Gun Control

Due to the recent tragedy in Newtown, the issue of gun control has sparked major public and government interest. It is a constitutional right for every citizen to bear arms, however in the recent decade many Americans have questioned the amendment's purpose. My immediate reaction to the school shooting was to immediately implement stricter gun laws, but thought was purely driven by emotions. When the government decides to tackle a very controversial issue such as gun control, it is important for both parties to step away from emotions and focus on the proper purpose of the government. This proper purpose is to satisfy and protect the common good of the people. I personally believe by reducing the access of weapons to the public, the common good will suffer less from violent crimes. Even with an universal law banning guns there still must be accommodations for people to still acquire weapons who use them for professional purposes. Proposed accommodations are mental health screenings and older age requirements. The success of gun control is very hard to portray because the date is very limited (The Wall Street Journal). However many 1st world nations such as Japan have significantly lower violent crimes that may be linked to extremely strict gun laws (The Atlantic). In the end, I am not advocating for any extreme political position, but I do hope to see the government try their hardest to combat this obvious issue.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324731304578191531343495520.html

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/a-land-without-guns-how-japan-has-virtually-eliminated-shooting-deaths/260189/