Congress and Gun Control

Congress and Gun Control

Over the past couple of years there has been a growing debate about mass murders and gun control. While many politicians will not support a gun ban or gun control laws, other politicians in Congress are trying to use specific events to scare the public into siding with the group that is in favor of gun control. These scare tactics and various methods from Congress are driving more people needlessly towards stricter gun control laws even though they have been cited as not working in many studies. This paper will show that Congress should not allow isolated events to influence other’s opinions on gun control and that gun control does not always work to stop crime.

The tragedy at Sandy Hook has influenced Congress to look into stricter gun controls because of the increased likelihood that a gun bill would be passed. After the events at Sandy Hook, Senator Diane Feinstein was using her political influence to get the 1994 ban on assault weapons reinstated. Because of this, “Obama said he wanted to reinstate the ban” (Wildermuth, 2007, p. A10). It was because of this event that members of Congress are trying to change how people view control. This influence is reaching to the top of the United States government and shows by various speeches that are made by government members. Even as these events happen, some members of Congress view this even with personal interest instead of their constituents’ interest in mind. “If there is a path to new gun laws, it has to come through West Virginia and a dozen other states with Democratic senators like Mr. Manchin who are confronting galvanized constituencies that view any effort to tighten gun laws as an infringement” (Peters, 2013, pp A1-A3). This shows that even though the Congressional member believes that they have the best interest of their constituents in mind, they do not necessarily reflect their actual opinions and feelings. This is in large part because the Congress members feel threatened and do not connect as well with their constituents as they need to.

Even though the shooting in Aurora, Colorado was tragic, Congress needs to look at ways to avoid these shootings that do not affect the second amendment. Many Congressional members have started to say that there is not a true need for the second amendment. “Unfortunately, after tragedies like this some politicians try to take advantage of the grief and outrage to advance attacks on Americans’ Second Amendment right ‘to keep and bear arms’” (Human Rights,2012, p. 22). There is no doubt that this is the ideal time to attack one of the rights that we are guaranteed.