Criminal Justice
A. Briefly discuss the major or key provisions (rights afforded) in the Bill of Rights.
B. Research the following topic and write a 1- 3 page Argumentative Essay on the following Topic.
1. Will more Gun Control laws reduce the use of gun violence among youth or would it just be an unreasonable restraint on the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms?
c. Please be sure to provide citations inside of the body of your paper (in APA format) and a Reference page at the end of your paper also in APA format.
ANSWER
Bill of Rights
The general provisions of the bill of rights include the ten amendments of the U.S constitution. The first ten amendments of the US Constitution guarantee citizens’ essential rights and freedom. The Bills of Rights comprise the guarantees of civil liberties and state power. The Bill of rights limits the power of the federal government to protect US citizens. The first amendment restricts the government from interfering with religion and freedom of speech. The second amendment that well-constituted militias are the safeguard of liberty. The Third prevents the quartering of soldiers in private homes. The fourth safeguards citizens against unreasonable seizures and searches of private property. The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth develops various guarantees regarding criminal justice and legal proceedings. The eight states that the other amendments are not the only rights guaranteed to citizens while the tenth states that any power not explicitly passed on to the government should be left to the states.
More Gun control laws will reduce gun violence and increase public safety. Considerably, in the United States, the number of mass murders has increased with the majority of the individuals owning assault weapons. The right to have firearms was added in the U.S constitution as part of the Bill of Rights in 1791 (Halbrook, 2019). The country adopted the second amendment where each state had a militia that had been composed of ordinary citizens that acted as part-time soldiers (Johnson et al., 2017). These militias were highly regulated and were subject to programs such as training and periodic military exercises. However, in modern times the gun control legislation and licensing practices have been inconsistent thus indicating limited effectiveness (Winkler, 2018). For instance, the laws governing an individual’s capacity to carry or own a concealed firearm vary from one state to another.
Some certain inadequacies and loopholes have threatened public health and enabled many individuals to gain guns without purchasing from the licensed seller (Timmons, 2020). Carefully developed and tailored gun controls can lower gun violence since gun availability of guns has led to ordinary people promoting violence. Gun control laws will help develop a culture of gun safety and lower access to dangerous weapons.
References
Halbrook, S. P. (2019). The Founders’ Second Amendment: Origins of the right to bear arms. Rowman & Littlefield.
Johnson, N. J., Kopel, D. B., Mocsary, G. A., & O’Shea, M. P. (2017). Firearms law and the second amendment: regulation, rights, and policy. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.
Timmons, L. (2020). The Second Amendment Demands Gun Regulation. Available at SSRN 3525805.
Winkler, A. (2018). Is the Second Amendment Becoming Irrelevant. Ind. LJ, 93, 253.
