tions about the meaning of the Second Amendment are at the heart of the argument over gun control. Gun-rightsadvocates maintain that the amendment guarantees every individual the right to own a firearm without restrictions. Gun-control supporters contend that the Second Amend-ment’s guarantee refers to state supported militias, not to individuals” (Bender & Leone 74).“Every 2 years, more Americans are killed by guns at home than were killed in all the years of the Vietnam War” (Safran 17). Gun control seems like an obvious answer to one of our country’s most serious and catastrophic problems. Yet the concept of gun control remains to be one of the most controversial issues in the United States today. There are only two sides to the issue: Those for gun control and those opposed to gun control. Although the 2nd amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms, there have been many laws passed for gun control in recent history. Gun control advocates and associations that promote gun control have fought numerous lawsuits in court trying to regulate the sales of firearms in our country. Advocates of gun control practice lobbying, which is a method of working to influence their local representatives and legislators. Years after James Brady was shot in 1981 trying to protect president Ronald Reagan, his wife Sarah Brady was successful in passing the Brady bill through congress in 1993. The Brady bill requires a seven-day waiting period to conduct background checks on all gun purchases. Other proposals that have been recently passed by congress are the ban on assault rifles in 1994 and the limitation of certain kinds of ammunition (Kelly 142). Handgun Control, Inc., an association for gun control, has proposed many laws to help keep handguns out of the wrong hands. Some of the proposed laws are the following:“A waiting period and background check; convicted felons and drug users could not buy...
