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AP American, pd 1
Noble 5/4/17
Junior Theme
Imagine you are driving in a dangerous neighborhood and you have to go in a gas station
to fill up on gas. This area has especially high crime rates and as you’re walking up to the store
window you see a sign announcing, “This store is a gun-free zone,” Do you feel protected from
the non-law-abiding criminals? The rights of the people are the essential freedoms that America
recognizes. Americans recognize the constitution and all of its amendments to assure their
freedoms, especially the second amendment. The right to bear arms must be upheld, as its repeal
would violate the constitution and the rights of the American people. Banning the right to bear
arms would leave individuals exposed to harm from violent aggressors, benefit the criminals and
tyrannical government at the expense of the public, and restrict civilians from deterring criminal
action. Furthermore, it would negate the intentions of the second amendment, while proving
ineffective at reducing national crime rates. The United States must uphold the second
The goal of the founding fathers in forming the second amendment, was to preserve
citizen’s ability to defend themselves (Kates, Right). Americans value the freedom to act in
regards of their own well-being, a freedom made possible as a result of the right to bear arms
(Wright). The right to bear arms grants citizens the ability to protect themselves and others
(Huntwork). Civilian uses of firearms as a form of protection have been occurring in this nation
daily (Wright). Guns and bullets are inanimate objects that bear no pain without human contact,
but this fact is overlooked far too often by public-health officials (Faria). With such inaccuracies
floating around, it is clear that Americans need education on firearms, including education on the
ways in which firearms can be helpful for defending one’s self and others (Otero). America will
be safer with more law-abiding citizens obtaining firearms, provided they are aware of the
The founders of this nation deemed the right to keep and bear arms a natural right for
Americans. As a result of this right being granted by members in power before us, thousands
have been able to save their own lives because of a gun being available to them (Wright). This
has created safer societies where more people can feel and be protected (Kates, Right). The
protective benefits of firearms are extremely understated and often times underappreciated by the
public (Faria). Guns by nature are designed to protect individuals from harmful aggressors
(LaRosa). The issue with citizens being unable to defend themselves, is that it creates a demand
for law enforcement to intervene and this enforcement often arrives too late (Levy, The
Individual). The more law enforcement directed into the danger of unnecessary settings, the less
likely forces will be available for other important emergencies. The ability to protect goes
beyond just one’s self, but holds significance for family members and other citizens (Huntwork).
“In fact, thirteen studies conducted between 1976 and 1994 estimated that there were between
770,00 and 3.6 million civilian defensive gun uses per year (Otero).” An individual can be a
victim to the criminals of this world or they can live freely and be able to protect themself, their
firearms most commonly result from a person’s need to defend themselves. Instances of unlawful
gun uses by criminals occur all too often, but it is not the weapon that is doing wrong, but the
person instead (Wright). These instances are what cause firearms to be needed in cases of self
defense, places in which citizens want to be prepared for what may happen (LaRosa). If citizens
are unable to protect themselves, they either become victims to crime or dependent on the state
(Levy, The Individual). Those who seek to disarm the public, target law-abiding citizens who
aren’t involved in criminal action (Huntwork). Though so many gun crimes are covered by the
media, they still avoid mentioning that these attacks happen primarily in gun-free areas (Lott).
These designated gun-free zones serve as free-fire zones to the deranged mind of killers
(LaRosa). Gun violence reducing strategies would be more successful if their focus was on law
enforcement and not on restricting the gun ownership of law-abiding citizens (Carleo-
Evangelist).
Removing guns and the right to self defense from citizens would be removing a long
standing tradition, this move would further endanger Americans (Wright). Dr. John Lott, a gun
rights advocate claims, firearms are used five times more frequently in instances of preventing
crime over committing crime (Lee). In addition to firearms proving successful at preventing
crime, the 1920s Prohibition and 1968 Gun Control Act both spiked an increase in homicide and
suicide rates in America (Faria). These laws are ineffective, encouraging, rather than preventing
homicides and serve as a benefit to the criminals (Kates, Right). In addition to firearm protection
against criminal opposition, they also serve as protection against tyrannical government. The
second amendment was designed to protect individuals against the state and deter tyrannical
government (Levy, The Individual). It is not only the right, but also the obligation of armed
citizens to protect themselves and those surrounding them from terror, both criminal and
tyrannical (Huntwork). The removal of the right to bear arms would cause resistance by the
people (Kates, Right). Tyranny could then be created because the populace won’t be capable of
protecting themselves (Levy, The Individual). It is essential to protect the public against
Allowing the citizenry to carry concealed weapons serves as a deterrent to crime, without
increasing accidental death rates (Faria). Permit-holding gun users have statistically better
records than police officers and misuse their firearms less often (Huntwork). The time it takes for
an armed person to arrive on scene of a shooting is the largest factor in determining how many
people will be harmed (Lott). Often times the mere sight of a firearm is enough to perturb the
attacker (LaRosa). During home invasions, confrontation with a homeowner is enough for a
criminal to choose an easier target, especially an armed homeowner (Wright). At a larger scale,
areas with higher gun ownership experienced lower crime rates than areas with lower firearm
ownership (Otero).
The issue of gun rights is not a political battle, but rather a battle to protect the lives of all
Americans, especially those in dangerous gun-free zones (Huntwork). In many cases, the
presence of police forces are not enough to halt attacks from occurring, and officers are usually
the first to be killed on site (Lott). There needs to be an alternative to relying primarily on law
enforcement to act, and that alternative is carrying concealed weapons. The only school
shootings where lives could be preserved, were when students or teachers could actively access
their firearm, while law enforcement proved non-existent in these situations (Huntwork).
