Dr. David Childs, Ph.D.
Northern Kentucky University
Second Amendment
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 famous western radio and later television series entitled GunSmoke is an iconic film that perpetuated the American myth of the old west. It celebrates the quick drawing Marshall Dillon who settles justice on his own terms by shooting and killing all of the bad guys. American movies celebrate and glorify gun toting heroes, the carefree attitude of the cowboy and his gun. However, guns in reality do not always bring about such a positive outcome. GunSmoke Episode https://tinyurl.com/y96ld49t
In contrast, an NPR article by Leila Fidel from November 11, 2018 was entitled “Reporting On Mass Shootings: A Familiar Heartbreaking Script” https://tinyurl.com/y8xpwrla. The article highlights the recent slaughter of 12 innocent people at a bar and grill in Thousand Oaks, California, characterizing it as an “all too familiar script.” Even though these scenes are becoming common place, that does not take from the fact that innocent lives were once again taken, all too soon. People lost friends and loved ones and have to pick up the pieces and figure out how to go on living. When mass shootings take place such as the ones in Las Vegas, Orlando, Sandy Hook and Virginia Tech, questions and discussions resurface such as “why” and “how could we let this happen again?” Here is a list of mass shootings in US from a 2018 New York Times article https://tinyurl.com/yag3h2at.
A hot button topic in the history of the United States is centered on the right of American citizens to have guns (lots of guns and as many as one wants). Supporters of gun control push for stricter firearm laws. This includes implementing more stringent background checks and longer waiting periods for those purchasing guns. They also push for mandatory child safety locks and a limit of one handgun purchase per month. They further push for raising the legal age limit for gun ownership to age 21 from the current age of 18. Advocates of gun rights argue that the above mentioned kind of legislation infringes on the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens.
Some people read the second amendment as their American right to bear as many arms as they so wish, as long as they have a permit. With the rise in gun violence and mass shootings this has been a contentious topic. The United States is “one of 6 countries that make up more than half of gun deaths worldwide.” That is, “half of all gun-related deaths in 2016 occurred in six nations — Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Guatemala” (https://tinyurl.com/yc6ygen3, 2018).
Has gun violence become a part of our identity? With the proliferation of shows like The Walking Dead and classic movies like The Godfather or even the popularity of combat video games like Assassin’s Creed violence does seem to be ingrained in the very fabric of what is means to be American. Perhaps these forms of entertainment hearken back to the romanticism of the old west and the myth of the fearless lawman, as well as outlaws who were immortalized by their quick draw of the gun. The golden age of radio and television was full of westerns that glorified the cowboy and depicted native americans as savages who deserved to be shot and killed.
Perhaps our obsession with guns comes from a rising fear of people who are different from us (Racially, ethnically, culturally or economically), what scholars call a fear of “the other.” Or perhaps it is a legitimate concern for increasingly unsafe neighborhoods and more firearms are necessary. The old adage goes something like this “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” But if people did not have access to the guns in the first place they would not be able to commit mass murders or kill people to settle a simple dispute.
This is an important topic for discussion in social studies classrooms, as future generation of citizens in the US will have to figure out how to solve the rising complexity of issues surrounding gun violence that comes in the form of: Mass shootings, African Americans being killed by law enforcement and a rise in street violence. Below are some lesson plans, articles and links teachers can use to foster lessons and discussions about the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms.
TEACHER RESOURCES
The Culture of Violence in the American West Myth versus Reality
https://tinyurl.com/ybkeouss
Second Amendment Lesson Plan
https://tinyurl.com/y9uqu57g
Teaching the Bill of Rights: The Second Amendment
https://tinyurl.com/ybzhg3ag
Interactive Constitution
https://tinyurl.com/yautek7d
California Bar Shooting Leaves 12 dead, Including Sheriff’s Sergeant, Police Say
https://tinyurl.com/ydxjlck6
The Terrible Numbers That Grow with Each Mass Shooting
https://tinyurl.com/yb8ltuea
Mass Shootings in the United States
https://tinyurl.com/y7chy9eb
There’s a Gun for Every American. But Less Than a Third Own Guns.
https://tinyurl.com/yc3do5hd
8 Charts That Explain America’s Gun Culture
https://tinyurl.com/y8bgb5eq
American Guns in Ten Charts
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41488081
How US Gun Culture Compares With the World in Five Charts
https://tinyurl.com/y8qot95z
The article was very well written. I however do not agree with the opinion that is presented. The media provides a skewed view of gun ownership. They make it look like you can go into a store and walk out with one just by handing over cash. They discuss all these mass shootings that are happening in gun free zones. In any area that is a gun free zone this is just asking for criminals to commit crimes there since there won’t be any punishments. In reality the people pushing for stronger gun reform are only punishing the law abiding citizens the right of protecting their self. Criminals don’t follow laws putting more into affect will only hurt and stop those who follow them.
