In her essay, “Get a Knife, Get a Dog, but Get Rid of Guns”, Molly Ivins discusses the highly debated topic of gun control. She argues that guns are an unnecessary evil to all of humanity and that permitting them to inexperienced and unregulated citizens only spoils the national security of the United States of America. Ivins quotes the Second Amendment as saying that guns were primarily intended to be used by a “well-regulated militia”. Thus, she believes that anyone who wants to own a gun should be subject to extensive training: “That is the least, the very least, that should be required of those who are permitted to have a gun” (385). Ivins goes on to say that guns are extremely dangerous and they should be banned, or at the very least strictly regulated (384-386). While Ivins reasonably discusses the issue of gun control in her op-ed, she does not adequately support her claims with substantial evidence or research about the negative impacts that guns have had on our society. She also seems unwilling to be open-minded about the opinions of the opposing side, calling them “gun-nuts” with a power hang-up (386). In conclusion, Ivins’ essay is not effective in urging readers who are pro-gun to change their views and she does not help reinforce the beliefs of people who oppose firearms. Guns and their regulations have been the center of great controversy over the last few years due to unfortunate circumstances involving them. There is no doubt that many deaths,
Gun control is an extremely controversial issue in the United States, and the debates around this topic has started many decades ago. According to the article “Gun Rights vs. Gun control” by Brianna Gurciullo, these debates are fueled by the people who defend the gun rights and the people who advocate in favor of gun control. It has been difficult to prove that gun ownership is directly related to an increase in violence due to the fact that researches tend to disagree on the impact of gun ownership in the American society. These debates tend to be brought to the spotlight whenever there is a mass shooting in the United States, which according to Abbey Oldham, who is a reporter from the PBS News Hour, happens quite frequently. However, organizations, such as the National Rifle Association (NRA), defend that the laws for gun control violate the Second Amendment of the constitution, which states “the right of the people to keep and bear arms” stated Gurciullo. Due to the distinct interpretations of the constitution and the difficulty to agree on the best approach to tackle the issue, this controversy seem to be almost unsolvable.
Gun control in America is one of the most fiercely debated topics in today’s political sphere. Nearly everyone has an opinion and there is a mind-boggling amount of information typically discussed regarding the matter. Media hot takes and campaign talking points aside, far too many lives have been lost to gun violence. A total of 12,902 in 2016, to be exact. The fact that more lives have been lost to gun violence in the United States this year than the 5,000 lost in the almost 10-year war effort overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan is appalling. Is sensible and reasonable gun control progress attainable in our near future? That remains to be seen, however it is my intention to respectfully dissect an argument presented by none other than an essay
In America guns have been a part of the country’s society since it’s birth. Throughout history the citizens of the US have used firearms to protect the nation, protect their families, hunt for food and engage in sporting activities. The issue of Guns and gun control is complex. Weighing the rights and liberties of the individual against the welfare and safety of the public has always been a precarious balancing act. In the United States, gun control is one of these tumultuous issues that has both sides firmly entrenched in their positions. Those parties in favor of gun ownership and the freedom to use and keep arms, rely on the fact that the provision for such rights is enshrined in their constitution. In this climate of
Taya Kyle, the author of the article “American Sniper Widow: Gun Control Won’t Protect Us”, believes that there are two sides of the argument on gun control. People can use statistics, facts, and real life examples to argue that there should be stricter control of guns in the US, but they cannot eliminate the emotional side of the story. While in the last two decades, violent crime rates have actually been reduced in the US, fears have gone up. Anyone can be a victim of a violent crime because if another person decides to do harm, they will do it under any circumstances.
America needs to institute, and initiate gun control laws throughout the entire nation. But not everybody who inhabits the United States believes in regulating arms. Those who are against establishing gun laws argue that gun control directly infringes upon their “right to bear arms” granted to them by the 2nd Amendment. Anti gun control supporters, such as the National Rifle Association, often claim that the act of regulating guns is a sufficient reason why such an Amendment was introduced in the constitution; to protect themselves from any and all forms of violation of civil liberties and freedom. Supporters of anti gun laws are unwilling to welcome any interpretations of the 2nd Amendment that do not match up “word for word,” as was written in the Bill of Rights.
Should gun laws in America be more limited? This has been a question for generations and generations to come. In 1993, Molly Ivins, a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegraph, wrote an essay called Get a Knife, Get a Dog, but Get Rid of Guns. In the essay, Ivins expresses her judgment on gun control. Ivins believes that guns should be banned, or at least restricted, in the United States. The way Ivins uses evidence throughout her writing is beneficial in which she provides multiple points of view on the matter.
