Research Paper [Obama Gun Control Proposal]

“My biggest frustration so far is the fact that this society has not been willing to take some basic steps to keep guns out of the hands of people who can do unbelievable damage”, claims President Barack Hussein Obama (Horwitz). Mr. Barack Obama and his highly intelligent team came out with a very interesting proposal that claims it will reduce mass shootings as well as enforce restrictions on all types buying guns and all gun accessories. President Obama’s new gun proposal mainly focuses on closing most, if not all of the the loopholes that have been found by our United States government throughout the entire process of background checks. This highly esteemed proposal also directly pinpoint massive changes in multiple situations throughout our country's current regulations. These consist of helping all of the schools increase their security throughout the country, develop plans awareness plans for emergency situations, increase the amount of mental health tests given,  train at least an additional 5,000 mental health awareness members, completely reinstate the ban on military-style assault weapons, ban any given individual  to purchase magazines over 10 rounds, as well as launching a gun safety campaign that will be promoted to encourage responsible gun ownerships throughout the country (Summary). Although guns often do assist people in committing murder and Obama’s gun proposal aimed at fighting to prevent that from continuing, the people of this free country have a righteous right to hold the second Amendment and bear arms. The Second Amendment  states that “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.”
	The first documented federal gun control laws did not start taking place until the 1920s and 1930s (Goforth). With that being said, over the past 80 years, Congress has written a series of very controversial gun laws(Goforth). The first gun-control laws were created by the Georgia Legislature. This legislature outlawed not only the use of handguns, but also the possession of handguns. This ruling was overrun and discarded by the Supreme Court. The shooting of President Ronald Reagan and White House Press Secretary James Brady led to the “Brady Bill”, which required gun buyers to complete a background check and undergo a waiting period before purchasing a handgun. This bill would ensure that people don’t just go buy a gun and shoot one out of anger. An estimated 156 million Americans received background checks for purchasing a firearm for the duration of 18 years after the “Brady Bill” (Goforth). In the year 2013 alone there was an average of 15 million denials over the purchasing of firearms because the person trying to buy the firearm got denied. Reason being their  name was too similar to a name that had been previously blacklisted by the government from having gun rights (Lott).
	Interesting, Obama’s gun control proposal was overruled by the Senate. The proposal surprisingly failed on April 17th by a mere five votes (Keefe). Moreover, the Senate blocked and rejected proposals that would ban certain military-style assault rifles and limit the size of ammunition magazines to 10 rounds (Summary) “Ninety Percent of Democrats in the Senate voted for that idea, but it’s not going to happen because 90 percent of Republicans just voted against it” Obama said, adding that they had “caved to the pressure (Keefe)”.
	There is a saying that goes “The people who do it are usually not the ones who you think would be capable of doing it.” Most murderers are not who most people think they are. According to Jennifer Schwartz’s survey, they’re not sociopaths. The offender is usually a typical male that dropped out of high school, has a previous arrest record, and lives in a widely populated area. The results turned out to be a young black male, living in an urban environment (Judia).
	The NRA otherwise known as the National Rifle Association is planning what is called the “Fight of the Century (Horowitz).” The NRA came up with the term SHOT which stands for Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor, and Conference. It is a competition that attracts over 50,000 gun dealers, manufacturers, and enthusiasts. They all attend to see the latest weapons. Booths usually exhibit military-styled weapons and high capacity clips. The NRA released a video against tight restrictions on weapons and called Obama an “Elitist hypocrite” for having Secret Service protect his two daughters at school while saying that he is “skeptical” about armed guards in all schools (Horowitz). Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s fiery executive Vice President, said
The media has been on a vicious tirade to slander and intimated you, me, and our fellow NRA members, we’ve been called terrorists and worse.They blamed us and our second amendment freedoms for the actions of violent criminals and madmen. Our lives have been threatened. (Horowitz)
	After mass shootings, gun proposals often fly through the roof. Within the first year of the Columbine shooting that occurred in Littleton, Colorado there were over 800 new bills involving guns were proposed by lawmakers.(Francie) The only obvious explanation for the failure of the bills is the fact that there is a lot of controversy over them.
	In my opinion there is no reason to take away guns from anybody and everybody. There is only the reason to take away guns from certain people, such as convicted felons,  sociopaths, psychopaths, people with major disabilities, children, and non United States Citizens. If one is a law abiding citizen, there is absolutely no reason for the federal government to take away his or her gun. Guns are used for a variety of widely enjoyed activities such as hunting, target practice, collecting antiques, and or modern firearms.
