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Gun Regulations: Gun Laws Have Changed Dramatically

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From the dawn of the United States the government has created laws regulating firearm ownership. These regulations address everyone from gun sellers to owners and are constantly changing. In 1791, The Bill of Rights of the Constitution was ratified to ensure the protection of the American people’s rights. The Second Amendment addressed the right to bare arms. “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” (1). The founding fathers of the United States created this Amendment to insure the militia power, to insure a means of self defense for the citizen, and to provide power to the people to repel foreign invasion. During this time, every …show more content…

the Brady Act “require[s] nationwide a waiting period of five working days between the application to purchase a handgun and the time the weapon is handed over to the customer” (Dolan and Scariano 53). The waiting period allows law enforcement to perform a background check if necessary. The check can be waived at the seller’s discretion if the buyer is known to be a lawful citizen. More recently the Second Amendment debate has focused on concealed carry weapons. Concealed weapons are firearms, usually handguns, which are kept on a person worn under clothing or carried in a bundle that is held or carried by the individual, or transported in a vehicle under the individual's control or direction and available to the carrier, including beneath the seat or in a glove compartment, not out in the open (Schmidt 4). There is no specification on the complete concealment of the gun. However, if it is substantially or fully visible, carried in a belt holster, or locked in a closed trunk, the weapon is not considered concealed carry. The definition is not being debated, rather who should be issued a concealed carry permit. As of 2013, eight of the fifty United States are may-issue states. In may-issue sates local authorities “may” issue a permit if the citizen passes his or her background check and can give a valid reason why he or she needs a concealed carry permit. Thirty-seven are shall-issue states, meaning the

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