Unit 3: Question 3 George Washington once said, Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself.

They are the Americans liberty teeth and keystone under independence...the very atmosphere of firearms anyway restrains evil interference. Contradictory to the support of the Second Amendment from our Founding Fathers the amendment is sti argued today !et"een po iticians and citi#ens dai y$ %hroughout history there ha&e !een many de!ates regarding the origina intent of the amendments, one that comes into 'uestion is the Second Amendment$ When interpreting it many forget to &ie" the amendment in the strict &ie" of the origina intent from our nations creators$ When the Second Amendment "as first "ritten, the origina intent of the amendment "as to a o" the right of an indi&idua to !ear arms and to regu ate security throughout the states "ith a mi itia$ Within the Second Amendment, se&era pros and cons regarding gun contro , and the right to carry a concea ed handgun come into p ay$ %he Second Amendment states that A well-regulated ilitia! being

necessary to the security of the free "tate...shall not be infringed. ( %his statement !ecomes de!ata! e regarding a regu ated mi itia and that connection to the co ecti&e right$ )n the ate *+th century, under the ,i itia Act of *-./, the "ord mi itia referred to a! e0!odied ma e citi#ens !et"een the ages of *- and 12$ %oday, under the ,i itia Act of *.33, mi itia "as di&ided into an organi#ation that !ecame a state 4ationa Guard, and the unorgani#ed mi itia pertains to the same

meaning form the ,i itia Act of *-./$ %he main 'uestion to ans"er is, 5oes the right to a mi itia regard organi#ed, "e 0regu ated mi itias, or a citi#ens6( According the United States Code 7%it e *3, Section 3**8, states that recogni#e a mi itia, that mi itia is under contro of the Go&ernor as the Commander0and0Chief$ Unti to d to do so, mi itia mem!ers are a o"ed to carry their o"n "eapons, !ut are on y used in an emergency, such as "ar, terrorist attac9s and mass shootings$ %here is c ear e&idence regarding the pros and cons to gun contro $ :n the positi&e side to gun contro , many argue that it "ou d reduce the num!er of crimes committed "ith guns, such as mass casua ties, schoo shootings, and terrorist attac9s$ )n /333 a study that supports the right to carry a concea ed handgun, "as conducted !y ;ohn <ott, =h5 and found that there "as a +$2> homicide reduction, -> assau ts reduction, 2> rape reduction, and a 3> ro!!ery reduction$ Using these statistics, he conc uded that if guns had !een permitted !et"een the years of *../ and *..- *,2-3 murders, 1,*-- rapes, ?3,333 assau ts, and */,333 ro!!eries "ou d ha&e !een pre&ented$ :ther arguments for gun0contro inc ude se f0defense, fee ing of safety, and the ma@ority of peop e that ega y carry a handgun are citi#ens "ho do not misuse their firearms$ Carrying a hand gun cou d possi! y end pu! ic shootings, and the go&ernment cant guarantee the safety of citi#ens so it !ecomes a persona duty to protect yourse f and fami y$ Aanning guns cou d a so create an e&en arger amount of crime such as a ! ac9 mar9et and a higher rate of i ega

use of guns$ ,any !e ie&e "ith the correct education regarding gun contro it "ou d !e considered unnecessary to !an guns$ ,any argue, the second amendment is targeted to"ard mi itia not an indi&idua , and there is a greater chance that guns may fa into the hands of an under aged indi&idua that cou d resu t in dead y accidents$ When considering the negati&e aspects of carrying a concea ed handgun there ha&e !een &arious statements and studies conducted to pro&e the point$ ,any !e ie&e that a handgun is not a form of se f0defense$ A study performed !y Char es Aranas, =h5, in /33. found that a person using a gun for se f0defense "as 1$2 times more i9e y to !e shot !ecause attac9ers often "i surprise the &ictim, ma9ing it hard to access the handgun$ :thers argue that the Second Amendment does not mention concea ed handguns$ With gun contro there is a decrease of confrontation esca ating, and unintended shootings$ A negati&e aspect that is hea&i y oo9ed upon is the increase ris9 of suicides$ :ne0third to four0fifths of suicide attempts in&o &ed a concea ed handgun$ )n /332, 23> of a suicides committed in the United States in&o &ed the use of a handgun$ %o this day our country sti does not ha&e a c ear and concise po icy on gun contro , and this topic "i !e de!ated for many decades to come$ :ne may !e compe ed to argue one side or another, !ut "hen comparing the pros and cons !oth ha&e strong e&idence, physica studies, and pu! ic opinion$ With the contro&ersy o&er gun contro and the meaning of the Second Amendment in present day, isnt this decision up to the peop e of this country and our rights as a citi#en6