Legal Issues with Gun Control

Legal Issues with Gun Control

Introduction

After the assassination of President John Kennedy in the year 1963, various attempts were made for enacting federal gun control laws by anti-control lobby that was headed by the National Rifle Association (NRA). However, after thirty years of continuous efforts the first most influential federal firearms reform legislation was developed that was The Gun Control Act of 1968.

Discussion

Gun Ownership

Approximately 140 to 200 million guns are owned privately by individual living in the US. However, these statistics do not provide a true picture as there is no specific federal law that mandates firearms be registered. Out of these 140 to 200 million firearms, there are an estimated 45 to 55 million of handguns. Furthermore, handguns are being manufactured with an increasing rate in the United States and also a large number of guns are also imported across the national boundary. There has been increase in the gun violence in Washington and also the possible new gun laws have faced numerous challenges; therefore, it is important to assess businesses that are selling and owning firearms (www.saf.org).

Approximately 16,272 people were murdered in the United States in the year 2008. It is important to determine that out of these 16,272 murders, 67% were committed using firearms. The results of a study were publishes in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology that highlighted there were around 989,883 incidents per year in which US civilians owned guns for self-defense against various crimes (www.saf.org)..

Handgun Controversy

There is no particular definition that describes the meaning of gun control, it ranges from merely registering for selling the new firearms, to issuing permits and licenses for possessing firearms. There are also certain states that have completely prohibited possessing private ownership of guns; however, these are likely to result in various other constitutional problems. however, the decision was made on the basis that with these forms of gun control center and by restricting the use of guns, state will be able to keep the guns out of the hands of those people who are likely to misuse or abuse it; thus, this will lead to reducing numerous gun related crimes and accidents. On the contrary, it is believed that guns are required by people for defending themselves and others. This disagreement between possessing private handguns are likely to result in legal issues that will assess whether it is constitutionally permissible to regulate or ...