Answer

Gun Control in the United States

For the first time, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that citizens are entitled to keep guns. There are various grounds upon which this ruling was made. For several years, the courts had interpreted the provision of the Second Amendment as a collective entitlement linked with arms for military services. However, the court declared that the right to bear and keep arms is a personal right aimed at citizens protecting hearth and homes (Jones & Stone, 2015).  While the dissenting justices argued that the amendments served to protect only the right to bear and carry an arm in connection with militia service, the majority of the justices reasoned that the amendment safeguards a person’s right to possess an arm unlinked with service in militia as well as to use the arm for legal purposes, like self-defense in their homes (Anderson, 2017). Justice Antonin Scalia added that handguns are the favourite self-defense weapon partly because a handgun can be pointed at a thief or burglar with a hand while the other hand is used to dial the police.

From my viewpoint, I partly agree with the decision. I agree because, like other rights, the Second Amendment right is not unrestricted. It is not an entitlement to keep and carry firearms in any manner for whatever reason and whatsoever. But it allows for people to have arms for lawful purposes, like defending themselves and hunting. However, I disagree with the ruling because of the many unresolved problems associated with it: challenges to waiting durations for purchasing a firearm, prohibitions upon gun ownership in public houses, prohibitions on ownership for individuals who have had restrictive orders (like mentally ill and felons) issued against them in local violent situations. Additionally, criminal defense lawyers are likely to challenge sentencing improvements based upon gun possession.

The striking down of Washington D.C.’s handgun ban has led NRA to argue that the U.S. is a dangerous place and that possessing and carrying a gun is the only strategy to safeguarding oneself and one’s family (Jones & Stone, 2015). Consequently, NRA has made Americans to believe that “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” The accuracy of this statement is debatable. Whereas gun possession is certainly among the options for home defense, research and data continue to show that gun possession is equally increasing the danger of gun-associated tragedies happening at homes (Worrall, 2015). Certainly, there are cases in which bad guys having guns have been stopped by good people with guns.

In most of the cases, police officers are capable of stopping offenders. However, the assertion by LaPierre along with others who make the above argument is that regular American citizens ought to be armed so that bad guys can be stopped with many good guys with guns. For instance, a gunman, in 2007, killed two people and injured three more at Colorado Springs-based New Life Church before Jeanne Assam, a former police officer who was a volunteer security personnel at the church, did confront the man and killed him (Oraka et al., 2019). The 69-year-old Ethel Jones, in 2010, wounded a burglar/robber at her home in Alabama with a handgun (Anderson, 2017). Sarah McKinley, in 2012, shot and murdered a burglar who was armed with a knife while the other intruder fled (Worrall, 2015). 

Nonetheless, the assertion that “the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun” is demonstrably and clearly false. To refute it, a counterexample can be employed in which a bad guy was stopped by a Bible-carrying good Christian woman as noted by (Anderson, 2017). On 11^th march, 2005, Brian Nicholas, who was charged with rape cases, was being escorted to court in Atlanta. He got a court deputy’s gun and shot, killing the judge, another deputy, and a federal agent as he fled. Nicholas took refuge in Ashley Smith’s apartment, holding her at a gunpoint. Noting that Nicholas was the subject of the manhunt, she cooperated with him. They started talking concerning God and family. She shared from The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren. Eventually, Nicholas did agree to let Smith leave to collect her daughter. Smith, from her car, called 911 and police immediately surrounded the apartment and Nicholas surrendered. Smith holds the belief that during the conversation, Nicholas started to want to follow the will of God for his life, which eventually led him to release her (Anderson, 2017).

Evidently, it is false that “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Additionally, such a perception of human nature is too optimistic since even the best of human beings are flawed. Sometimes, the presence of a firearm can worsen our flaws. For instance, consider George Zimmerman’s highly-broadcasted case, where Zimmerman, who was put on trial for shooting and murdering teenager Trayvon Martin (Oraka et al., 2019). According to John Donohue, a Stanford University’s professor, possessing a firearm possibly encouraged Zimmerman to challenge Martin (Oraka et al., 2019). According to the assertion, good guys are motivated to be extra aggressive since they have firearms (Worrall, 2015). The consequence is that people lose their lives who would not otherwise. It is also worrying that there is lack of training on how to use guns, and this can undermine many good people with guns from being efficient and effective. David Chipman, former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms’ agent contends that armed citizens usually lack training that is required to efficiently and effectively use a firearm when bullets are directed at them (Oraka et al., 2019).

This leads to the question, “Should Miami-Dade County teachers be allowed to carry arms?” From a personal viewpoint, I think they should be allowed to possess and carry arms. In decades past, teachers would wake up early in the morning, go to school, and come back safely. However, times have changed. The society we are living in presently is so drastically different from decades ago. People (including students, depending on their family backgrounds and norms) carrying fire arms to learning institutions (Oraka et al., 2019). While Miami-Dade County has detailed safety training programs for learning institution personnel and that there are certified safety specialists in Miami-Dade County’s schools who examine the best and practical local policy to make sure children and teachers are safe, there is a need for arming teachers in the county due to the fact that many ills in the society have spilled over into daily life in learning institutions.

In conclusion, the striking down of Washington D.C.’s handgun ban by the U.S. Supreme has resulted in several transformations in American with regard to how individual protection can be achieved. While arms are allowed for individual protection purposes, worries about citizen training and the loose policies governing the use of arms open room to many injuries and losses in America.

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