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GunControlinAmericaGunControlinAmericaAuthors:ZhangJinyiQinYuanChenSiqiChenYijieIntroductionTheUnitedStateshasthehighestrateofciviliangunownershipintheworldwithaboutonegunforeveryAmerican.TherearenearlythreehundredmillionprivatelyownedfirearmsintheUnitedStates:ahundredandsixmillionhandguns,ahundredandfivemillionrifles,andeighty-threemillionshotguns.SuchappallingnumbersingunsmakeaparallelnumberingundeathintheUnitedStates.WecanseeAmericanpeople’sgreatdeterminationonprotectingtheircivilrightevenatthepriceofdeaththreat.MostAmericansdonot,however,ownguns,becausethree-quartersofpeoplewithgunsowntwoormore.AccordingtotheGeneralSocialSurvey,conductedbytheNationalPolicyOpinionCenterattheUniversityofChicago,theprevalenceofgunownershiphasdeclinedsteadilyinthepastfewdecades.In1973,thereweregunsinroughlyoneintwohouseholdsintheUnitedStates;in2010,oneinthree.In1980,nearlyoneinthreeAmericansownedagun;in2010,thatfigurehaddroppedtooneinfive.Fromtheapparentstatistics,wecanseeAmericanpeople’sattitudestowardsgunaredifferentiatingdramatically.Andtheguncontrolisnotsimplyaproblemconcerningwithdeathandcivilright.OuressayfocusesonthedebateoverguncontrolinAmerica.Weighingthegundeathsandcivilrights,Americanpeoplehavemadetheirchoicealreadyintheformoflaws,andtheyarestillmakingchoicefacingthecurrentsituation.Thedestinationisuncertainbasedonthecomplexityofitshistory,cultureandeconomicconditions.Butonethingisforsure,Americansareheadingfortheiridealcivilizedfuture.1GunControlinAmericaI.GunMurdersandPeople'sDebateThememoryof6:05P.M.onThursday,4April1968whenMartinLutherKingwasshotdeadhasnotgoneveryfar,weareastonishedtimeandagainbygunassassinationandshootingrampage.TheassassinationofHarveyBernardMilk,theColumbineHighSchoolmassacre,theShootingofTrayvonMartin,theShootingofMichaelBrownandtheYorkUniversityShootingallmakeguncontrolaheateddebate.Owninggunsgiveseverynormalpersontherighttoresistagainsteveryinequalitythegovernmentimposedonthem.However,italsoaddsmorethreattopeople’slife,especiallypoliticalleaderslikeMartinLutherKingwhowasfightingagainststereotypesandinequality.Asingleshotoriginatedfromthebalconyacrossthestreeteasilydeprivedhimoflife.Evenapoliticalleaderwhoisundertheprotectionofmanyguardscanbeeasilykilled,nottomentionthesafetyofothercommonpeople.Soitleadstoastrongquestioningonwhatisthepropercivilrightforourhumanbeings.Acivilizednationdoesn’tmeanhavingover30,000gundeathsayear.Acivilizednationneverexpectseducatorsandparentsandfirstresponderstohaveplansatthereadyforashootingattheirschool.Acivilizednationshouldn’tassertthatthebestsolutiontogunviolenceisformorepeopletohavemoreaccesstomoreguns.Evensufferingthetragedygunsbroughttothemoneafteranother,manyAmericansstillreclinetogiveupownershipofguns.Foronething,gunistheironlyeffectiveweaponagainstthepowerful.Foranother,theyregardgunasarepresentofcivilrightwhichisdeeplyrootedineveryAmerican'sheart.Oncegunisgivenup,theythink,theirpersonalityasanAmericanislostsimultaneously.NoAmerican,ofcourse,isinsupportofunrestrainedfreedomofguns.Theyneverstopbalancingbetweenowninggunsfreelyandgivingupgunsforever.Andtheirrightsofowninggunproperlyarealsoentitledbythelawwhichwillbefurtherdiscussedinnextpartoftheessay.II.LegislativeActoverGunOwnershipTheDeclarationofIndependencepublishedinthe1776says:allmenarecreatedequal,thattheyareendowedbytheirCreatorwithcertainunalienablerights,thattheyareamongthesearelife,libertyandthepursuitofhappiness.Althoughitdoesn’tdirectlyregulatetheuseofguns,tosecure2GunControlinAmericatheserights,peoplehavetremendousfreedomincludingtherightofkeepingandbearingarms.ThefirstlawrelatedgunsisTheBillofRightsin1791,whichprovidesthattherightofkeepingandbearingarmsforpeopleshallnotbeinfringed.ThisisaprecautionarymeasuretoprotectthedefenselesspeoplefrombeinghelplesswhenfacingrepressionofgovernmentforcesandmaketheAmericanindividualincreasetheconfidenceintheprotectionofprivateproperty.In1934,thenationalgunlowwaspublishedTheestablishmentofthelawregulatedthegunsales,salestaxandthatsomecertaintypesofgunssuchasmachinegunsrequireregister.AfterRobertKennedyandMartinRuudKimwereassassinatedin1968,Americawasshockedoverandoveragain.Thepeopleofthewholecountrywereimmersedintheterroristeventinpanic.Themajorityofcitizenstookgunproblemsseriously.Underthisemergentsituation,theguncontrollawisputintoforce.Itregulatesthegundealing,limitsthemailordersalesandprohibitsfelons,fugitives,illegalimmigration,drugaddicts,mentalpatientsandthosewhoareprosecutedkeepingandbearingguns.Theconversionandsalesofautomaticweapons,semi-automaticweaponsalsoarelimited.Afterthe1968guncontrollawisimplemented,peoplewhowanttobuyagunhavetoshowidentityandsignastatementconfirmingthattheyareallowedtobuyguns.Manystatesenactbackgroundchecklawswhicharestricterthanthefederalrequirements.However,somepeoplethinkforbiddinggunisincompatiblewithlibertyandtherulesthatsomekindofpeoplecannotkeepgunsdonotconformto“allmenarecreatedequal”.Therefore,in1986,Gunownersprotectionlaw,alsoknownasMikeLucci-VolckerMalawpassed.Itmakessomechangestothe1968lawlimits.Forinstanc