The Pros And Cons Of Gun Control Reforms

As the gun control debate rages on and continues to be a substantial topic among our presidential debates, do we need a little bit of reform to an outdated constitutional amendment? The second amendment was adopted over 200 years ago in 1791. Since then there have been many changes in our culture and advances in firearm technology. Year after year, decade after decade, one shooting after another, our gun laws have hardly kept up. Our closest allies and most similar foreign counterparts surpass us in their updated firearm laws. Why does the U.S. continue to lack in reform and change in our 2nd amendment?

Since the inception of the 2nd amendment in 1791, we have seen a massive technological advancement in firearm technology. (1) Back in those days, firearms were only capable of firing only 1-2 shots a minute, 3 if you were lucky. Today, firearms are capable of firing 100’s of rounds per minute with the option of high capacity magazines holding 200 rounds or more. (2) With those advancements in technology, does it make sense for the general public to still have access to these types of weapons? During the infancy of our nation, it was not possible to drive to the local sporting goods store and buy 1000’s of rounds of ammunition, no questions asked. Most of us are in agreement we need

Australia banned firearms and had a gun guyback program in 1996 and introduced much stricter laws. These revisions included a 28 day waiting period and providing a genuine reason why you need to purchase a firearm. They have seen a massive decrase in gun violence. Total intentional firearm related deaths plunged 50% in the 10 years after the 1996 laws were introduced, even as Australia’s population grew almost 13%. The rate of gun suicides per 100,000 people dropped 65 percent from 1995 to 2006, and the rate of gun homicides fell 59 percent. Those statistics have to just be too good to be true. Plus that infringes on our rights as American citizens to bear arms.