America is the best armed nation in the world, with American citizens owning approximately 270 million of the world's 875 million firearms (Marshall). In fact, this represents more than a quarter of the firearms registered in the world. The reason Americans own so many guns is because of the Second Amendment, which states: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. " (Rauch) This amendment guarantees US citizens the right to keep firearms. Because this amendment is relatively vague, it is subject to interpretation and is often used by gun advocates to argue for lenient gun laws. Therefore, gun control is a controversial topic often discussed in American politics. Although the Second Amendment prevents the federal government from completely banning firearms in America, limited restrictions on the distribution and possession of firearms are permitted for certain groups of people such as criminals , mentally unstable persons and soldiers dishonorably discharged from the military are prohibited from possessing or interacting with firearms (Flynn). These restrictions are enforced through background checks in some states at both the state and federal levels vary from state to state and are often not thorough enough; background checks are imperfect due to lack of information and misinformation, and firearms can easily end up in the hands of criminals and malicious individuals. The ease of obtaining a firearm in America fosters crime and a dangerous environment. Thus, the Second Amendment should be reinterpreted so that stricter gun laws can be implemented because modern citizens do not need guns, current background checks are flawed, guns…middle of the paper…ared Loughner's Path in An Hour Before the Arizona Shootings.» The daily beast. The daily beast. January 12, 2011. Web. June 5, 2015. Perez, Carmen. “Gun Show Loophole” Wikipedia, 2014. Web. June 6, 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_show_loopholeRauch, Jonathan. “The right kind of gun rights.” National newspaper vol. 40 Number 11. Academic research completed. March 15, 2013. Web. June 6, 2015. Siemaszko, Corky. “Norway massacre suspect Anders Behring Breivik says he bought part of his arsenal in the US” NY Daily News. New York Daily News. July 28, 2011. Web. June 6, 2015. "Shay's Rebellion." Information, please. Information, please. Network. June 7, 2015. “Texas Gun Laws Made Simple.” Texas gun laws. Texas gun laws. Network. June 5, 2015. “Facts, Figures, and Firearms Law in the United States.” Gun policy. Gun policy. June 2, 2014. Web. June 6, 2015. "Where they got the guns." VPC. VPC. Network. 5 June 2015.