Gun violence is an undeniable epidemic in American society today. Innocent people are being murdered by gun-toters daily, and it is the responsibility of both the government and citizens to take a stand against gun violence. The issue with the “right to bear arms” defense is that it is a misinterpreted version of the Second Amendment. This amendment constituting the right to a well-regulated militia with the freedom to keep and bear arms was made to limit the power of the government. The right to bear arms is to keep the government from controlling the people. Furthermore, there are not strong enough regulations for purchasing and owning a firearm. There are not strong enough background checks for mental health, and there are no regulations on purchasing firearms from a gun show. There are also illegal black market gun trades that must be investigated and stopped. In order for America to be safe, we have to take a stand against organizations such as the NRA that heavily promote gun ownership and use.
This article hit home for me. I have own multiple guns and firmly believe that a human has the right to own a gun. However, the amount of shootings and terrible things that happen because of guns is outrageous and disgusting to me. Along with that I do not believe that gun control is going to help us. The real problem is people and their wicked hearts. We need to make rules about crazy people owning guns. The real problem lies in the hearts of people and not in the weapons they use to wreck lives.
This article was very well written to bring forth all ideas, and make the reader question along. Last year in the spring semester I attended a school located in the center of a small town. A towns person got on campus and was holding a large object and weapons believed to be guns to hunt squirrels on our campus. Students immediately felt unsafe because a week before a school shooting happened in a different state. Everyone was texting and calling anyone they knew on campus and telling them to go to safety. I was in the science building a building that never locks. Students in the building went to the only room with a keypad lock on the top floor. A couple of guys pushed a book shelf against the door. No one knew if we were endanger or not, about a half hour later a email was sent from the school calling a lock down. In the end, no one was harmed and authorities took the towns person away. After this experience I feel the right to bare arms is best for protection.
This is such a touchy subject in today’s society. I’ve grown up around guns ever since I was 10 years old. Coming from a family being surrounded by guns and even owning several for myself, I don’t feel that as citizens we should lose our guns but maybe have stricter gun processes. I’m even okay with the age of owing guns rising from 18 to 21. I feel that there are issues and flaws to both sides of this debate. I really think that the term “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” is true to some of the points made in this article about how we are afraid of people who may look different than us whether religiously or culturally.
The ongoing debate over gun control is an exceptionally difficult one that has lasted many years. This debate is a perfect example of what we have been discussing in class recently and reading about in the Sensoy text that everyone has an opinion and that opinions are not the same as informed knowledge. This is where we see people forming arguments with the use of anecdotal evidence- and where informed knowledge is especially critical and needed in both sides of the argument. There are many variables in this debate and people can get really fired up because they allow this anecdotal evidence that they use to back up their arguments and they feel so strongly that their opinion is fact that when challenged they get very upset and defensive. Some interesting information that I pulled from the article and its links were that 75% of gun owners believe that owning a gun is essential to their freedom. Another interesting statistic was that 4 out of 10 people live in homes with guns. The article mentions that one of the reasons gun violence is so high in the US is because American culture celebrating and glorifying gun toting heroes. I disagree; I personally do not think that our culture is a central cause of gun violence- there are other countries where movies and videogames are violent and glorified such as the godfather, walking dead and shooter videogames but they have less gun violence or mass shootings. I also personally think that making gun laws stricter will not have a significant impact on gun violence. My logic, which I’m not suggesting is fact, purely my opinion, is that there are already so many weapons in circulation and that there are so many ways to get them whether through legal or illegal channels, that if someone really wants a gun, they will get one regardless of the proper channel. My take on the situation is that it is so far from being in control I do not have much faith that it can be resolved. It makes the most sense that one solution, although it wouldn’t provide short term results, would be to educate our youth the best we can on the second amendment, what its original intentions were, causes of gun violence and its’ effects and what gun control means for the people.
As a avid enthusiast, and owner of may varying types of firearms I am against most forms of gun control because its authoritarian, unwarranted, and holds varying degrees of success or failure that may not make it worth it. I think gun violence is less related to gun culture such as movies and games, and more so related to poverty and the depravity of man. The right to gun ownership is fundamentally granted in the Bill of Rights and believe even despite homicide rates that it should not be infringed.
I love this article mostly for starting off with the second amendment. Many people just feel like those who want gun control just want to “take all the guns away”, which is NOT the majority case! The second amendment was written when guns took minutes to reload after shooting one bullets, and there wasn’t a strong national military and the country relied on citizen’s guns for protection from both people and other governments. It is outdated and needs modification.
I found this article interesting and I like that it was informative rather than opinionated. I do have an opinion on this argument; however as a teacher I wouldn’t express my opinion to my students. I think it’s important to teach my future students about arguments like this one that are currently going on in the world. I feel that it’s important to be informative to students and let them make their own educated opinion on the situation, rather than telling them what you think is right.
I think the historical context of any aspect of the Constitution and Bill of Rights is something that must be understood by a voting population. I have my own preconceived biases on the subject of gun ownership but it is important for citizens to understand the Constitution is a living document that can and will change based on the needs of the society. Opportunities to teach and learn through articles like these are crucial.