By Will Delaney ’14, Staff Writer

The nation is still mourning the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. Inevitably, this tragic event, along with many other incidents of gun violence over the past year, has brought the debate over gun control back to the forefront of domestic policy.

The current interpretation of the second amendment to the Constitution gives everyone the right to purchase and own a firearm. Most dissidents question the extent of this right. Military-grade assault weapons summon the most objections as they have been involved in many tragic events in the country’s recent past. Gun control advocates want to see these weapons off the markets, along with stricter background checks for all gun purchases. This has not been the case for several years – the ban on assault weapons ended in 2004, and 40% of gun purchases require no background check, due to a legislative loophole regarding unlicensed gun-show sellers. Ankit Khosla ’16 supports these measures while taking a moderate stand on the gun-control debate, saying, “I support gun control…I also believe in freedom to buy a gun, they just need to increase the security and effectiveness of the background checks.” The extent of limitations on gun ownership has been one of the most controversial topics of debate, especially in a country with a history of gun freedom. Mr. Bitler, an outspoken conservative member of the faculty, says that he “is fully supportive of the second amendment,” but he “does think there should be ways to prevent the mentally unstable from getting guns.”

On the issue of gun regulation, the United States differs legislatively from most other countries, whose laws tend to be much stricter. As a result, the United States towers over other developed countries when it comes to firearm-related deaths. Antigun advocate and Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg has said: “we are the only industrialized country that has this problem. In the whole world, the only one.” Ms. Gordon, a math teacher at the Academy, previously lived in New Zealand – a country whose gun laws are much stricter than those in America. She does not believe there is a connection between freedom and gun rights. Ms. Gordon described the citizens of New Zealand, saying, “If you ask them if they feel their rights are being infringed upon, their response is always, ‘are you kidding me?’” She also added that in New Zealand, “you never ever hear about a gun crime.”

The National Rifle Association (NRA) and President Obama are the two faces in the current public policy debate over gun control. The NRA is ready to fight for their perceived second amendment right to own firearms. They reason that a lack of proper security and improper regulation of criminals and the mentally unstable are to blame for the tragedy in Newtown. The call for increased security in schools is reflected in Newark Academy’s new security rules and the school’s hiring of increased outside protection. President Obama, who did not anticipate gun control being a high priority coming into his second term, is now campaigning vigorously for the passage of legislation tightening background checks and renewing the assault weapons ban. He has asserted presidential authority by signing 23 executive actions, which create a variety of standards to increase gun safety.  He has proposed four major pieces of legislation for tightening loopholes in gun purchases and combating gun violence.

It is clear that gun control will be an especially hot topic in the coming months, given the governmental action on the issue. Guns will be an enduring controversy in the United States, due to the country’s history of ardent protection of individual liberties. The NRA and President Obama will continue to battle over the extent of gun privilege, but regardless of the capacity of the weapons, it seems guns will be a mainstay in American culture. Whether or not stringent reforms are made, it is crucial to forever remember the tragedies that have turned the nation’s attention to this issue.