Gun Control in America

- Jeremy Sandberg, Right Side News Have guns become obsolete in American life, possibly an ugly reminder of violence and war? Should we grant our elected representatives the power to remove them from the public at large?

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That is the question that Americans have faced throughout our country's history, and will continue to face for the foreseeable future. I do not think so, and can prove that it was the intent of our founding fathers to safeguard our right to arm and defend ourselves, our families and our personal property. There are many who would disagree with me, for a variety of reasons. I concede the existence of well intentioned individuals, who honestly feel that there is no right to bear arms. While I disagree with their opinion, I can respect both it, and them. The people who I find troubling are those who seek to achieve their goal of a disarmed public through deception. They would strip American citizens of their firearms through the legislative process against their will. I would argue that any gun control by our federal government is, by its very existence, un-Constitutional. The federal government of the United States has no legal right to legislate and exercise gun control over its citizenry. Where do American citizens get the right to "keep and bear arms" is a question that I have heard many people ask, from both sides of this contentious issue. To answer this question, we must first turn to the United States Constitution, and it's Second Amendment. It states; "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." For those who would like to promote further gun controls, this is interpreted with an emphasis on the "well regulated militia", with the "militia" being the only ones allowed to have guns. This is not surprising, especially since most Americans have very little Constitutional knowledge, a fact borne out by a survey conducted by the National Constitution Center (NCC) in 1997. More...

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