Gun Control - Introduction

< -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

Home     Back to Gun Control Index     Back to Class Notes & Papers Index

Gun Control is one of today’s hot” political issues.  It injects itself into every aspect of today’s politics, including but not limited to candidacies, crime control, individual freedom versus security, and extremism and rebellion, particularly in the form of popular milita groups.  The recent tragedies at Waco, Texas, Ruby Ridge, Idaho and Oklahoma City have been used by many, including the National Rifle Association, to bring the issue of guns and militias to the forefront of American politics, making it a national issue as well as a state and local issue.  Everyone has an opinion about gun control, and everyone has attempted at least a cursory examination of what it involves.  It is my intention to present such an examination of current thought on gun control by discussing the background and history of the issue, the opinions held by the four major ideologies (Libertarian, Conservative, Liberal and Radical), and presenting an in-depth analysis of these viewpoints in order to show a clearer picture of what is really happening in the political arena.