Gun Control: Should the Second Amendment of the Constitution be Updated

According to the F.B.I., 14,369 murders involving firearms took place in the year 2013 within the United States. We as Americans have the right to â€Å"bear arms,† however there can be some changes to at least try to minimize these casualties. The 2nd Amendment states â€Å"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to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.† This may be outdated now that we have a strong military (that is our â€Å"well regulated Militia,†) to protect our security, but can a right be scratched off the Constitution because of someone’s interpretation?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Perhaps there can be some changes to the laws to determine who can own a firearm and what types of weapons can be sold. In Arizona and many other states there are no permits required to purchase any type of firearm. While other states have more laws to determine who can own a gun. New York requires you to have a permit to purchase and then register a handgun. The permit may be issued if the applicant is over 18 years of age, has not been convicted of a felony or spent more than one year in prison, and is not an addict, alcoholic or convicted of a narcotics offense. New York also requires the gun stores selling rifles, shotguns, or handguns, provide with the gun a locking device and a label on safe storage. As of March, 2001, any firearms dealer licensed in the state of New York must provide to the state police, along with the original receipt of sale, a sealed container enclosing a shell casing from the handgun sold within ten days of the transfer of a handgun.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gun control groups are requesting a bill that would create a national handgun licensing and registration system, and that would extend the Brady law to the secondary market of handgun purchases such as gun shows. Under the Brady II legislation it will be illegal to sell, deliver, or otherwise transfer a handgun to someone who does not have an FFL (Federal Firearms License), unless the dealer verifies that the buyer has a valid state handgun license. It will also make it a violation of the law for anyone who does not hold an FFL to obtain, either through purchase or as a gift, a handgun or handgun ammunition unless they possess a valid state handgun license. Brady II would require state officials to set up and manage a license sys... ...fense is not an acceptable reason. In the years 1996-1997, Australia destroyed almost 700,000 guns, which are about one-seventh the guns in Australia. In America that number would be around 30 million. By 1998, homicides by firearms were down thirty percent in Australia. In 1991 and 1995 Canada established new gun laws reducing the number of deaths caused by guns to a thirty year low. The UK banned handguns and destroyed the guns the government bought from the citizens. Within a year later, gun-related violations have decreased by thirteen percent in England and Wales. Some say that Americans are fifty times more likely than British citizens to be killed by a firearm. Many people in America do not want to see a ban on firearms, but if that is not the answer what is? Perhaps what we need is for the anti-gun groups and the pro-gun groups to come together and reach some sort of a compromise that could help reduce our nation’s homicide rates. References: National Center for Health Statistics Center for Disease Control and Prevention FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) NRA (National Rifle Association) John McCain @ mccain.senate.gov www.guncite.com www.converge.org