Taylor Richards

ENGL 2010
Jennifer Courtney
Position Paper / Photo Essay
2nd Amendment

Guns have been a part of the American society since the very first European settlers.
Above is a photo depicting the early settlers and how they push the Native-Americans out
with their guns.

Guns are used for self-defense, collecting, and recreational purposes. Guns are also used
in violent crimes, suicides, homicides, accidental discharges involving children and
adults. In this position paper I will explain to you why there is an absolute need for the
second amendment and the right to bear arms.

I will provide images and facts to help show the process of gun control, the Brady Law
and the 2nd amendment.

The managing director of public affairs at the National Rifle Association said The only
universe of people affected by gun control laws are law abiding Americans, since
criminals obtain their firearms on the black market (Arulanandam). This is why the
people who want to ban guns or get rid of the 2nd amendment should stop their argument.

Passed by congress on September 25th 1789 and ratified in 1791, the second amendment
was written and stated in our nations constitution, 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 is our fundamental right that belongs to all law-abiding
citizens. Guns will always be found on the streets. Criminals will always find a way to
get guns. We just cannot take them out of the hands of law abiding gun owners.

Hillary Clinton our 2016 presidential candidate has a firearm proposal and states, look
for ways to tighten the background checks, particularly checks done at gun shows and
online websites (Siddiqui). This proposal is a very good start I feel. Private sellers and
online sites should be at the top of the list to start cracking down on background checks
and hold up their part of the business end of gun sales. In 2013 there were approximately
4,000 guns up for sale online (Plumer). Im sure there were more then and definitely
more now.

We need harsher penalties and punishments for crimes used with guns. Several years ago
Obama issued a program in Richmond, VA called Project Exile. It said that if a violent
felon uses a gun to commit a crime, he/she will be prosecuted in a federal court and go to
prison for 5 years, no early parole or release. Murders committed with guns in Richmond
decreased by over 60% and in the first two years of the program alone, 350 armed felons
were taken off the streets (Trump). This is a great program that should be used in many
other cities. If it worked there why wouldnt it work in other cities?

I also feel that there should be harsher penalties for anyone found or caught with an
unregistered and/or illegally purchased or obtained gun. If you are found carrying an
illegal and/or unregistered gun the penalties should be so harsh you should be sentenced
to harsh penalties from the judicial law system that would make it so you would not want
to illegally carry a gun ever again and with out the proper paperwork trail and knowledge
of the gun you are carrying. These kinds of simple proposals should be taken into place
immediately. This would effectively help get guns off the streets and out of the hands of

the people that should not be carrying. It should almost be like drugs. If you are carrying
prescription drugs but dont have the paperwork to have those prescription drugs, than
you are carrying an illegal substance and should be taken into the laws hands. But, there
should be very harsh penalties for illegal carrying of a gun. Carrying a gun illegally is the
reason we are even talking about these gun laws. Why does this person have a gun? How
did he get it? What was he planning on using it for? Was it loaded? Where did he get
ammunition? These kinds of questions should be asked to the person who was carrying.
Also, this person should be prosecuted as if he was going to use it. Also, this person
should be punished for illegally obtaining it.

Gun safety is another top priority of mine for gun owners. Gun owners should need to go
through gun safety classes, pass the class to get their certificate and present this
certificate before being able to purchase a gun. Many of the accidental dischargers from
guns that have led to childrens deaths could have simply been stopped if the gun would
have been in a gun safe. This is something that you learn in a gun safety class. I
recommend everyone take a gun safety class.

Again this is something that doesnt happen to criminals who have obtained a gun on the
black market. There is no gun safety there.
We dont need gun confiscation to save lives. We can do that through common sense
gun reform (DeFilippis). I do believe this to be very much apart of the problem.
This is a perfect quote. Obviously there is an issue at hand with guns. But to take away
our 2nd amendment is not the answer. We need to keep the lives of the innocent protected
from the criminals that abuse the laws of America. Harsher penalties for carrying illegally
obtained guns and even harsher penalties for criminal activity with guns used. Harsher
penalties for the illegal sale of a gun, also needs to be enforced. But I will leave you with
this terrible image of what has happened in the past if the government decides to
confiscate all guns from its citizens.

Arunlandam, Andrew - ProQuest Staff. "Topic Overview: Gun Control." ProQuest LLC.
2015: n.pag. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Oct. 2015
Siddiqui, Sabrina. "Hillary Clinton Unveils Plan for Tougher Checks in Bid to Reduce..."
The Guardian. 06 Oct. 2015: 18. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
Plumer, Brad. Just How Easy Is It To Buy A Gun Over The Interent. The Washington
Post. 05 Aug 2013. WEB
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/05/is-it-really-so-easy-tobuy-a-gun-over-the-internet/
Trump, Donald. Protecting our Second Amendment 2015. WEB
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/second-amendment-rights
DeFilippis, Evan, and Devin Hughes. "Gun Safety's Middle Ground." Washington Post.
16 Oct. 2015: A.21. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.