2017-03-27

The gun control debate continues to heat up as candidates take their stand on the issue. For years, supporters of gun control and those opposing more restrictions have worked to sway political leaders to fight for their respective sides.

Several states require background checks on gun sales at gun shows. Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Oregon, New Jersey, New York, Hawaii, and Maryland all use background checks for gun sales. Laws vary in every state. States like Louisiana and Kentucky do not require background checks for people purchasing guns privately. There are no restrictions for private sales in Virginia, Vermont, Utah, and Texas.

Slate devised a complete list of how each state ranks. After the massacre in Sandy Hook Elementary School and at a community college in Oregon, some suggest a universal background check on anyone looking to purchase firearms. Adding universal background checks is imperative said Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.

“We need universal background checks. We know that they will work. I'm determined to do something about it,” she said in published reports. She did not say people shouldn’t have the right to guns, but there is an unbalance. Adding more restrictions to gun ownership, which is protected under the Second Amendment will infringe on people’s rights to bear arms.

"We've got to rein in what has become an almost article of faith that anybody can have a gun anywhere, anytime," she said in a 2014 Wall Street Journal interview. “And I don't believe that is in the best interest of the vast majority of people.” During the Democratic debate hosted by CNN, Clinton expressed concern regarding the NRA’s power.

“This has gone on too long, and it's time the entire country stood up against the NRA. The majority of our country supports background checks, and even the majority of gun owners do." President Obama did ask Congress pass legislation for universal background checks to reduce gun deaths in the country.

We are having our rights stripped everyday by the government, yes there should be a background check. If you have a record of jail time, or violence, then no gun. How much government is too much? Universal healthcare, cameras in the sky, what will be next?

“The Second Amendment to our Constitution is clear. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed upon. Period,” GOP candidate and frontrunner Donald Trump shared on his site.

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