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Abstract An ever-growing problem of violence faces Americans. Our streets became a battleground where the elderly are beaten for their social security checks, terrified women viciously attacked and raped, teen-age gangsters shoot it out for a patch of turf to sell their illegal drugs, and innocent children caught daily in the crossfire of drive-by shootings die. Society cannot ignore the damage that these criminals do to our society, and people must take actions to stop these horrors. Gun Control 3 Gun Control and Violence in America The issue of gun control presented itself much earlier than most people realize. Way back in 1935, Adolf Hitler had a few choice words on gun control: 'This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration.
Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!' Rosie O'Done had something to say about the issue too: 'I don't care if you think it's your right. I say: Sorry, it's 1999. We have had enough as a nation. You are not allowed to own a gun, and if you do own a gun I think you should go to prison. ' In 1911, Turkey established gun control.
From 1915 - 1917, 1. 5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated. In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, approximately 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated. Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, 13 million Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, the mentally ill, and others, who were unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated. Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million 'educated' people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated. Guatemala established gun control in 1964.
From 1964 to 1981, 100, 000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated. Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300, 000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated. According to those historical facts, that places total Gun Control 4 victims who lost their lives because of gun control at approximately 56 million in the last century. People should learn from the mistakes of history and the next time someone talks in favor of gun control, find out which group of citizens they wish to have exterminated. (Clayton, n.
d. ) An ever-growing problem of violence still faces Americans. Many streets became a battleground where the elderly are beaten for their social security checks, terrified women viciously attacked and raped, teen-age gangsters shoot it out for a patch of turf to sell their illegal drugs, and innocent children caught daily in the crossfire of drive-by shootings die. People cannot ignore the damage that these criminals do to our society, and society must take actions to stop these horrors. However, the effort by some misguided individuals to eliminate the legal ownership of firearms does not address the real problem at hand, and simply disarms the innocent law-abiding citizens who need a form of self-defense. To help fully understand the reasons behind the gun control efforts, it would be good to view the history of our country, and the role firearms have played in it.
The second amendment to the Constitution of the United States makes firearm ownership legal in this country. There were good reasons for this freedom, reasons that persist today. Firearms in the New World were used initially for hunting, and occasionally for self-defense. However, when the colonists felt that the burden of British oppression was too much for them to bear, they picked up their personal firearms and went to war (Longley, ' 99). Standing against the British armies, these rebels found themselves opposed by the greatest military force in the world at that time. The 18 th century witnessed the height of the British Empire, but the rough band of colonial freedom Gun Control 5 fighters discovered the power of the Minuteman, the average American gun owner.
These Minutemen, so named because they would pick up their personal guns and jump to the defense of their country on a minutes notice, served a major part in winning the American Revolution. The founding fathers of this country understood that an armed populace was instrumental in fighting off oppression, and they made the right to keep and bear arms a constitutionally guaranteed right. Over the years, some of the reasons for owning firearms have changed. "As our country grew into a strong nation, people expanded westward, exploring the wilderness, and building new towns on the frontier. Typically, these new towns were far away from the centers of civilization, and the only law they had was dispensed by townsfolk through the barrel of a gun" (Larson, 42). Crime existed, but could be minimized when the townspeople fought back against the criminals. Eventually, these organized townspeople developed police forces as their towns grew in size.
Fewer people carried their firearms on the street, but the firearms were always there, ready to be used in self-defense. It was after the Civil War that the first gun-control advocates came into existence. These were southern leaders who were afraid that the newly freed black slaves would assert their newfound political rights, and these leaders wanted to make it easier to oppress the free blacks. This oppression was accomplished by passing laws making it illegal in many places for black people to own firearms.
With that effort, they assured themselves that the black population would be subject to their control, and would not have the ability to fight back. At the same time, the people who were most intent on denying black people their basic rights walked around with their firearms, Gun Control 6 making it impossible to resist their efforts. An unarmed man stands little chance against an armed one, and these armed men saw their plans work completely. It was a full century before the civil rights activists of the 1960 s were able to restore the constitutional freedoms that blacks in this country were granted in the 1860 s. Today's gun control activists show traits of a slightly different breed. They claim that gun violence in this country has gotten to a point where something must be done to stop it.
They would like to see criminals disarmed, and they want the random violence to stop. However, they simply go about it in the wrong way. While claiming that they want to take guns out of the hands of criminals, they work to pass legislation that would take the guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens instead. For this re...
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Research essay sample on Gun Control And Violence
