Your assignment is to prepare and submit a paper on gun control issues between republicans and democrats.

Your assignment is to prepare and submit a paper on gun control issues between republicans and democrats. Republicans feel that imposing gun control measures would be contrary to the right to bear and carry arms as provided for in the Second Amendment. While these strong standpoints are quite obvious, a keener look into the gun control debate reveals underlying issues including the role of gun rights groups and gun control groups.

The gun control debate can be traced back to the early 19th century. However, the issue only became an important federal matter much later on as exemplified by the passing of the Gun Control Act in 1968 (Zimring 148). Since then, the issue became a major policy issue at the federal level. Specific legislation that led to the ban of assault weapons was passed in 1994. This gun control measure was signed by former President Clinton as part of a crime bill passed by Congress. This ban affected the manufacturing of 22 assault firearms and guns. The ban was short-lived because it expired in 2004, just ten years after it came into effect. Since then, repeated attempts to renew the ban have been unsuccessful. This incident represents one of the major incidents where the difference between Democrats and Republicans on the gun control issue has been brought out.

The gun control debate has been kept alive by various incidents of gun violence where lives have been lost or injuries caused by criminals using firearms. Some of the major incidents that have attracted so much attention include Sandy Hook shootings, Navy Yard shootings in Washington D.C., Colorado theatre shootings, and Arizona shootings among others (Bendery Para 3). These incidents have often re-ignited the debate on gun control. For example, the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut shootings that resulted in 28 deaths led to renewed efforts by the supporters of gun control.&nbsp.