Gun Rights and Special Interest Groups

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Gun Rights and Special Interest Groups
Gun rights loosely refer to the freedom or latitude extended to an individual or group of people to own, keep, bear, use during moments of self-defense and even engage in the production of guns as well as ammunition. Special interest groups, on the other hand, is a collection of individuals within a community with a common set of shared interests, which thus inform their relationship and cooperation. According to Nownes (6), special interest groups usually have a limited or narrow focus on major issues, values or concerns that they hold dear or over which they have unique preferences. The nature of the association of special interest groups in advocating for their common agenda or goal could include avenues such as regular meetings, organizing of events and seminars during which they seek to inform policy. In a discussion of gun rights, an attempt will be made by drawing a link between the same, and various dynamics of specific interest groups involved in advocating for the civil enjoyment of gun rights.
Debates have raged over time in different societies specifically Western societies, case in point the America, on the gun possession and other related rights. As usual, the debate has cast the society into two, those for the liberal enjoyment of civil ownership of guns as a right under the law, and those opposed to gun rights, more so ownership on the other hand. In advancing the debate and advocating for the free exercise of gun rights, various special interest groups have thus emerged, bringing together those passionately pushing for a non-restrained ownership of guns and enjoyment of the gun rights.

Examples of such groups include gun owners of America and the national rifle association (NRA). Their efforts have seen them affect government policy through petitioning and lobbying members of Congress with a view to shaping various legislations on gun control. According to Tushnet, Mark, and Sanford (256), the national rifle association is committed to securing and jealously safeguarding the right to bear and use arms as provided for by the second amendment; including through lobbying Congress against any attempts at gun control. The special interest groups on guns equally contribute to political campaigns through donations to political groupings or parties that seem to advance their interests. For example, the gun right groups have openly supported the Republican Party given its conservative ideological orientation and support for the exclusive enjoyment of gun rights.
The gun rights interest groups push for an exclusive attainment of gun rights is informed by a perception of gun ownership as an issue of individual freedom and civil liberties. The proponents of gun rights therefore regularly cite the second amendment of the American constitution as the legal express permit for the full attainment of gun rights. According to Kevin (7), changes to the US constitution, through a series of ten amendments, provided in the bill of rights, with the second amendment allowing for and protecting gun rights. The various grounds advanced by the gun rights advocates and interest groups majorly spring from the constitutional realities, for instance, the second amendment that provides for a fundamental right to the ownership of guns. Other grounds advanced include the need for individual self-defense, entertainment and recreational purposes such as shooting games, and most emphatically, an argument that there is no relationship between crime rates and the ownership of guns and enjoyment of gun rights.
On the other end of the spectrum are the gun control advocates who favor a limit on the private ownership and use of guns, through various gun control legislations. Thus, whereas individuals can desire to acquire guns, there needs to be some limit on the enjoyment of the gun rights.According to Kevin (5), there are varied opinions about guns and gun laws, with gun control advocates arguing that even rights to own and use guns must be tempered with some sense of responsibility. The reasons advanced by the gun control advocates, for seeking to regulate the gun use and ownership vary, though the misuse of guns is the most cited reason, usually manifesting in murders. Various instances of mass shootings at schools, public parks, entertainment spots and public parks among other social paces, as well as suicides by use of guns, have further contributed to the gun control advocates’ desire for gun control legislation.
The gun control advocates have similarly employed various avenues in pushing for a limit on private ownership and use of guns, through petitioning and lobbying members of Congress. The lobbying initiatives have been aimed at influencing the policy on gun ownership and use through prevailing on lawmakers to come up with gun control legislation for the greater good of society. According to Nownes (7), lobbying by special interest groups usually involves making contact with decision makers in government or legislature and sharing with them opinions and ideas regarding various legislation or policies with a view to convincing them. Through maintaining relationships with members of Congress, gun control advocates have sought to influence gun control legislation towards placing a limit on the ownership and use of guns. Gun control advocates have similarly been part of political campaigns usually spending millions of dollars in donation to political organizations and parties that commit to supporting gun control initiatives. As such the gun control lobby groups and advocates have usually sided with the Democratic Party, given their liberal ideological platform, and a policy pledge to control gun ownership and use.
Lobbying by interest groups when properly undertaken has the potential to greatly shape the outcome of legislation for example on gun ownership, either at the local or even state government. For instance, lobbying of members of Congress to vote in a specific way by various interest groups has the long term goal of influencing legislation and government policy. Gun control groups have in several instances petitioned and lobbied members of Congress, more so the Democrats to support legislation on gun control, with different results. In the same vein, gun rights interest groups such as the national rifle association (NRA) has been very active in lobbying members of Congress especially the Republicans to shoot down any attempts at gun control. Recent years have seen the national rifle association (NRA) grow into perhaps the most powerful lobby group in America, as evident from its success in convincing the conservative members of Congress in the Senate to shoot down a gun control law in 2013.
The effect of lobbying on a state constitution is thus appreciated by a consideration of the possible changes made to its laws, if a proposed legislation sails through. For example, the failure of the gun control law in the Senate, shot down by conservative members of Congress led to no change in the constitution. The situation would, however, have been different if the legislation on gun control had passed through the various legislative steps. The state’s constitution would have thus been effected by the legislative changes that a gun control law would have come with, informing changes to the constitution, after a presidential assent to the gun control law. Regarding the budget either at the local or state level, a massive effect is felt if a legislation sails through since any changes to the constitution are usually expensive. The effect on the budget can, thus, be analyzed from a monetary and fiscal dimension given the cost of implementing a legislative change or changes to the constitution, for example by way of creation of new agencies and offices charged with implementing the changes.

Works Cited
Kevin, Brian. Gun Rights & Responsibilities. Minneapolis, MN: ABDO Pub, 2012. Print.
Nownes, Anthony J. Interest Groups in American Politics: Pressure and Power. New York: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Tushnet, Mark V, Mark A. Graber, and Sanford Levinson. The Oxford Handbook of the U.s. Constitution. Oxford; New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2015. Print.