Argument 1 Rebuttal

When the Second Amendment was written as part of the Bill of Rights in 1791, the United States of America was protected by the Continental Army, which was comprised of citizen-soldiers. Also, many citizens still hunted for their food and needed to have the right to own a rifle or shotgun in order to provide for their families. However, times have changed and firearms do not play the same prevalent role as they did 200 years ago. Farmers and businessmen no longer comprise the United States Army but instead, full-time soldiers. Hunting, also, has strict laws about clip size and ammunition, which assault rifles do not fit. There needs to be changes made in legislation to limit clip size and ban assault rifles from citizens’ possession.

            The United States Army was officially founded in 1784 when it was changed from the Continental Army to the United States Army. The army began to change from being comprised of citizen soldiers to full-time soldiers who trained in military tactics. Today, the United States has one of the strongest military’s in the world. However, when the army was made-up of citizen soldiers, it was important for them to have the right to possess firearms. Now that the army is made-up of full-time soldiers, there is no longer the need for citizens to possess military firearms like assault rifles. These weapons are made for the military with a sole purpose to end human life. Citizens of this nation, protected by one of the best military’s in the world, have no need for these weapons.

When this country was first being settled, hunting was a way of life for a great majority of this nation. However, in the last 200 years, that way of life has changed and hunting has become a past-time. Also, the laws and regulations of hunting have been established to control the safety of everybody in the woods and disqualify assault rifles from being legal hunting firearms. The size of the clip is too large to be used legally to hunt. In the most popular form of hunting in the United States, deer hunting, the hunter is only allowed to have 5 bullets in the gun. Most assault rifles have high-capacity magazines that can hold up to 30 bullets. Also, with many assault rifles being sold with silencers and flash-hiders, attachments that are banned when hunting, make assault rifles illegal to use on game animals. Assault rifles have no purpose other than the killing of human life as they cannot be used to hunt.

Argument 1

The Second Amendment was written in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights that applies to all citizens of the United States of America. The Second Amendment reads, “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” It was designed to enable citizens to have the weapons necessary to stand against all enemies; foreign and domestic, primarily the government if it got too large. In a speech on gun control given by the Vice-President, Biden said “If you want to protect yourself, get a double-barrel shotgun. Have the shells for a 12-gauge shotgun, and I promise you as I told my wife, we live in an area that’s wooded and somewhat secluded. I said, Jill if there’s ever a problem, just walk out on the balcony here, walk out, put that double-barrel shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house. I promise you whoever’s coming in is not going to. You don’t need an AR-15. It’s harder to aim; it’s harder to use. And in fact, you don’t need 30 rounds to protect yourself. Buy a shotgun.” The ownership of a Semi-automatic assault rifles gives a homeowner unequaled protection against both home and foreign invasions because of its accuracy, range, high-capacity ammunition magazine, and ease of use.

A semi-automatic rifle provides the shooter with several critical advantages that a shotgun simply cannot provide against a home invasion. First, a typical assault rifle has a 30-round ammunition clip compared to a shotgun that can hold, at the most, five shells. The extra ammunition provides the shooter with more shots to ward off an attack. Next, assault rifles come in calibers ranging for a .22 LR up to a 7.62 Soviet, however the most common caliber of assault rifle is the .223. Shotguns, on the other hand, come in gauges that range from the .410-gauge up to the 8-gauge, with the 12-gauge being the most popular. The recoil of the .223 assault rifle is exponentially less than that of the 12-gauge shotgun. This reduction in recoil makes it a much easier gun for smaller shooters to handle and operate. Lastly, an assault rifle provides the shooter with a much longer range for protection. The .223 caliber is accurate at up to 300-400 yards while a 12-gauge shotgun is effective at up to 50-100 yards. The assault rifle also has the penetrating power to shoot through doors and walls while the shotgun cannot. The semi-automatic assault rifle provides the shooter with advantages that cannot be provided by a shotgun.

In the YouTube video, “Women Take Biden’s Shotgun Advice,” it is obvious that advantages that an assault rifle can provide. The women shooting the shotguns have a hard time either holding onto the weapon or handling the recoil provided by the much larger shotgun. At the end of the video, the women shooting the AR-15 assault rifle has neither difficult of holding onto the weapon or handling the recoil.

Argument 3 Rebuttal-Rough Draft

Over the last several years, the violence of videogames and movies have increased and become more realistic. As videogames become more realistic, it is as imperative as ever to pass laws that will help regulate the sale and use of guns to protect teenagers and mentally ill people from possessing weapons. By regulating more closely who buys firearms will allow the government to keep firearms out of the hands of mentally unstable people who could do a lot of harm. Banning assault rifles and high capacity clips will help reduce the number of assault rifles in circulation in the public, but stricter legislation on background checks will keep criminals from owning and using these firearms permanently.

