In 1996, the Republican-majority Congress threatened to strip funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unless it stopped funding research into firearm injuries and deaths. The National Rifle Association accused the CDC of promoting gun control. As a result, the CDC stopped funding gun-control research (Frankel 2017). District of Columbia v. Heller Dick Anthony Heller was denied a 1-year license to keep a firearm for personal use. He sued the District of Columbia, the supreme court ruled in 2007 that it was unconstitutional to deny its residents of their second amendment ("District of Columbia v. Heller"). This furthered the procession and use of firearms in America. Death of Trayvon Martin Trayvon Martin was a young black teenager living in Sanford, FL. George Zimmerman was the program coordinator of a neighborhood watch. Zimmerman was on patrol of the night of February 26th, 2012 when he saw Martin running between houses in the community. Zimmerman followed him and ended up shooting Martin in the chest. Zimmerman was released from police custody causing uproar in the community. George Zimmerman was convicted of 2nd degree murder ("Trayvon Martin" 2018). The incident with Trayvon Martin furthered the concerns of civilian gun control. Picture of Trayvon Martin The Sandy Hook Massacre On December 14th, 2012, 20 year-old Adam Lanza entered Sandy Hook Elementary School and opened fire. He killed 26 people, 20 being first graders. Adams rampage lasted 11 minutes and ended with killing himself (Smith 2013). This was the first major massacre including children and brought Picture of Adam Lanza into light the issue of gun control in America. Death of Michael Brown A police officer, Darren Wilson, shot and killed unarmed Michael Brown on August 9th, 2014 in Ferguson, MO. A jury of his peers came to the decision that Wilson will not be charged with the murder of Michael Brown. The public was outraged and rioted for the months to come, feeling that the justice system had failed them (Davey & Bosman 2014). Picture of Michael Brown Shooting in Las Vegas October 1st, 2017 Stephen Craig Paddock opened fire on a country music festival crowd. 59 people were killed and another 500 were injured (“59 people killed, more than 500 hurt in Las Vegas Strip shooting”). This was the biggest massacre in modern history. This incident raised the question of why automatic weapons were available to the public. It also asks the question, what is more important, the rights of the second amendment or public safety? A Divided Nation The previous events have led to a divided nation. Half believing it is an American right to own and carry firearms, while the other half believe it is in the best interest of public safety to ban guns. Retired supreme court justice, John Paul Stevens is calling for the repeal of the second amendment all together Picture of John Paul Stevens ("Repealing the Second Amendment – is it even possible?"). Over the last 30 years the issue of gun control has divided this nation. Half of the population believes it is their right to own and carry firearms through exercising their right of the second amendment. The other half believe it is in the best interest of public safety to pass stricter gun control laws, that would restrict automatic weapons and magazine sizes, or even the extreme of abolishing the second amendment. This issue first came about when the CDC stopped conducting research on gun relating crimes in 1996. They stopped because of threats of funding cuts from congress and the NRA. In the case of District of Columbia v. Heller, the supreme court ruled that it was unconstitutional for D.C. to deny its citizens of their second amendment right. This ruling made firearms more widely available in the district. The death of Trayvon Martin was on of the first gun related incidents to get national attention. Trayvon was unarmed when he was fatally shot by the leader of the neighborhood watch. The incident brought up questions of punishments of gun related crimes. In December 2012, one of the greatest tragedies in modern history occurred when 26 people, 20 being children, were murdered in a school shooting. This brought into question of allowance of automatic weapons and large magazine sizes. Michael Brown was fatally shot on August 9th, 2014 by a police officer. In a jury of his peers, the officer was found that he would not be charged. This caused outrage and riots throughout the U.S. In 2017 the largest mass shooting occurred in Las Vegas where 59 people were killed. Again, the question of automatic weapons and magazine sizes were brought into question. Which leads us to our current event, former supreme court justice John Paul Stevens is calling for the repeal of the second amendment altogether. The issue of gun control is a touchy subject with people holding very strong opinions, and doesn’t have an easy solution. Sources “59 People Killed, More than 500 Hurt in Las Vegas Strip Shooting.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/las-vegas-police-investigating-shooting-mandalay-bay-n806461. Davey, Monica, and Julie Bosman. “Protests Flare After Ferguson Police Officer Is Not Indicted.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Nov. 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/us/ferguson-darren-wilson-shooting-michael- brown-grand-jury.html. “District of Columbia v. Heller.” Oyez.com, www.oyez.org/cases/2007/07-290. Frankel, Todd C. “Why Gun Violence Research Has Been Shut down for 20 Years.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 4 Oct. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/10/04/gun-violence-research-has-been-shut-down- for-20-years/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1441d941b000. “Repealing the Second Amendment – Is It Even Possible?” CBS News, CBS Interactive, www.cbsnews.com/news/repealing-the-second-amendment-is-it-even-possible/. Smith, Matt. “Sandy Hook Killer Adam Lanza Took Motive to His Grave.” CNN, Cable News Network, 26 Nov. 2013, www.cnn.com/2013/11/25/justice/sandy-hook-shooting-report/index.html. “Trayvon Martin.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 1 Aug. 2018, www.biography.com/people/trayvon- martin-21283721.