soon after that in 1949 they started a hunting program to teach men how to hunt. They are still teaching people how to use guns in 2018. But around the 1970’s the NRA started getting political and going againsts things they originally believed. In the article, The NRA’s journey from marksmanship to political brinkmanship it says, “By the mid-1970s, a dissident group within the NRA believed that the organization was losing the national debate over guns by being too defensive and not political enough.”(Spitzer,2018) After that the NRA starting having a lot more political supporters during this time as well. Also in the article it states, “Until the mid-1970s, the NRA supported waiting periods for handgun purchases. Since then, however, it has opposed them. It fought vehemently against the ultimately successful enactment of a five-business-day waiting period and background checks for handgun purchases in 1993” (Spitzer, 2018) The NRA had a good system going with having a five day waiting period but for some reason they took it away. The NRA needs to implement better systems to make sure they are selling guns to people who have gone through the proper mental health and background tests.
Back in 1791 the modern assault rifles that we have today were not even a thought to the minds of American citizens. The Second Amendment was a reasonable law at the time because there was a lower population and guns were more practical for protection. The Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights states: “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” (Amendment II 1791) The Second amendment gives the people The United States the right to bear arms. In 1869 the Fourteenth Amendment was created, it supports the Second Amendment.
The Fourteenth Amendment says,“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any per deny to any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of laws.” (Amendment XVI section 1 1868) This explains how all of the fifty states have the right to bear arms.
Our Constitution and Bill of Rights is hundreds of years old, many things have changed since then, such as women's rights and civil rights. So just like we have progressed in society with these major issues and have adapted our laws to match we should do the same with gun control. The second amendment and gun control can both simultaneously exist to an extent. The government ultimately should take greater responsibility to who is given access to guns and firearms for the prevention on mass shootings in the United States. In the book, The Unfinished Dream: A Discussion on Rights, Equality and Inclusivity it says, “ If guns don’t kill people, why do mass killers arm themselves with guns?” (Stokes) America is facing a rising epidemic with mass shooting. Stricter gun laws could be the thing that stops this once and for all.
The Second Amendment was created way before the creation of modern assault rifles. Since there are more modernized machinery out in the world nowadays that people can buy, the law should be able to change around this new technology. The legal age for anyone to purchase a handgun anywhere in the United States should be eighteen years old .This is because in America at eighteen years old you can go into the military, vote, buy lottery tickets and purchase your own home. If someone was scared of an intruder entering into their home they should be able to purchase a handgun and be able to protect their family once they are eighteen years old. Although, purchasing an assault rifle would be a completely different case. The chart in the article, Minimum Age to Purchase & Possess by Giffords Law Center, shows how the minimum age to buy an assault rifle fourteen in Minnesota outside of cities. Although the more common age to buy an assault rifle in most states in America is eighteen years old, and there are only a few states that have the minimum age at twenty one. If you live in any cities or urban areas I think you should be able to purchase an assault rifle once you are twenty one. When you live in an urban area there aren't any animals to hunt unlike in rural areas. If you live in rural areas where there is a lot of hunting, the legal age to purchase an assault rifle should be eighteen or seventeen with parents permission. Assault rifles can do much more damage than handguns can.
The way someone purchases a gun should also be changed. There should be a full mental health screening along with the background check that is already in place. Some mentally ill people may see all the attention these mass shooters are getting on social media and on the news so then they try and copy their actions. According to the Article The terrible numbers that grow with each mass shooting ,“299 guns, At least 168 of mass shooters’ weapons were obtained legally and 52 were obtained illegally. It’s unclear how 79 weapons were acquired.” (Berkowitz, Lu and Alcantara,2018) If a proper mental health screening was put in place, then the number of the mass shooters’ weapons that are obtained legally would be significantly lower.
Only certain types of guns should be available to the public. A military grade assault weapons shouldn’t be allowed to be should to the public. When someone who is mentally ill or have had a long history of behavioral problems,and get their hands on one of these they may kill and injure a lot of people. An example of this is the Parkland school shooting in Florida. According to the Article The terrible numbers that grow with each mass shooting(Berkowitz, Lu and Alcantara,2018), there were 17 people killed and 17 people who were injured during this mass shooting. The shooter has had multiple behavioral problems in the past yet he was still allowed to purchase a gun. The only way to prevent this from happening ever again is to put in place a proper mental health check and a proper background check. This will help to alleviate the concern that a potentially dangerous weapon that would fall into the hand if an individual who may be mentally unstable or have the potential for violent tendencies.