Editorial

Lower gun laws

Guns give us protection as well as cause problems, however if we make it too easy for people to get guns then there would be crazy people running around with guns. In my opinion the only way someone should be able to purchase a gun is if they take a safety course so that they know how t use the gun safely and wont just go around randomly shooting the gun not knowing how to use it.

One of the reasons I think that it is a form of self defense. If you have a gun in your house and if you are home sometime and a thief comes into your home then you would have a form of protection. If there is someone trying to kidnap you then you would be able to protect yourself by shooting the gun not to kill the person but as a warning shot so that they know you have a gun. So if you lower the gun laws then it would be easier for you to keep the gun in your house without a trigger lock and have the gun not be loaded. So if you have the guns loaded and have no trigger lock on it then it would be easier to go get the gun and not have to load it and take the trigger lock off making the gun more accessible.

Another reason is if everyone had a concealed gun then, they would be able to protect themselves and others in public. Criminals would be afraid to commit crimes with hand guns because they will be afraid that everyone else is armed and able to protect themselves and others. This is one of the reasons that gun control laws should be lowered.

In conclusion the main reason that gun control laws should be lowered is mainly for protection. In the constitution everybody has the right to own a gun. In my opinion the government doesn’t have the right to restrict people from owning a gun.     

My Interview

My Interveiw was asking questions about the right to bear arms with Brian Fox, He is a Hinsburg cop. I asked him if it would lower the gun crime rate if there were more gun restrictions. His answer was no if a criminal wants to get a gun then they will get a gun. They will get the gun no matter what it takes to do so. Another thing was a college student holding a gun. He thinks that no student or teacher should be able to hold a gun in school or on a college campus.

Stakeholders

Does owning a gun Make you safer. Some people would say yes and some people would say no. The people who says yes is saying that " The more the guns the less the crime". Someone said no and his opinion was Gun ownerships result in children death". Some more of the pople say yes because they think the more people who have guns the more they can fight back if they are being attacked.

People who say no to this are saying is that the more guns in home the more the risk of gun violence in there homes. Another one that acces to guns increase the risk of suicide. One person said that there are already to many guns. There is less people saying that we shouldnt have guns because there are so many people saying that we should be able to have guns.

Annotated Bibliography

Dempsey, Pete. Trial search panal presentation. CVUHS, Hinesburg VT, 28 Mar, 2011

Pete Dempsey is a Vermont state trooper. He explained how people that are criminals do not follow the law. How if they need a gun and they can’t get one so they will get their siblings to get one for them or pay their family to buy one for them. How if they need to get any kind of weapon that they can get it that’s why they are called criminals. He also talked about how he has caught people who are under the legal age for owning a gun and that just tells us how easy it is for anyone to get a gun.

Neilson, Adam Trial search panal presentation, CVUHS, Hinesburg VY. 28 Mar. 2011

Adam Neilson is a Sport shooter and a coach at the UVM shooters club, He explained about what his hobby/job is and why if there were more restrictions on guns that it would be harder to do his job and hobby. He also talked about how if someone wants to get a gun then they can easily get it. Even when he is traveling with his guns that when he goes through different states that he I always worried that he is going to get in trouble whenever he meets a checkpoint if they have to search the cars that he might get his guns taken away from him.

Panel Day Reflection

During the time that the three panalists were talking I was hearing all of there different opinions on gun lawas and how they are sometimes broken by criminals. How some of there jobs would be affected if the gun laws were more restrictive and harder to buy guns for there job or for sport shooters. One of the Panelist was a sports shooter. His opinion on the right to bear arms is if the gun laws become more restrictive then he wouldnt be able to have as easy of a time doing his job. Another Panelist was a Vermont State trooper, Hi opinion was that some of the gun laws are good but his opinion was to make the restriction that you have to know how to use it safely and have taken a course on how to shoot if properly. The last Panalist was a Lobbiest and works for the government about the right to bear arms and gun laws. His opinion was that if you are going to posses and conceal it in the public you have to have a licence to do so and have taken a class on how to shoot it properly. He also thought that if somone is going to have a gun in a public area to make sure it is 100% concealed. All of the Panalists did agree that as long as you have taken a course on how to shoot a gun safely then you should be able to conceal the weapon.

Court Cases

McDonald Vs Chicago Case, There were many suits filed to Chicago and Oak Park In Illinois that were challenging there gun bans after the supreme court had stated there opinion. That opinion had led to another case including the District of Columbia and Heller that the Districts of Columbia gun ban was a violation of the second Amendment Making it a Federal Court Case. The District Court dissmissed all the cases.
http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2009/2009_08_1521

District Of Columbia Vs Heller Case, This case covered the fact that for the first time in seventy years the court had just heard that the basic reson of the second amenment and its relation to the gun control laws. After this case the the Court came to the conclusion of the second ammendment only being faced towards Militias like the National Guard and not to Private gun owners.
 http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_290

Current Interperetation

State to State the restrictions vary. In Vermont you do not need a permit or a licence to conceal a firearm you need to be the legal age to purchase a firearm that law is in Vermont. In other places like Florida you will not be given the honor of a permit unless you are from the states and if your not from the states then you will not be given a permit. In Florida you need a permit you cannot conceal a firearm without carrying your permit. In other states this is different and will most likely always be this way. In most states though as long as you have a permit and carry it with you whenever you have a concealed weapon then you are a legal gun owner.




http://www.handgunlaw.us/states/florida.pdf
http://www.handgunlaw.us/

Constitutional Connection

The connection to the constitution for the second ammendment is that there are alot of restrictions on being able to carry a gun in public so this connects to the constitution by how many restrictions there are. Who can and cannot carry a gun in public. Some of these restrictions are truthfuly reasonable because if you have a criminal record then you cant buy a gun and a simple one is that if you dont have the sight then you also cant conceal a gun. These restrictions are very reasonable however there are other restrictions that are not so reasonable. One of the restrictions that arent as reasonably would be maybe what you look like. Your race your religion or maybe what you were some gun shop owners wont sell you a gun if you look like a peice of trash when you come into buy the gun if your wering hunting clothes then they would probably be more likely to sell you a gun. That is an unreasonably restriction to self owned gun shops. So that restriction should be removed if you want to buy a gun then you should have a licence and a backround check. If you come out of that clean then you can purchase the gun. Otherwise you cannot purchase the gun and conceal it in public.

Issue Explanation

We need the second ammendment because of the first ammendment. The issue we are dealing with is the second amendment. The second Ammendment is the right to bear arms. This ammendment is saying that A well Regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state. This means that you should have the right to have a concealed weapon for your protection. The issue is is what you have to have done before you can own a gun. The government can prohibite you from carrying a concealed weapon in public. The Federal government can also make these restrictions. So if you have commited a crime then you can not conceal a gun in public let alone the public.

Initial Thoughts

My topic is the right to bear arms. This is somthing that people need to be able to do. Not always being able to have the possesion of a gun but other sorts of protective weapons. When we are caryying a gun then we ned to have a licence to do so. We need to have been through a training course and a safety course on how to use it and how to use it safely. When you have done all these things so that it is safe then you should be aloud to carry a weapon around in public. You should have to have a backround check to make sure that you have no criminal record. If you have a criminal record then you should not be able to hold a weapon in public.

I do not have any more questions except what to add to my next blog post So all I have to do is more research on each part of the next post.