The Right to Bear Arms

Second Amendment Facts Proposed on Sept. 25, 1789 Ratified on Dec. 15, 1791 Actual words in the 2nd Amendment: “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.” When created, many state constitutions required men to own a gun and supplies needed to operate that firearm

The Debate The wording of the amendment is what caused the debate from the beginning Gun control advocates state that it is meant for state militias Firearm enthusiasts argue that it gives everyone a right to own and operate a gun

The Current Debate With the rising cases of gun violence should there be stricter rules on purchasing firearms Parker v. District of Columbia addressed the issue of handgun. Should handguns be prohibited but guns/riffles be allowed? Ruling would say prohibiting the ownership of handguns was unconstitutional

What does it mean? For gun control: Against gun control: Individuals are for the restriction of firearm use and ownership Against gun control: Individuals are against any type of restriction in legal firearm ownership and use

Shootings that have lead to gun control reform Columbine High School Massacre Occurred April 20, 1999 Senior students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were responsible Attack included a fire bomb, propane tanks converted to bombs in the cafeteria, 99 explosives and bombs rigged in cars Killed 12 students and 1 teacher Dylan and Eric both killed themselves afterwards Sparked a debate on gun laws and the youth

2012 Aurora Shooting Shooting took place inside a Century movie theatre during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises James Eagan Holmes was the sole suspect Set off tear gas in the theatre and shot into the crowd killing 12 and injuring 70 Holmes also reported “booby-trapping” his apartment with explosives Reportedly called himself “the Joker” Caused a debate on the sale of semi-automatic weapons and mental illness

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Occurred Dec. 14, 2012 Adam Lanza was the sole suspect in the shooting Killed 20 children and 6 adults The children were between ages six and seven Before the school shooting he had killed his mother in their home Sparked debate on mental illness and gun control including: Background checks Semi-automatic firearms and magazines

So….what is gun control?!? Gun control does not always mean everyone is going to have their guns to the government Gun control is limiting a specific group of people from owning and purchasing a gun legally i.e. Individuals who struggle with mental illness Individuals with a criminal background etc.

Statistics 47% of American adults keep a firearm on their property 26% support a ban on handguns On average guns are responsible for around 30,000 deaths a year, more than half of these being suicides There are 280-300 million guns in private hands in America Around 8 million have a concealed carry license

Questions to Ask…. In your opinion, should we in the U.S. have gun control or not? What would the U.S. be like if guns were prohibited? Are we safer as a society when people have their concealed carry license? Based on what you know, what kind of gun control should be put into law? List three arguments for gun control and three arguments against gun control.