Repeal The Second Amendment? Essay, Research Paper

Repeal of the Second Amendment

Is repealing the Second Amendment written in the United States Constitution the correct action to take to control violence and unnecessary death due to guns? This is a great idea in a perfect world where everyone on every continent will turn in all there firearms. Our world is not perfect and never will be. America arms itself with the most sophisticated weaponry in the world. The government knows that any nation on any continent, with visions of taking over America?s vast and endless resources as their own, could become an enemy of the United States. The United States was founded to protect itself from enemies trying to take away their newly found prosperity that they had worked hard to earn. By forming a democracy as it?s governing body, the people of the United States stay protected from enemies by means of each and every citizen having the consent to bear arms. A democracy was formed here in the United States by some enlightened individuals, and from this democracy came a doctrine known as The Constitution of the United States of America. To insure the Americans had a means of protecting their freedom, the authors of The Constitution of the United States of America put in a law which 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? (Bill 1). There are many opponents to the Second Amendment within the Constitution. These opponents argue that people should not be allowed to own guns because with gun ownership comes senseless deaths and violent crime. They also claim that the Second Amendment is misconstrued, and that the authors meant that only the state could arm the people with guns to stand against an enemy. Some gun control activists even go on to proclaim that a democracy could still be retained without individuals of America having the ability to own guns. To repeal the Second Amendment written in The Constitution of the United States of America would not reduce the number of senseless deaths and democracy founded ?years ago? would come to an end.

* Is repealing the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution the correct action to take to control violence and unnecessary death due to guns? This is a great idea in a perfect world where everyone on every continent will turn in all there firearms. Our world is not perfect and never will be. America is one of the most sovereign and wealthiest countries in the world, due to our democracy, which is based on the United States Constitution. Without the citizens of America having the right to bear arms, stated in the United States Constitution, our country would not be a democracy and the people of America would not reap the benefits of such a wealthy economy.

* It is a tragedy that the United States of America has the problem with guns that it has with all the laws in place to protect the people against these deadly weapons. Something should and must be done to protect the people of the United States against this atrocity. There are laws in place but these laws do not seem to decreasing the death rate due to guns. What could the answer to America?s problem be? Some people, like napoleon at operationusa, think we should repeal the Second Amendment. This action would require all Americans to turn in their guns. This, most people should believe, is a very extreme measure that could put an end to the freedoms Americans have always known, and possibly eradicate our democratic form of government.

There have been arguments entertained throughout America?s history about what the forefathers meant when they introduced the Second Amendment into the United States Constitution. You can see how a few people might misconstrue what the writers were trying to say in the Second Amendment, but it has been proven through the judicial system that the authors meant for the people of the United States to have the ability to own a gun. When President Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore tried to pass a Crime Bill that would take away some gun ownership rights, U.S. Supreme Court District Judge Sam Cummings stated, ?A textual analysis of the Second Amendment supports an individual right to bear arms? (Constitution 3). One argument, conjured by anti Second Amendment activist, is that the authors of the United States Constitution meant that the state had the right to bear arms and not each and every individual citizen of the state. These elite persons would then be armed by the state and organized as a militia, present day National Guard (Repeal 1). When the writers of the Constitution wanted to differentiate the meanings between the state and the people, they clearly distinguish the two by using people to mean the individuals of the state and the word state to mean the state or heads of state. An example of the authors using both the words people and state is in the Tenth Amendment (Constitution 1). ?The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people? (Bill 2). The idea that the writers of the Constitution only meant for the state to be able to arm the people is easily disputed. These great men of history had brilliant vision of how to maintain this democracy.

Gun control activists make several valid points about accidental deaths to children due to the carelessness of gun owners; the statistics are staggering. However, without the Second Amendment, the people of the United States could be compromising their freedoms. The people of the United States could be compromising their control over their religion, freedom of speech, and other freedoms promised in the Constitution. Without the right for all non-felons of America to arm themselves, there could be a non-democratic America. If this were to happen, there would be a small number of people allowed to arm themselves with guns and these people would rule America. When these people die, their heirs will then rule over the people of America. This trend would continue forever. Even if it were just the military and the police who carried guns, there are many ways a high ranking, influential officer could use the armed men to take over an unarmed democratic society and turn it into Communist nation like China. China is a country where guns are not allowed in the hands of the citizens. A dictator who cares nothing about the people of his nation rules China. This dictator lives the life of a king while watching the majority of the people live as peasants. A country where the people have no defense against such a ruler could fall under the repression of an unfavorable form of government where the masses end up living the life of poverty and oppression.

With all of the school shootings occurring in the last school year, it is easy to overreact to our gun control issues. I am not a gun owner and I feel that I too might look to an extreme measure, like repealing the Second Amendment, if my child was involved in a shooting. However, the Second Amendment, written in The Constitution of the United States of America, is a clear and sound document sending a firm message to all who read it that we as ?Americans do have the right to bear arms? (Bill 1). It is also perfectly clear that the purpose behind the Second Amendment is to protect the individuals from the state if the state tried to rule over the people in an unfair and justifiable way. To even observe the notion of tying the hands of the American people by taking away their authority to own a gun is absurd. There would not be a United States of America if our forefathers who founded this nation did not take up arms against a tyrant ruling over them from England. The feeling the freedom fighters of America must have felt being able to defend themselves against such a powerful ruler, and winning their freedom and their children?s freedom by fighting their oppressor, is unimaginable. The American government is ruled by having different branches of government keeping the other in check. There is a balance between the judicial, legislative, and executive branches so that there are no ruling classes, but an equal balance of power among several. The people of the United States should not only defend the Second Amendment, they should be thankful for and cherish it, because without the Second Amendment, America would not be the freest, richest, and most sought after place to live in the world.