Gun Control During The Civil War - 1407 Words

According to Merriam-Webster, a weapon is: something (such as a gun, knife, club, or bomb) that is used for fighting or attacking someone or for defending yourself when someone is attacking you. Weapons have been used for thousands of years, since the creation of man. However, its use was limited to only hunting and defending against large predatory animals. As time passed, man s knowledge of weaponry expanded beyond a simple club and transformed into guns. Prior to the 1850s, Americans owned guns though none were used to inflict violence upon another person. â€Å"As a result, guns contributed little to the homicide rate, which was low everywhere, even in the South and on the frontier, where historians once assumed guns and murder went†¦show more content†¦So, how did a man owning a gun actually become a right? Well, the idea of gun ownership did not occur until after the French and Indian war. The government were contemplating the idea of a militia as a method of defense against foreign enemies since there were no policing forces during that time. Americans were still living under the rule of the British Empire and a militia would maintain law and order. Once the militia became an integral part of American society, rumors began spreading of the British creating an army to disband it. Britain s army appeared, forcing American citizens to forfeit their weapons which they refused to do. Samuel Adams mentioned that Britain s gun policy was hypocritical by citing Sir William Blackstone and his view of the English Declaration of Rights. Blackstone stated how a British man s right to gun ownership was allowed by the public, a form of resistance, and a method of self-defense. In addition, these reasons were sufficient if the laws, government policies, and society s penalties regarding their laws were not. The people s decision to bear arms was not a new right but a reiteration of Britain s law, which they were not disobeying. Colonists fin ally realized that the British created their dastardly policies as a means of oppression and to decrease the people s opportunity for political resistance. However, the difference within Blackstone s commentary