Gun Control Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Gun Control - Research Paper Example When it comes to gun control in America, the most important thing is to impose a background check on everyone who buys guns and to strictly impose this as a part of a new gun control bill. The reasons for this are multifold. However, one of the main reasons for the imposition of the gun control bill is to minimize killings, or even to altogether prevent them. The shootings at the opening of Batman Begins in Aurora, Colorado and the shootings of 20 schoolchildren in Connecticut both in 2012 must have certainly made American lawmakers question the effectiveness of the gun control situation in the United States. In fact, the Senate’ vote on the failed gun control bill was disappointing because it showed that the lawmakers were actually not responding to several calls from the public on the imposition of stricter background checks for gun owners and buyers. In fact, according to Gallup editor-in-chief Frank Newport, regardless of the Senate’s vote on the failed gun control bill, â€Å"It is clear that more Americans support the concept of a law expanding background checks for gun purchases than say the Senate should have passed such a law† (Metzler). Americans have definitely learned much from their experiences with failed gun control measures. ... In fact, gun control history in the United States was a â€Å"history of tragedy† in terms of legislative action (U.S. Gun Control). Gun control measures have actually been implemented but perhaps not strictly imposed. In 1934, the National Firearms Act was signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in order to heavily tax sales of guns. The Gun Control Act was signed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 in order to declare as illegal the mail-order purchases of guns. In 1993 and 1994, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act and assault weapons ban was signed by President Clinton in order to conduct background checks on gun buyers and ban semi-automatic assault weapons. Moreover, President Barack Obama and his administration also kept pushing for â€Å"more restrictive† gun control measures and laws (U.S. Gun Control). The existing gun laws like the National Firearms Act of Roosevelt is already in conflict with tax measures for the sales of guns which are imposed in every state. Thus, guns may be sold at a relatively cheaper price in some states. An example of a store in America that sells affordable guns, which are not heavily taxed is Cheaper Than Dirt, where a high power carbine is worth only $526, a hand gun is priced at $199 and a long gun at $143 (Cheaper Than Dirt). The Gun Control Act by Johnson is almost obsolete as guns are not anymore sold and delivered in packages by mail. They may in fact be bought straight from a gun shop. An example of a popular walk-in gun shop in America is American Gun Works based in California, whose website is found at americangunworks.net. One rather interesting but unfortunate feature of the shop is that it does not need a permit or license to carry a firearm as the State of