Considering that dangerous individuals already have firearms through illegal acquisitions,
Americans are best suited with firearms of their own (Wright). Utah and Oregon have instituted
concealed carry permits on campuses, and no shootings have occurred on their school campuses
since then (LaRosa). In cases of attacks, concealed firearms have been effective in limiting their
damage (Lott). Nationwide, firearms protect the lives of good people and billions in property
annually (Faria). There is no relation between the rate of violent crime and the increasing rate of
gun ownership (Otero). Homicides involving firearms take a backseat to only suicides involving
firearms on the nation’s list of leading causes of violent death, and no apparent decrease in rate
of crime has resulted from assault gun banning or gun control methods (Carleo-Evangelist).
The right to bear arms is analogous of the freedom of speech and is essential to the
heritage of the United States (Harris). The right to keep and bear arms also serves as a natural
and individual right that pre-exists the constitution, and is ensured by the second amendment
(Tahmassebi). It would be unlawful for the government to infringe upon the constitutionally
protected right to bear arms (Kates, Right). The court initially placed the right to bear arms in the
Bill of Rights, so that it would stand the test of time in American history (Tahmassebi). The
Supreme Court proved its long term nature in the cases of Heller and McDonald, where it was
deemed a fundamental right (Levy, Gun Regulations). This right has been mentioned in more
than thirty five Supreme Court cases, where it has been continuously upheld (Kates, Right). The
founding fathers desired the right to bear arms to be molded into the constitution to empower the
citizens and assure their role in government, while preventing governmental tyranny (Kates,
Right).
During the 1790s, George Washington publicly insisted that citizens would be armed and
was fervent at the sight of the armed citizenry he created (Lantz). The right to bear arms would
stand today even if it were outside the bounds of the Bill of Rights, due to the ninth amendment,
which protects all additional amendments (Kates, Right). The founders desired a strong armed
citizenry, so that it could stand as a well-regulated militia, and could protect the freedom of the
states (LaCourse). Though the second amendment makes reference to a well-regulated militia,
the militia is not necessary for the right to bear arms to stand (Levy, The Individual). Lawmakers
state that banning guns will deter criminal’s ability to obtain firearms and commit crimes, but it
is the non-violent and law-abiding citizens that are unable to obtain firearms (Harris).
The best solution to gun violence may not include the passing of new restrictive gun laws
(Carleo-Evangelist). Licensed permit-holding citizens account for less than two percent of
firearm induced crimes (Faria). Clearly, handgun permit holders are trustworthy and law-abiding
(Lott). Gun bans are designed to restrict permit-holding citizens, allowing criminals to continue
their disregard of gun laws (Harris). Gun control advocates believe that an increase in firearm
carrying individuals will increase crime rates, but no increase in gun violence has occurred in the
forty states that permit concealed carrying (Wright). When comparing many nations at large,
countries with high gun ownership do not have the expected higher crime rates as result (Kates,
Right). Statistics have also proven that the relation between gun laws and gun crimes is
nonexistent (Carleo-Evangelist).
Though, handguns aren’t the only guns that have been targeted for restrictions,
restrictions have also been placed on assault weapons. Assault weapons are rarely used in crimes,
but the gun ban lobby uses them to further target law abiding citizens (Caswell). This is an
attempt to blame inanimate objects for criminal acts and request that legislating barriers further
intrude on law-abiding citizens and their firearms (LaRosa). Assault weapons account for such a
small proportion of the market, that in the 1990s, gun crime rates fell, and the assault gun ban
was credited for this success, when better law enforcement deserved credit (Carleo-Evangelist).
The legislator’s solution would be to rid America of all guns that aren’t granted to law
enforcement. This proposed solution is the result of the public’s distorted concept of firearm
related danger (Carleo-Evangelist). Truthfully, fatal gun accidents have been decreasing as gun
The gun control lobby also hides the fact that household items are dangerous and account
for more accidental deaths than firearms (Wright). “If states without right-to-carry laws had
adopted them in 1992, about 1,570 murders, 4,177 rapes, and 60,000 aggravated assaults would
have been avoided annually (Faria).” Avoiding the pain for so many people and their families
could be made possible by an increase in gun ownership and a decrease in gun-free locations.
States with restrictive gun laws have not seen lower crime rates than the states without them.
“Colorado and Connecticut, for example, have gun laws as different as New York's from
Montana's, but they have about the same percentage of violent crime committed with guns
dangerous behavior, and psychopathology and cannot be trusted to abide by the laws and
restrictions the government enforces (Kates, Right). Criminals don’t target shooting ranges, gun
shows, and police stations, but rather locations that don’t reveal a threat, where they have the
advantage (LaRosa). Gun-free locations draw a lot of attention by criminals and serve as a
magnet to violent attacks (Lott). A ban on firearms should appear unlikely because of the
inconclusive results that the ban would bring (Carleo-Evangelist). The results of a gun ban are
not self-evident, therefore a ban should not pass constitutional muster (Otero).
The second amendment guarantees a right of the people to all citizens (Kates, Right). The
right to bear arms must be upheld as its repeal would be unconstitutional. The second
amendment protects individuals from violent aggressors, benefits the public in restricting the
criminals and tyrannical government, and deters criminal action. What’s more, the second
amendment was designed to ensure the right to bear arms as it has no effect on crime rate in the
United States. Without the second amendment criminal action would be detrimental to the nation
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