The Four Letter Word of Politics

THE FOUR LETTER WORD OF POLITICS:

GUN CONTROL

QUESTION: Should Congress enact new Gun

Control/Safety Measures as

recommended by President Obama?

OBJECTIVES: The students will be able to:

1.) Explain the rights / freedoms contained in the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution

2.) Explain key terminology related to gun control / gun safety measures such as assault weapon, magazine, clip, Brady Law, automatic weapon, NRA, NICS, and universal background checks

3.) Summarize and evaluate competing positions on whether new gun control / gun safety measures by Congress, as recommended by President Obama, are necessary.

4.) Analyze key US Supreme Court cases dealing with gun rights and evaluate the meaning of these cases for future gun control legislation

5.) Practice the dispositions of effective citizens by participating in a deliberation about what Congress should do, if anything, about gun control / gun safety measures.

STEP 1 – Complete the Agree / Disagree Exercise Below:

AGREE / DISAGREE / STATEMENT ON GUN ISSUES / AGREE / DISAGREE
The 2nd Amendment protects an individual’s right to own and possess guns in the US.
Current gun laws adequately protect the safety of citizens.
The best solution to stopping violent crime is to require criminal background checks for all gun sales even at gun shows and by private individuals.
Congress should reinstate the ban on assault weapons.
The best solution to stopping violent crime is to study the connection between violent video games and increased violent actions by individuals.
The real cause of gun violence is one of mental illness.
Congress should enact legislation limiting ammunition magazines to 10 rounds.
Congress should ban the use of armor-piercing bullets by anyone other than members of the military and law enforcement.
Congress should increase the penalties for anyone illegally selling guns including “straw purchasers”.
'The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun”
Every school district should allow its teachers and security officers to carry weapons on school grounds.
Congress should increase the penalty for any crime involving a gun to life in prison with no parole.

Step 2 – The 2nd Amendment – Discuss the meaning of its terms.

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.

STEP 3 - VOCABULARY REVIEW – USE THE WEB TO SEARCH FOR THE MEANING OF THE FOLLOWING TERMS.

TERM / DEFINITION
1. Firearm / a portablegun, being abarreledweaponthat launches one or moreprojectiles, such as apistolorrifle
2. Automatic Weapon / anyfirearmthat will continue to fire so long as the trigger is pressed and held and there is ammunition in the magazine/chamber.
3. Assault Weapon / Definitions Vary - most commonly defined as asemi-automatic firearmpossessing certain features similar to those of military firearms.
Semi-automatic firearms fire onebullet(round) each time thetriggeris pulled; the spentcartridgecase is ejected and another cartridge is loaded into thechamber, without requiring the manual operation of abolt handle, alever, or asliding handgrip.
An assault weapon has a detachablemagazine, in conjunction with one, two, or more other features such as apistol grip, a folding or collapsingstock, aflash suppressor, or abayonet lug.
4. Magazine / anammunitionstorage and feeding device within or attached to a repeatingfirearm
5. Clips / a device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit, ready for insertion into the magazine or cylinder of afirearm. This speeds up the process of loading and reloading the firearm as several rounds can be loaded at once, rather than one round being loaded at a time.
6. Gun Show / a temporary exhibition or gathering in the United States wherefirearms, firearm accessories,ammunition, literature, and miscellaneous collectibles are displayed, bought, sold, traded, and discussed
7. Straw Purchaser / anypurchasewherein anagentagrees to acquire agoodorservicefor someone who is unable or unwilling to purchase the good or service himself, and the agent transfers the goods/services to that person after purchasing them
8. Executive Order / Power of the President to give directions and rules for members of the Executive Branch to follow. It has the effect of a law within the Executive Branch
9. Universal Background Checks / refer to closing loopholes in federal gun sales laws
U.S. law requires background checks for all people who try to buy firearms from federally licensed dealers. But federal law does not require background checks for "private transactions," like sales at gun shows.
10. Federal Firearms License (FFA) / Alicensethat enables an individual or a company to engage in a business pertaining to the manufacture offirearmsandammunitionor the interstate and intrastate sale of firearms.
11. Concealed Carry Laws / The practice of carrying ahandgunor other weapon in public in a concealed manner, either on one's person or in close proximity.
While there is no federal law specifically addressing the issuance of concealed carry permits, 49states have passed laws allowing citizens to carry certain concealed firearms in public, either without a permit or after obtaining a permit from local government and/or law enforcement
12. Brady Law / Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (1993) is an Act of the United States Congressthat instituted federalbackground checkson firearm purchasers in the United States.
The Brady Act requires that background checks be conducted on individuals before a firearm may be purchased from a federally licensed dealer, manufacturer or importer—unless an exception applies. If there are no additional state restrictions, a firearm may be transferred to an individual upon approval by theNational Instant Criminal Background Check System(NICS) maintained by the FBI.

Step 4 – Review the Policy Proposals submitted by President Obama on how to deal with gun violence.