Our guns are killing Americans everyday. Have you ever heard of Operation Fast and Furious? Operation Fast and Furious allows illegal distribution of firearms through companies that would go to drug cartels. Some of these companies and Federal Agencies include the Bureau of Alcohol, the Bureau of Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and unfortunately there are many more.These guns were used to kill U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry during a gunbattle in December, 2010. Operation Fast and Furious is something Americans are still baffled about even though the government has continuously apologized and have spoke about it on numerous occasions.
	Honestly, guns really do make it easier to kill people, there is absolutely no questioning that. However, it’s not the gun that kills people, it’s people that use guns to kill people. Guns do not magically grow body parts and decide who they kill. Even if guns were outlawed and the Second Amendment became obsolete, criminals would still find their ways to manufacture guns or get them on the black market. Additionally, one can kill others without using a gun. In the end, gun ownership all comes down to the responsibility and self control of the owner. Saying guns kill people is like saying spoons make people fat.
	Not all mass murders have been from the use guns. An Event during the Syrian Civil War is a perfect example. On May 25, 2012 the war led to the killing of 108 civilians and injured over 300 . The Syrian Military used knives as well as guns to murder. Many of the deceased had their throats slashed and skulls crushed. This was known as the Houla Massacre (Houla).
	December 14, 2015 was an extremely sad day for America, but what about other countries? On this day there were 28 deaths in Newtown, Connecticut. Americans remorsefully often hear the name “Sandy Hook”. The perpetrator Adam Peter Lanza who was 20 years old, went to Sandy Hook Elementary targeting students and staff. What most American’s don’t know is that on the same day, there was another school killing in china. A 36 year old villager who lived in Chenpeng stabbed 23 children and an elderly woman (Chenpeng).
	I really do not believe that all gun control is bad. Most of the restrictions we Americans have are very well needed on purchasing guns. For example, there is no reason for one to have a Rocket Propelled Grenade or a Minigun in their closet. however when it comes to assault rifles, the majority of people who have these purchase them for either hunting, competing in contests, or simply because they really enjoy collecting them. Their shouldn’t be a restriction on these.
	For all of the reasons listed above, there should not be any limits to gun control unless you have had a previous arrest record for assault, have been a convicted felon, a sociopath or psychopath, have a mental illness, a child, or not a United States citizen. Being able to own and use a weapon freely in a positive manner is all about self control. Guns are not always bad unless you have bad intentions and do bad things while using  them. Although guns help aid people in killing others, Americans should be able to hold the Second Amendment. Again, this Amendment 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.” President Barack Obama’s gun control proposal prevents Americans from using their weapons freely.


Works Cited
Francie, Diep. “How Many Gun Bills Pass After Mass Shootings.” Bills After Mass Shooting 18 Sept. 2013 <http://popsci.com/science/article/2013-09/how-many-gun-bills-actual-pass-after-mass-shootingsl>
Goforth, Wes. “History of Gun control in the U.S.” Gun Control History 19 Feb. 2013 <http://krcrtv.com/Guns-In-America/History-of-gun-control-in-the-U-S/18563348>
Horwitz, Sari. “NRA Planning ‘Fight of the Century’ against Obama” NRA fights gun control 16 Jan. 2013 <http://washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/06/16/nra-planning-the-fight-of-the-century-against-obama>
Judia, John. “Gun control is waste of precious time.” Gun control is a waste of time 10 Apr. 2013 <http://newrepublic.com/article/112879/gun-control-barack-obamas-plan-waste-time>
Lott, John. “Obama’s Gun Proposal Ignore the Facts” Obama’s Proposal Ignores Facts 18 Jan. 2013 <http://usnews.com/debate-club/should-obamas-gun-control-proposals-be-enacted/obamas-gun-control-proposals-be-enacted/obamas-gun-proposals-ignored-the-facts>
MacGillis, Alec “This is how the NRA ends” How NRA ends 28 May 2013 <http://newrepublic.com/article/113292/nras-end-real-gun-control-movement-has-arrived>
Keefe O’ Edand Philip Rucker “Gun-Control overhaul is defeated in Senate” Proposal Fails in Senate 17 Apr. 2013 <http://washingtonpost.com/politics/gun-control-overahaul-is-defeated-in-senate/2013/04/17/57eb028a-a77c-lle2-b029-8fb7e977ef71_story.html>
“Summary: President Obama’s Gun-Control Proposals” What’s in Obama’s Proposal <http://ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/summary-president-obama-gun-proposals.aspx>
“Chenpeng Village Primary School Stabbing” School Stabbing in China <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenpeng_Village_Primary_School_stabbing>