Understanding the Second Amendment and Gun Control

This article delves into the history and interpretation of the Second Amendment in relation to gun control in the US. It discusses the original intent of the amendment, the ongoing debate between gun rights and gun control advocates, and the need for a reconfiguration of the Second Amendment based on modern needs.

Running Head: ENGLISH 1
Good Reasons with Contemporary Arguments
Author's Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Introduction
Arguments take place because of different viewpoints of a certain aspect or a position.
Different words may have multiple meanings and combinations that can further lead to
confusions. Sometimes the words are too technical or complicated to understand or get used
incorrectly. The gun control issue in the US is a much-debated one and hinges on how the
Second Amendment is interpreted. With the shooting incidents hounding the American
landscape, the control legislation at local, state and national levels are indeed at controversial
levels. The “right of the people to keep and bear arms” is meant for militias and the Second
Amendment was written at different times for different scenario. Today, gun-related violence is
rising because of the Second Amendment, that needs to be interpreted carefully and understood
well.
Every year, hundreds and thousands of Americans die because of gun violence. Despite
more stringent gun regulations in place, there is no respite from those firearms’ violence. It is
because of the Second Amendment rights that limit such policies. America has seen a variety of
gun regulations as different settlers and colonies moved in. Weapons and firearms need
regulation and control for public health and safety. The Second Amendment established a
constitutional framework for the gun laws in the US and was written in 18th-century
(Shusterman, 2018). The most important goal of the Second Amendment was to avoid the
beginning of a professional army in the United States. The 18th-century logic claimed that no
society could be truly free with a professional army and it was the responsibility of the society to
defend itself.
The writers of the Second Amendment wanted every citizen to be in the militia but
prohibited blacks and Indians from participating in the militia as stated by Shusterman (2018).

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One needs to understand the original meaning of the Second Amendment when there was no
professional army, and everyone was expected to participate in the militia. However, that was the
situation in the 18th century, and today in the 21st century, America boasts of the powerful army
in the world. The current situation is a far cry from what the founders of the Second Amendment
may have visualized.
The entire text of the Second Amendment reads as follows: “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” (Cornell, & Cornell, 2018). The gun rights advocates are fond of
emphasizing on the part of the amendment that confirms the right to keep and bear arms. On the
other hand, the gun control advocates focus on the text that asserts the need for a well-regulated
militia. Thus, both sides prefer to read the Second Amendment from their perspective and thus
end in a continual debate.
One should not forget that the Second Amendment writers were afraid of tyranny and
anarchy. They felt that there could be no true liberty without regulations and laws. Today, the
current gun rights and gun controls are a result of the violence epidemic that ravages America
because of those guns. When the Second Amendment was written, only a few Americans owned
handguns, and gun violence was very low. It is because of how the Second Amendment has been
understood and followed that has led to the proliferation of handguns, and gun-related violence
has become a significant issue for the Americans today. The first modern gun control laws
passed decades after the Second Amendment and when already cheap and reliable pistols had
been developed and marketed. These laws question the right to keep and bear arms as the guns
only lead to more violence in society. It is essential to make the rich decisions here and for that
one requires critical thinking. Sometimes one is confronted with a complicated or controversial

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issue that can lead to a difference in opinions and conflict of interest. Confusing and unclear
terms can lead to vague understanding and poor decision making as asserted by Freeley and
Steinberg (2008). When handling a controversial issue like gun control within the classroom, the
teacher or instructor faces many constraints. He or she is worried about how the school, parents
and the media might think about the discussion of a controversial issue (Cowan. and Maitles,
2012).
The modern debate oscillates between the two positions—gun rights and gun control.
Americans keep on arguing over the Second Amendment and the scope of the right to keep and
bear arms. Gun supporters oppose any laws that impact their ability to buy or carry arms. Gun
controllers ask for effective local, state, and federal legislative bodies to regulate the sale of arms
as they can lead to gun-related violence. It is essential to understand the true meaning of the
Second Amendment and the circumstances when it was written and reconfigure it based on
modern needs.

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References
Cowan, P. and Maitles, H. (2012). Teaching Controversial Issues in the Classroom: Key Issues
and Debates. A&C Black, 1(1), 1–240.
Cornell, S., & Cornell, E. (2018). The Second Amendment and Firearms Regulation: A
Venerable Tradition Regulating Liberty While Securing Public Safety. American journal
of public health, 108(7), 867-868.
Freeley, A. J. and Steinberg, D.L. (2008). Argumentation and Debate. Cengage Learning, 1(1),
1–544.
Shusterman, N. (2018). What the Second Amendment really meant to the Founders, Washington
post Retrieved from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/02/22/what-the-
second-amendment-really-meant-to-the-founders/?utm_term=.e241c21bbf6b