Gun Legislation
Few topics in American history have been more disputed or the controversy more heated than Gun legislation. The history of Gun Legislation dates back to the Revolutionary period. In 1792 Congress passed a law that required "all able-bodied male citizens between the ages of 18-44" to equip themselves with a musket, or a weapon adequate for war, along with a minimum amount of ammunition. The Congress passed this law on the reasoning that in case of a need for national defense the male citizens should arm themselves because the federal government may not necessarily be able to arm its' citizens with the necessary weapons to arm the militias. In reaction to the new law gun ownership began to rise exponentially and therefore new problems associated with guns were raised with it. Soon after the South was defeated in the Civil War, talk of how to control the amount of guns began. The reason for the new focus on the issue stemmed from concerns the North had that another insurrection would arise in the South. In response to the gun control actions of the day involving the North's apparent plans to disarm southern citizens Civil War veterans founded the National Rational Association in 1871. Short
Outside influences on the committee are inevitable. Politics by its nature requires a give and take. Compromise is a pertinent art form in order to gain resources, in congressman's case, to keep their jobs. In many instances Congressman need to support a lobbyist bill if that lobby group could influence the voters of his/her constituency. Many times the outside influence involves contributions both from private citizens and powerful issue based lobbies. Lobbies such as National Rifle Association give large contributions to politicians to keep the voice strongly heard in gun legislation. Sometimes this kind of influence can have a less than positive effect on a committee that is trying to make decisions that will benefit the citizens. Laws are often stopped and sometimes passed to preserve relationships with lobbies. This has proven to be the case often in gun legislation. The Sullivan law of 1911 was passed in New York State. The law required the citizens of New York to purchase a permit before purchasing a firearm. The law's original intention was to stifle immigrants and foreigners from obtaining firearms because they were seen as threats. This law was the first of its kind and set the precedent for future gun legislation. The 1920s brought with it alcohol prohibition and, as an effect of the prohibition, criminal organizations increased and heavy weaponry such as machine-guns and sawed off shotguns became the criminal organizations' weapon of choice. In 1934 after the prohibition had been overturned, Congress passed legislation to ban the sale and possession of machine-guns and sawed off shotguns. This marked another precedent in gun legislation; the law was the first of its kind to limit the type of firearms the average citizen could purchase and possess. In 1939 in the Supreme Court case United States v. Miller (ref. 2) the 1934 law was challenged. A man was caught carrying a sawed off shotgun across state lines. He appealed the conviction stating his constitutional 2nd amendment rights. The Supreme Court reaffirmed its former 1876 and 1886 ruling that the 2nd amendment does not grant him to carry his sawed off shotgun, but it also defined the term militia as "primarily citizens". This official definition of the term militia was important because it defined that a militia as stated in the constitution to consist of citizens and not a federal military. Gun Control Legislation has been effective in some instances. Although enforcing the laws that are currently on the books has been more of a challenge in response to the rise in gun shows across the country. The Brady Bill has effectively stopped many criminals and could be criminals from purchasing a firearm. In just the first 3 months of the bill being in effect there were 40,846 background checks ran resulting in 11,962 applicants to be turned around because of past criminal histories. Normally those 11,962 applicants would have had very minimal trouble purchasing a firearm. The incredible aspect of the Brady bill is the residual effect it has had. (Ref 6)The background checks of the past year have not only kept people with criminal backgrounds from purchasing firearms, but also have averaged about 5 criminals a day trying to weapons while on bail or wanted. The bill is taking the country's wanted off the streets and making society a little safer place. 3.) http://www.senate.gov/search/index.html Another issue that has surfaced in recent years is the issue of gun safety locks. The rise in child gun violence, for example the occurrence of the sixth grade student opening fire on his classmates at school or the in the instance of Columbine, has brought to the attention of the nation the need to create some way of keeping guns not only out of the hands of criminals but also children. Gunlocks are a possible deterrent by blocking access to the trigger, thus rendering the firearm useless. Gunlocks would also cause a delay the use
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Approximate Word count = 2963
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
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