Introduction

Gun control, the second amendment and firearm rights are an extremely controversial topic in today’s current political sphere. Exploring the ideas of the second amendment and why these rights ‘shall not be infringed’ while also discovering better ways to make firearms and the controversy surrounding them simpler. Education is the main solution that should be explored but is often overlooked when discussing this topic. It is also worth exploring this topic from a Biblical standpoint and a Christian worldview.

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The Argument for Gun Control

Many Americans advocate for the implementation of Gun control, whether that be a full removal of firearms or just stricter laws surrounding them. The goal is to prevent gun violence such as mass shootings, suicides, and injuries from taking place. According to the National Library of Medicine, about 32,000 people are killed with guns, roughly 19,000 of them by their own hand every year. (Swanson et. al). This can be combated with not only stricter laws surrounding firearms, but also psychiatric evaluation as a form of preventative measures.

 It is often suggested that in order to better regulate the sales of firearms, the process of purchasing a gun should be made lengthier and more difficult. It should demand a thorough background check, licensees, and training, raising the purchasing age and permits. They also suggest banning all guns that are considered assault weapons, which are any and all guns that are ‘rapid-fire and magazine fed’.  Technically, most guns both pistols and rifles, fall under this category. The prevention of mass shootings and life threatening injuries can more easily be prevented if less evil people were in possession of guns. Making them harder to obtain would stop them…right? And even if this does not work, surely the police will be able to deal with the threat.

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Argument Analysis

The argument for gun control, when coming from an educated perspective, is a solid and convincing one. The results of gun violence is enough to put many people onto the idea that all guns are bad and the only way to keep people safe is to permanently take them away from civilians. One thing that is hugely advocated for is stricter requirements for gun buyers. There are already thorough background checks put in place for when a person purchases a firearm, and many states have a waiting period between the purchase and pick up of the weapon.

Banning assault weapons or rifles may also not be a viable solution as assault weapons do not technically exist. Many people’s definition for what an assault weapon is, is basically any semi-automatic firearm, which, with today’s modern gun design, includes almost every type of gun excluding revolvers and the like. Halbrook describes them as a weapon that shoots automatically, more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single pull of the trigger. In this same article, he quotes Justice Thomas in saying, “Prior to 1989, the term ‘assault weapon’ did not exist in the lexicon of firearms. It is a political term, developed by anti-gun publicists to expand the category of ‘assault rifles’ so as to allow an attack on as many additional firearms as possible on the basis of undefined ‘evil’ appearance”. (3)

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Preventing mass shootings is an issue that needs to be dealt with at the root. Guns are inanimate and therefore cannot kill people on their own, but if you add a person to the equation then you have a threat. Oftentimes, after the fact, people will say they saw the signs in the person who did it. Psychiatric help, therapy and targeting the problem before a gun is even added needs to be considered. Arming teachers, security guards and faculty at schools would also help with the protection of our campuses and our children. “The issue is not our right to keep and bear arms but rather a host of other societal factors (fatherlessness, antidepressants, the failure of public schools, etc.) that influence people towards committing mass shootings” (Wolfe).

Finally, a term that is often misconstrued in conversations regarding this topic is gun rights. The guns are inanimate objects. They have no rights. They do not kill people. In an appeal to emotion, people often use these terms to state the case for their side when referring to mass shootings. Although they are emotional and traumatic events, they need to be looked at first and foremost through logical lenses.

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The Argument For The Second Amendment

Although many Americans are against the ideals of the second amendment, millions also support it and they would agree that educated and safe firearm owners are not the problem. They would also argue that civilian gun owners are necessary to keep America safe. Pro-gun America advocates for the right to bear arms in order to protect themselves, their families and their property. Americans are all subject to the laws we have created and as Tao suggests, “Under the American political system, the right of self-defense cannot be limited to only a privileged few. No one, regardless of their socioeconomic status, can deny fundamental rights to others.” Some will say to just wait for the cops, but police response time varies from several minutes to nearly an hour depending on your location, and in a life-or-death situation, every second counts.        

Another reason for the second amendment’s creation is to create a counterbalance to the power of the government. It is a sort of power balancing in juxtaposition with the government. In his articles, Ryan McMaken does point out how privately owned firearms are likely not a match for a well-regulated militia, but rather that the second amendment was designed to, “guarantee that the states would be free to raise and train their own militias as a defense against federal power” and keep it outside of the federal government if necessary. Again, it is a power balance dynamic.

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The Christian Perspective

Looking at supporting the second amendment from a Christian worldview is an interesting idea. The Bible does not specifically discuss the topic of firearms of course because they did not exist at that point in time. In William Wolfe’s article, he mentions that a Biblical worldview tells us that people are evil, not the guns they carry. The Constitution not only secures our right to bear arms but also our right to religious freedom. The premeditated malice intent to take a life is wrong but in Exodus 22, Christians are reminded that the defender of their home is not guilty of bloodshed. Jesus commanded his disciples to carry swords which one could suppose is the Biblical equivalent to a gun. Wolfe sums it up perfectly at the end of his article, “Christians can confidently defend the Second Amendment in America because we know that the values and morals which lie beneath the right to keep and bear arms are biblical — the value of human life, the right to defend it, and the goodness of protecting our family and freedoms.”

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Conclusion

This dicey debate is far from over. The best thing anyone can do in this situation is to begin by educating themselves on firearms, both the positive and negative aspects of it. Everyone in this conversation needs to understand sides before debating it. They should learn how different types of guns operate, firearm safety and the laws surrounding it, in addition to understanding that guns are weapons and that they are a factor in thousands of American deaths annually. People also need to remember that a gun is an inanimate object and that they are not the problem, evil people are. In conclusion, the Second Amendment speaks for itself, “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

 

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Quoted Resources

Tao, Aaron. Why Gun Rights are Essential in a World of Uncertainty. The Atlas Society. 21 May  2020. 

Halbrook, Stephen P. Reality Check: Assault Weapon Fantasy and Second Amendment      Jurisprudence. The Independent Institute. 1 July 2016.            

McMaken, Ryan. Why We Can’t Ignore the Militia Clause of the Second Amendment. Mises   Wire. 22 August 2018. 

The United States Constitution. The Second Amendment. 15 December 1791.     

Gun Control Topic Overview. Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2022.        

Swanson, J., McGinty, E., Fazel, S., Mays, V., Mental illness and reduction of gun violence and suicide: bringing epidemiologic research to policy. May 2015        

Wolfe, William. God and Guns: A Biblical Worldview Analysis of the Second Amendment and Self Defense. 8 July 2022.

Wilson, C., Gregory, S., 6 Real Ways We Can Reduce Gun Violence In America. Time Magazine. 22 March 2018.