I wrote a small essay for my American Federal Government class, I decided to share it because I have realized how important it is! The essay required me to read an article and talk about the issue the article talks about--in this case the article I read was about gun control. I will attach a citation to the article at the end.

"The article I have decided to discuss is analyzing the topic of gun control around the country. The article discussed why gun control matters today, where the republican and democratic POTUS candidates stand on gun control, and why the election matters in regard to gun control. The topic of gun control matters in this upcoming election because of the tragic loss of Justice Antonin Scalia. The next President will appoint one replacement justice to the Supreme Court but may have to appoint up to three justices; this is serious because both candidates plan to change gun control legislation drastically in ways that could change the Country immensely.

The topic of gun control is a prime example of federalism because gun control is a problem that is shared between both the federal government and state governments. The federal government sets laws and restrictions on weapons (ex. What type of weapons that citizens may own semi-auto, auto) while state governments set individual restrictions for that state that coincide with federal law (ex. Age restrictions and safety laws). I personally believe that the federal government and state/local governments should work together when it comes to gun control because the federal government cannot possibly set a one size fits all legislation for the entire country, what works in Oklahoma may not work in New York which is why the federal government should set minimal legislation at the top and allow individual states to set legislation that works for them. Gun control has seemed to stay in a central direction; Democrats want tougher restrictions while Republicans want lesser restrictions. Gun Control has not made a significant change in regard to the federal government in the last couple of years-- luckily Senator Feinstein has not had much luck since 2013 with her gun control bill that would ban 150 specific firearms. In Oklahoma, a bill passed the House and Senate that allows civilians to open-carry firearms without a government issued permit.

It’s hard to speculate what the framers intended in regards to modern issues, there’s a 240 year difference between today and our Country’s birth. However, the second amendment to the United States Constitution gives the people the right to bear arms. Staying philosophically consistent with the framers and the philosophers they took their ideals from, like John Locke, Montesquieu, and Hobbes, it’s safe to say that they intended for the individual citizens to have and own guns. James Madison issued a Letter of Marque to Captain Nicholas Millin authorizing him to use artillery against British ships that are found within the jurisdiction of the United States during the war of 1812. The big question is “Why did the framers give us the second amendment?” The simple answer is that the framers understood that power corrupts and knew it was certainly possible that the government could become tyrannical (example. Nazi Germany, USSR, Mao’s China). The last line of defense against a tyrannical government is through rebellion and rebellions aren’t very effective without guns. Thomas Jefferson once said “The tree of liberty must be refreshed with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Gun control matters today because the second amendment is what protects not only the people, but also protects The Constitution."

Pane, Lisa Marie. “Why It Matters: Guns.”Www.news9.com. The Associated Press. 28 Sept. 2016.Web. 30 Sept. 2016 Link: http://www.news9.com/story/33265961/why-it-matters...

Madison, James, Jr. "American Letter of Marque, 1812." Www.constitution.org. Constitution Society, 9 Oct. 2016. Web. 9 Oct. 2016.