President Obama’s Gun Control Proposal

The initiative to reduce gun violence announced by President Obama on Wednesday includes both legislative proposals that would need to be acted on by Congress and executive actions he can do on his own. Many of the executive actions involve the president directing agencies to do a better job of sharing information.

Proposed Congressional Actions

·  Requiring criminal background checks for all gun sales, including those by private sellers that currently are exempt.

·  Reinstating and strengthening the ban on assault weapons that was in place from 1994 to 2004.

·  Limiting ammunition magazines to 10 rounds.

·  Banning the possession of armor-piercing bullets by anyone other than members of the military and law enforcement.

·  Increasing criminal penalties for "straw purchasers," people who pass the required background check to buy a gun on behalf of someone else.

·  Acting on a $4 billion administration proposal to help keep 15,000 police officers on the street.

·  Confirming President Obama's nominee for director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

·  Eliminating a restriction that requires the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to allow the importation of weapons that are more than 50 years old.

·  Financing programs to train more police officers, first responders and school officials on how to respond to active armed attacks.

·  Provide additional $20 million to help expand the system that tracks violent deaths across the nation from 18 states to 50 states.

·  Providing $30 million in grants to states to help schools develop emergency response plans.

·  Providing financing to expand mental health programs for young people.

Executive actions

·  Issuing a presidential memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.

·  Addressing unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.

·  Improving incentives for states to share information with the background check system.

·  Directing the attorney general to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.

·  Proposing a rule making to give law enforcement authorities the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun.

·  Publishing a letter from the A.T.F. to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.

·  Starting a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.

·  Reviewing safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission).

·  Issuing a presidential memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.

·  Releasing a report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and making it widely available to law enforcement authorities.

·  Nominating an A.T.F. director.

·  Providing law enforcement authorities, first responders and school officials with proper training for armed attacks situations.

·  Maximizing enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.

·  Issuing a presidential memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research gun violence.

·  Directing the attorney general to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenging the private sector to develop innovative technologies.

·  Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.

·  Releasing a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.

·  Providing incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.

·  Developing model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.

·  Releasing a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.

·  Finalizing regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within insurance exchanges.

·  Committing to finalizing mental health parity regulations.

·  Starting a national dialogue on mental health led by Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, and Arne Duncan, the secretary of education.

Step 5 - Research and Make a list of arguments for and against the new Gun Control measures being considered by Congress.

RESOURCES:

BackgroundArticles/Resources

Text of the Second Amendment - National Archives

Gun Laws in the United States - Wikipedia

Basic History of Newtown and Gun Politics in U.S. - BBC

What's In Obama's Gun Control Proposal - NY Times

Articles Supporting New Legislation
Opinion piece in support of Obama’s proposals- Washington Post

Article refuting National Review’s John Lott’s assertions about background checks - National Review

Articles Opposing New Legislation
Opinion piece opposed to new gun legislation - Wall Street Journal
John Lott asserts that background checks occur with a vast majority of gun sales and can be dangerous to lawful gun owners - National Review

NRA ARTICLE - http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/12/21/nra-breaks-silence-calls-for-more-guns-to-protect-schools

Additional Web Resources and Opinions:

History of gun control is cautionary tale for those seeking regulations after Conn. shooting- Washington Post

The Secret History of Guns - The Atlantic

Interactive Timeline of Gun Laws - Wall Street Journal

Interactive Map of State Proposed Gun Laws - USA Today

Everything you need to know about Obama’s gun control plan- Washington Post

NPHS IMC – OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS

http://www.npenn.org/page/1465 - Databases Link

US SUPREME COURT PRECEDENTS – Summarize the Majority and / or Dissenting Opinion in:

1. District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_290

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-290.ZS.html

2. McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010)

http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2009/2009_08_1521

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-1521.ZS.html

STEP 6 – USE A “T” CHART TO ORGANIZE YOUR THOUGHTS AND BEGIN TO DEVELOP A POSITION ON THE GUN CONTROL –

ARGUMENTS FOR CONGRESS PASSING THE NEW GUN CONTROL MEASURES / ARGUMENTS AGAINST PASSING THE NEW GUN CONTROL MEASURES

STEP 7 – Write a Position Paper in which you take a stance on the issue of gun control – focus on 1 or 2 of the proposed policies raised by President Obama

You will write a position paper laying out the issue, the arguments on both sides and taking a firm position on the Presidents’ plans for gun control. You may choose from one of the following roles:

1.) Member of the NRA or the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence – Interest Groups Lobbying Senators Casey and Toomey – Suggesting how the Senator should vote on the policy

2.) An Aide to either Senator Casey or Senator Toomey – Take a position as to how the Senator should vote on the Policy.

PROCEDURES: The Position Paper should be 2 to 3 pages, double spaced, 12 point font with a Works Cited page and parenthetical documentation. The rough draft will be due on Tuesday 9/22. The final revised draft will be due on Monday 9/28.

TOTAL POINTS: 100