Molly Ivins’s “Get a Knife, Get a Dog, but get Rid of Guns” is the authors personal opinion on how guns should be banned from public use; she argues guns only kill that it would be safer to carry a knife or get a dog to protect us. She uses the Second Amendment to back up her argument about guns being only for the well-trained militia. The claim of the argument is Guns are a Danger, so it’s safer to get a knife or a dog. Ivins’s argument is unclear without addressing the main reasons why guns are bad overall.
The debate over gun control has been raging through the American political systems for years. On one side, there is the National Rifle Association (NRA) and 2nd Amendment-citing citizens who use their firearms for hunting and self-defense. On the other, there is Handgun Control Inc. (HCI) and followers of the Brady Campaign who want to ban guns on the basis that they are dangerous. Both sides have strong arguments, anchored in historical precedent and statistical analysis. Anti-gun control lobbyists’ arguments include the guarantee of the 2nd Amendment, the definition of “militia” as any adult male, self-defense, the relative uselessness of permits and regulations, and court cases in favor of firearm possession. Pro-gun control activists
Throughout this paper I will be challenging the arguments of Jeff McMahan’s paper Why Gun ‘Control Is Not Enough where he concludes that the only effective form of gun ‘control’ would be for The United States to make it illegal to shoot a gun of any type. He begins this argument by citing the “central pillar” of the argument for those who are anti-gun control is that when more individuals own guns, there is a mindset that the entire population is safer. With this logic, it can be inferred that citizens feeling unsafe in the current environment of their country are those seeking protection, one way being through the purchase and ownership of a firearm. Safety is imperative part of ensuring peace of mind, which then impact the peace of the
Guns are one of the most controversial and debated-upon topics in America today. In the Constitution, Americans are given “the right to bear arms,” and many Americans are proud of and believe strongly in that right. Though, that right has been constantly misused. Homicides by gun are at a higher rate in the United States than any other country in the world, mass shootings are at an all time high (many of which have occurred in the past two years alone), and terrorism has been at an all-time high. So, naturally, it is a topic that needs to be discussed. In the articles Change Your Gun Laws, America (1), author Fareed Zakaria provides the readers with some harrowing statistics on guns and insight over how the U.S. laws on guns need to be managed.
In the essay “Get a Knife, Get a Dog, but Get Rid of Guns” by Molly Ivins the author argues that guns should be banned. She argues that guns should only be owned by the military as that is her interpretation of the phrase a well-regulated militia found in the second amendment. She also argues that there is no use for guns anymore and that there only use is to kill. Finally she states that, for protection, people should get either a knife or a dog. Although many people die as a result of gun violence, banning guns would not solve this problem because criminals can always obtain guns illegally and it would violate the second amendment taking a constitutional right away from citizens.
Gun control has a history dating back to 1791, when the Second Amendment of the Constitution was ratified. However, more recently, the debate over gun control has escalated into a much more public issue to which many citizens can relate. After all, stories about incidents involving guns appear frequently today in newspapers and on television or the radio. One could say that the debate started with the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968, which banned ownership of guns by certain groups of people and regulated the sale of guns. Since then, two main groups have gradually appeared: people who oppose strict federal
Gun Control: Overview The issue of gun control has been debated for a long time, probably ever since
Author Thomas Sowell makes a case for the opposition of gun control throughout his article entitled “The Great Gun Control Fallacy.” In the face of the countless shootings that seem to dominate the news constantly, Sowell argues that there is no greater threat to the safety of the masses than the removal of guns from the hands of law-abiding citizens. The piece delves into many different aspects and ideas on the argument, but perhaps most importantly, it discusses statistics and data about high crime rates in areas with a large amount of gun control, addresses and rebukes a counterargument that the opposing side might use, and closes with a thought provoking statement on whether or not guns or people are the real problem in today’s
The controversial issue of gun control is one of the most debatable topics among politicians and civilians alike. This is because of the complexity of gun control and the long history that is related to the subject. Gun control is typically an effort, by the government, to create legislation that regulates the sale and use of firearms within the country. There are various arguments that surround this topic which include gun-related violence, accidents, self-defense, murders, suicide, constitutional rights, and so on. James Q. Wilson, a professor who has taught at Pepperdine University, Harvard University, and the University of California, Los Angeles, and a published author of several books, take a negative stance on the subject of gun control. Wilson contributed to the gun control debate in the last few years with his written op-ed article. According to Wilson, there is no possible method to eradicate the hundreds and millions of guns that exist within the country, restrictive gun laws will not significantly affect the United States’ murder rate, and that guns play an important role in self-defense in everyday lives. Contrary to what Wilson believes, strict gun control is necessary and should be enforced to ensure public safety because gun laws have the power to produce a positive outcome in the long run, reduce gun-related violence, and reduce the numerous risks that gun ownership open.