            The shooting in Newtown would not have been possible had there been a ban on assault rifles and high capacity magazines. Had there been a ban on high capacity magazines, Adam Lanza could not have fired more than 150 rounds in under 5 minutes and 27 lives could have been saved. Also, Adam was using a Bushmaster assault rifle with a very high rate of fire allowing him to cycle through magazines as he went from classroom to classroom. Banning assault rifles and high capacity magazines could have prevented the Newtown shooting entirely.

            Lastly, by requiring background checks, gun distributors will be able to determine if the purchaser is mentally stable and legally permitted to buy firearms. With so many guns being sold without background checks being run, there is no doubt that assault rifles and handguns are being sold to criminals and mentally unstable citizens. Losing innocent human life to mass shootings when something could have been done such as passing legislation to regulate firearms is a tragedy and needs to be addressed.

Argument 3-Rough Draft

Over the last ten years, the U.S. have been exposed to more and more violence on a daily basis. People have been bombarded with violence in music, movies, videogames, the news, television shows, and in public life so much that they have become desensitized to it all. Starting at earlier ages, kids are playing videogames such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty which are rated M for mature and are designed for people 17 or older. Next, the media reports daily on murders, rapes, and other acts of violence, especially mass shootings that occur throughout the world giving the perpetrators publicity, which is often what they wanted. Also, television stations are playing violent movies that are not meant to be viewed by young children who might be watching television during the day. If government officials want to eliminate the number of deaths from mass shootings, the issue of violence in videogames, music, and movies needs to be addressed. Instead of making more extensive legislation on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, more legislation needs to be made to regulate the violence that the public is exposed to on a daily basis.

            Over the past several years, war games such as Call of Duty have gained incredible popularity among teenagers all over the world. They have become so popular because of the realistic gameplay and graphics. These games have become so realistic that some teenagers are having a hard time distinguishing between the videogame and real life. In the case of the Newtown shooting in which Adam Lanza killed 20 elementary students and six teachers, Call of Duty and other violent games played a direct role. Days after the shooting, information about Lanza’s obsession with the game revealed that not only could he not differentiate between the game and real life but also that he had learned many military tactics as well from the game. Lanza is reported to have fired more than 155 rounds in less than five minutes and knew when to reload so that he had a full clip as he moved from room to room in Sandy Hook Elementary School. Passing legislation to ban such violent videogames such as Call of Duty would eliminate some of the violence from everyday life and would keep mentally unstable teenagers from learning military tactics that would enable them to carry out a shooting like Adam Lanza did.

            The movie industry is also to blame for desensitizing the public of the violence that is all around us. As movie making has become more and more specialized and the Computer Generated Imagery is become better, the violence in movies has increased drastically. In turn, the amount of violence allowed in a PG-13 movie has increased and so has that of an R-rated movie. Also, parents are letting younger children watch violent movies that are not appropriate for their age. Children as young as five and six years old are viewing PG-13 movies that are designed for teenagers. And young teenagers are viewing R-rated movies that are designed for adults. Parents need to take responsibility and not permit young children to watch movies that are inappropriate for them. 

Argument 2 Rebuttal-Rough Draft

In the last ten years, the people of the United States have had to endure the loss of family and friends due to the senseless killings at state senate buildings and public schools and universities. This country has left speechless after teenagers and adults were killed in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado and in Tucson, Arizona. However, after the killing in Newtown, Connecticut in which 20 elementary school aged children were killed, the people of the United States have realized the need for more strict regulation on gun control to prevent more mass shootings. More extensive gun control legislation such as a ban on assault rifles, a ban on high-capacity magazines, and more strict regulation on background checks will not only help reduce the frequency of this mass shootings but could eliminate them entirely.

            Several states have already taken the lead in the fight against gun violence and have passed legislation for stricter gun control. Connecticut, Colorado, New York, and Maryland have all passed legislation in the wake of the Newtown mass shooting. Connecticut passed legislation banning the sale of rifle magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Maryland also passed legislation requiring fingerprints of new gun buyers, a ban on the sale of assault rifles and high capacity ammunition clips. Since the legislation passed a couple months ago, there have no mass shootings. While it may still be too early to tell, these states and the new legislation is a significant step in the fight against gun violence in the United States.

            As more states continue to follow in Connecticut’s and Maryland’s footsteps, it will become harder and harder to obtain assault rifles and other weapons that are used to take life in mass shootings. As more states ban these weapons designed to take life, the people of the United States will see a decrease in mass shootings or them eliminated totally and will not have to console and cope with the loss of family and friends.