Firearms and Ethics

[Ebow1]

So, as part of my degree program I'm stuck taking an Intro to Ethics class. Our final paper has to be 3000 words, but we got to choose our own topics as long as the instructor approves of it. I'm wanting to do on paper arguing that people have an ethical responsibility to own firearms. It'll be a tough argument to make, but I'd be thrilled if I could pull this off, as the teacher is notably liberal and more then likely anti-gun. All that being said, I wanted to ask the opinions of the people here, do you think we have an ethical responsibility to own firearms? Why or why not?

[Garufa]

Not to derail your chosen theme but I would suggest you argue people have an ethical responsibility not to lie, cheat, steal, put their own needs above all others and just generally screw other people over.

[Sheepdog]

The ethical responsibility is not to own arms, but to defend what is right, promote the good, and protect the innocent.

Those are one's obligations. Arms are simply tools which greatly facilitate meeting them.

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[leroy]

.....The ethical responsibility is not to own arms, but to defend what is right, promote the good, and protect the innocent.

Those are one's obligations. Arms are simply tools which greatly facilitate meeting them.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

Bingo!! A great observaton; full of truth.

Keep up the good work!

leroy

[gregintenn]

Take a fool's advice and write something that won't offend the teacher. I know you are right, you know you are right, but we aren't grading your paper.

[Jonnin]

I dont see a case for it being ethical to own a gun (you may have good reasons not to, such as infirmity/age/blind/etc). If you doubt yourself, your training, competence, marksmanship, etc, then you OWE it to those around you to NOT try to shoot bad guys in some sort of public area throwdown. What I am saying is that say I cannot hit anythign when I shoot because I suck. There is no case to say that it would be more ethical for me to carry a gun, if that were the case.... which means that carrying or not carrying is not the part where ethics enters into the conversation.

Try a different theme, related, but one where the ethics is pure, not subject to circumstances.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Not to derail your chosen theme but I would suggest you argue people have an ethical responsibility not to lie, cheat, steal, put their own needs above all others and just generally screw other people over.

That would make for a better argument. It wouldn't be an ethical argument for the responsibility

of ownership. Ethics isn't the same as moral or legal, although related. Don't piss off a liberal prof.

He'll start spewing.

[tnhawk]

... Don't piss off a liberal prof. He'll start spewing.

I paid for making that mistake in a Government class. I supported the "wrong candidate".

[Guest mosinon]

If he or she is a decent teacher I wouldn't worry about going against the prof's personal philosophy, the good ones seem to appreciate that. Regurgitate Limbaugh r something and you'll be in trouble. What they are looking for is originality.

That said I think if you pick that as your argument it is going to be one tough paper to write and it will have to be really long. I'd suggest you narrow down the topic to something manageable (it's a paper not a thesis after all). Maybe "The Ethics of Gun Ownership for Personal Defense" than talk about the necessity of extensive training. Or "The Ethics of Gun Ownership for Hunting" wherein you stress wildlife management or even "The Ethics of Gun Ownership for Recreational Purposes" where you argue up and down about how weapons should be stored safely and inaccessibly.

I think your original premise would be an interesting read but to really address all the pertinent issues you will need to or three years, 7000 citations and 20,000 pages.

Good luck on the paper. OhShoot can write a bit, he probably has better advice for you than I do.

[Ebow1]

Let's address these:

Not to derail your chosen theme but I would suggest you argue people have an ethical responsibility not to lie, cheat, steal, put their own needs above all others and just generally screw other people over.-Far too broad of a topic for a paper, and would never be approved by the teacher.

The ethical responsibility is not to own arms, but to defend what is right, promote the good, and protect the innocent.-EXACTLY. If I can make the argument that we have an ethical obligation to protect the innocent, then I can also argue that we have an ethical obligation to protect the innocent using the most effective means available to do so, aka, firearms.

Take a fool's advice and write something that won't offend the teacher.-But I'm so good at it!

[daddyo]

As the major breadwinner in my family, I have an ethical responsibility to defend my life and the lives of my loved ones if needed, and a firearm is currently the best, most effective tool with which to do that if all other methods fail.

[East_TN_Patriot]

I think your topic is interesting, but like others have said, it will be a massive undertaking to adequately address such a broad and complex topic. I think another perspective that would be interesting and still go towards your point would be to discuss the ethical obligations that lawmakers and policymakers have in supporting the 2nd Amendment, especially in the wake of the recent Supreme Court rulings on it. You could also approach it as a project discussing how gun owners have an ethical obligation to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights responsibly. I think that if you try to make your original argument, you are going to find yourself in a situation where you will have to address every single "what if" regarding people who many believe should not own guns (e.g. felons, mentally ill, minors, etc.). Just my 2 cents worth coming from the perspective of a college instructor.

[Ebow1]

I decided to slightly change the topic, but the good news is I've gotten the teacher's approval to write my final paper arguing that it is unethical for state universities to ban the carry of firearms by those who have acquired a permit to legally do so.

[G27]

The ethical responsibility is not to own arms, but to defend what is right, promote the good, and protect the innocent.

Those are one's obligations. Arms are simply tools which greatly facilitate meeting them.

Winner.

[G27]

I decided to slightly change the topic, but the good news is I've gotten the teacher's approval to write my final paper arguing that it is unethical for state universities to ban the carry of firearms by those who have acquired a permit to legally do so.

That's a good subject - it's been getting a lot of press recently...

[Ebow1]

Working on the paper now, and I gotta say, I really do write better when I'm drinking.

[Guest Drewsett]

I always think the same thing...until I read it in the morning.

[Ebow1]

I've written all my papers this semester while drinking and I've gotten all As. All the evidence says that I either write better when I'm drinking, or that my instructors are doing their grading while they're drinking.

[Ebow1]

Now I will admit that this did cause me to write an amazing paper on the wrong topic, then scramble to write the right paper right before the deadline.

[Guest Jamie]

.... my instructors are doing their grading while they're drinking.

Count on it.

[Ebow1]

Got the paper done, and I specifically requested the instructor email his feedback to me. I have a feeling this a topic he's never gotten a paer on before and I look forward to seeing what he has to say. I gotta say from my end, I got a heck of an argument for campus carry here. It's a little off because I had to focus on the ethics of it as opposed to just the numbers and logic behind it, but it's still pretty good.