The Right to Bear Arms

Noor Pyarali

Since antiquity, many great thinkers have contemplated what it means to have rights, and indeed, what rights are in themselves. One such great thinker, John Locke, believed that humans have natural, inalienable rights. He stated that humans have the right to life, liberty, and property. Locke influenced Thomas Jefferson who wrote in the Declaration of Independence that man has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

A right can be defined by “that which is due to anyone by just claim, legal guarantees, moral principles.” (Dictionary.com)

The Constitution of the United States declares that its citizens have rights; the first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. The 1st amendment states that the people have the right to freedom of religion, the right to free speech and press, and the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government. The 2nd amendment identifies that the people have the right to bear arms. The 3rd amendment states that the people do not have to share their homes in times of peace with soldiers. The 4th amendment grants the people protection from unreasonable searches and seizures. The 5th amendment addresses due process, double jeopardy, and self-incrimination. The 6th amendment states that the people have a right to a trial by jury, can confront their accuser, be granted a speedy, public trial, and have a right to counsel.The 7th amendment states that the peoples’ right to a civil trial shall be preserved when the value in controversy exceeds twenty dollars. The 8th amendment prohibits excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment. The 9th amendment states that not all rights are specifically enumerated in the constitution and this does not mean that the people do not have rights not listed. The 10th amendment identifies powers not reserved by the U.S are reserved for the States or to the people.

In order to understand what the 2nd amendment means, we must define its terms. Militia is defined as “a part of the organized armed forces of a country; a body of citizens organized for military service; or the whole body of able-bodied male citizens declared by law as being subject to call to military service. The first part of this amendment implies the military use of arms. However, as it continues with the right of the people to keep and bear arms, it seem that the subject has now become the people in general. The natural interpretation of “bear arms” means “have weapons” (Heller). The part that is unclear and undefined is what type of weapons fall under the right to bear arms. The government has already placed certain restrictions on this right, in addition to other constitutional rights, for the safety and well-being of the people.

Rights, even constitutional rights, can be limited by the

government if necessary for the safety of the people.

The first amendment, as addressed previously in this

tutorial, covers several natural rights, and one of those is

the right to free speech. The right to freedom of speech

grants the people to express themselves without

constraint and interference from the government.However, the Supreme Court recognizes that the government

may prohibit some speech that calls for violence or the breach

of peace. The areas of speech that are not protected under the

1st amendment are the advocacy of illegal action, fighting

words, commercial speech, and obscenity. Hate speech is an

example of fighting words, which is not protected because of

the use of inflammatory words that may cause harm (Cornell)

There are two main advantages and reasons people own guns. One purpose is for protection. Some people own guns because it makes them feel safer to be able to defend themselves. An example of this, albeit rare, is an incident that involved an alligator attacking a young family member at night, while the family was camping. The oldest brother was able to retrieve his gun and shoot the alligator before it got into the water with the younger sibling. The alligator only got a part of the child’s arm, but the life of the child was saved (Animal Planet). The second reason people own guns is for pleasure; this includes hunting, target shooting, and more.

Some of the disadvantages of owning a gun include,

gun-related accidents, which may sometime involve

those we love, our family and friends. Gun-related

crimes, such as robberies, shootings, and mass

shootings are another disadvantage relating to guns.

Further an individual’s gun may be stolen to commit

crimes.

The statistics on the previous screen are from the Washington Post, in which the numbers

are reported by the United Nations. In the image, the viewer can see that the United States

has the highest per capita rate of gun-related crime than other developed nations. The

gun murder rate in the United States is about 20 times the average more than other

developed nations, meaning that Americans are 20 times more likely to murdered by a gun

than people from other developed countries. After the Sandy Hook Elementary school

shooting that left 27 people dead including 20 children, debates have been ignited about

what should be done about U.S gun laws.

On February 12, 2013, President Obama State of the Union speech demanded a

vote on gun control bills. President Obama said that Americans, an overwhelming majority

of Americans, are coming together and are calling for common sense gun laws and reform,

while police chiefs are requesting assistance from the government in getting weapons of

war and excessive ammunition magazines off of the streets because the officers are

frustrated and tired of being outgunned.

Arguments against stricter gun laws may claim

that if more people were armed then more people

would be protected against gun violence. Other

arguments include the claim that if certain guns

become illegal then people will still have access to

and buy those same guns, whether on the black

market or by accessing guns illegally imported

from other countries, such as Mexico. Some say

that if a person has a desire to kill someone then

they will still find a way to do it. Some argue that

restricting gun rights is unconstitutional because it

is unjustified.

“Every day, eight children are killed by guns,” is a shocking and deeply disturbing statement by the Brady Campaign. Guns may still be illegally available on the streets but that does not mean we should do nothing to better protect our children and ourselves. Owning more guns does not protect us as well as stricter, common sense gun laws would.

My vote is in favor of supporting stricter, common sense guns laws that would require more thorough background checks and that would limit the types of guns available to the people. It is my belief that military style weapons should not be on American streets. Our police officers should not be outgunned. This is a justified restriction because it would better protect the people from harm. The people still have their right to bear arms, protect themselves, and to purse their pleasures with hunting. If human life is better protected , especially the innocent lives of children, then it is worth restricting my rights of owning an assault weapon. Other constitutional rights have been justly restricted in order to prevent violence. People may disagree with me, but I respect their views. This is part of the beauty of the democratic process.

References

Bradleycampaign.org

Cornell.edu

Dictonary.com

Heller Case, District of Columbia v. Heller

Washingtonpost.com