Tenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

Most citizens would agree that we cannot entrust self-defense to anyone other than ourselves. Therefore, many argue that the right to bear arms makes the weakest and the strongest as equals. In 2008 the Supreme Court of the United States of America affirmed the individual’s right to own arms for self-defense, (District of Columbia v Heller, 5-4, 2008). There seems to be no alternate basis that can ensure equal defense in self-defense, expect by the right to bear arms. One world view posits that to bear arms in self-defense is a human right (Newt Gingrich, 2012), another world view posits that that right to own guns for self-defense is not a human right (SE Smith, Guardian 2016). While the right to self-defense is a human right, the right to bear arms cannot be a human right –it is a legal option, right, and privilege. In this paper, I argue that there needs to be gun control and legislation in place for three reasons: (1). Gun legislation ensures that self-defense cannot be a pretext to kill anyone. (2) Gun legislature ensures the control of the size, quality, and quantity of arms for self-defense as a matter of public safety. (3) Gun legislature ensures that no individual has power over others in society due to the stockpile of weaponry in the name of self–defense. The right to own arms is a legal option, right, and a responsible privilege.