One of the most
debated topics for Congress in recent months has been the creation of stricter
gun laws.
Since the inception of our country, a person’s right to bear
arms has been a big issue amongst lawmakers. Over time, people have argued that
gun laws should be stricter due to the change in technology. However, this has
lead to a lot of criticism of people who want to protect their rights. Congress
has, from time to time, brought up various bills that would restrict gun use,
with no widespread legislation made. In the wake of some recent tragedies,
Congress has once again opened up this debate.
There have been a
myriad of precursors that have lead to this recent strong push for gun
restrictions.
The first occurred on January 8, 2011 with the shooting of
Arizona U.S. House Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona.
Fortunately, she was lucky enough to survive and create the initial push for
the laws. The next tragedy occurred on July 20, 2012 in Colorado, where a
gunman came into the screening of The Dark Night and opened fire, killing 12
and injuring over 50 others. The most recent occurrence of gun-related tragedy
occurred on December 12, 2012 with the shootings at an elementary school in
Newtown, Connecticut. This tragedy, that killed 28 individuals, was the last straw
for many of the nation’s lawmakers.
With the media and
the public pressing for restrictions in wake of this horrific tragedy, many
politicians began to reopen the debate on stricter gun laws.
Many of the main proponents, such as President Obama
himself, argue that the stricter gun laws will overall help to prevent unnecessary
deaths that occur from gun violence. In his most recent State of the Union
Address, the President called for Congress to work together to ensure that
tragedies such as the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School do not happen again.
Since his address, Congress slowly began to open up debate for the new
restrictions that could make the law feasible. Although many hold this opinion,
some argue that there is no need for restrictions. Proponents of the bill are
working to make sure that both parties can support the bill. Some people
believe that the new gun laws are being put in place because of the increasing
media attention. Two weeks ago, the governor of Connecticut signed into law the
state’s own bill for stricter gun laws, which included bans on over 100 different
types of guns. Joe Braun, a Graduate Assistant at the University of Maryland, does not think that
the push for the federal government to pass restrictions is the only thing that
should be done. He believes that it is important for the state governments to
take charge in trying to get gun legislation passed.
The most recent
revelation that has taken place in Congress was a new bill proposal that would
place background checks on all gun purchases.
Last week, Congress voted down a bill that would expand the
realm of background checks on guns. Since there are already background checks
for store purchases, this proposal only added background checks for online and
gun-show purchases However, this law had trouble getting passed because many
conservatives are not in favor of the greater restrictions on guns. In a recent
pole, 86 percent of Americans stated that they would be in favor of the
background checks. Yet the bill still had difficulty getting passed in
Congress. Joe Braun believes that although the public is in favor of the
proposal, the rejection by Congress may have multiple facets to it. When asked
what it would take for the bill to become a bi-partisan cause, he said that it
is not parties that are the issue but lobbyist groups. He feels that
organizations such as the NRA are responsible for the public's growing fear of
gun restrictions and are heavily lobbying Congressmen to vote against such
restrictions.
The public has a very
mixed opinion when it comes to gun restrictions.
Those who are conservative tend to believe that it is their
2nd Amendment right to possess their guns and the government should
not take it away from them. People who lean towards liberal ideals believe that
the government should intervene and ensure the safety of the entire nation in
regards to guns. When government students at Maryland were asked, the opinion
was even split on what restrictions should be put in place. Some argued, like
Braun, that the state and local governments should be left in control of gun
rights. Others believe that it is the publics right to hold their guns. However,
it was a consensus that background checks for all purchases would prove to be
more helpful than a hassle.
Despite the support
of the public for certain aspects of gun restrictions, the bill does not look
as though it will get passed in the near future.
At the end of last week, Senate majority leader Harry Reid
announced that the bill promoted earlier that week was going to be pulled
from the Senate's proposals. This led many to believe that the bill will not get passed any
time soon. This is so because the bill would then have to be brought up by the
Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which is unlikely to happen.
Many issues regarding background checks, bans on assault rifles, and high
ammunition weapons still need to be worked out by the members of Congress.
Until there is an agreement made that both sides are in favor of, it is
unlikely that a new gun restriction bill will get passed. However, with the
recent pressure towards a new law, the idea of new restrictions is an idea that
is fresh in the minds of all Congressional members.
