We are students in Tonya Browning's E306 composition class at the University of Texas at Austin .
We have each recently finished papers on gun control in America. The goal of our work was to present both sides and make the best argument for our points of view. We are presenting our papers here on the Internet to encourage debate and response on the issue of Gun Control.
Gun control is an issue with a limited amount of middle ground. The two sides are so far apart in their core beliefs that there is very little desire for compromise. The second amendment of the The United States Constitution is being attacked by interpretations from the left and the right. On the left stands the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and on the right the National Rifle Association. (NRA).
The ACLU has a very strong anti-gun platform and a strong lobby in congress. The passage of the 1994 Crime Bill was largely a result of the ACLU's efforts. The crime bill banned many assault weapons such as this NATO Galil Sar 5.56.
The NRA feels that The United States
Constitution ensures the individuals right to keep and bear arms. Right
to carry laws, like the on close to passage here in Texas, have been passed
due to the influence of the NRA’s huge membership. The membership
of the NRA members fear that continuing regulations on gun ownership will
prevent them from owning even basic firearms, such as this rifle. 
The papers that follow fall at different places between the two positions. We have each provided an abstract of our work and a ranking (0 being dove and 10 a hawk) if we were to place ourselves in the range of the argument. So from left to right we have:
Today America is facing a sharp rise in violent crime and matters are not helped any by the availability of assault weapons. I believe that these assault weapons, whose sole purpose is for human destruction, have no place in American society. Therefore the United States Congress should severely limit the sale, use and carrying of these said firearms.
Rated a 4
sean-michaels-mailbox@mail.utexas.eduThe intentions of the founders and not the desires of rival organizations should be the basis of the second amendment's interpretation. The supreme court has confirmed the individuals right to own guns, but this right does not go without great responsibility. The states need to institute programs of training, licensing, registration and insurance to ensure the responsibility is met. Rated a 6
mlromero@mail.utexas.eduThe United States has faced many problems in its reasonably short existence; one of the most dominant of today is the problem with guns. Guns are being used in the wrong ways by the wrong people and something needs to be done about it, BUT that something is not abolishing their use. True, gun control can be very helpful, but what needs to be enforced is gun safety . Rated an 8.
budboyglen@mail.utexas.edu
