ESSAY: GUN CONTROL

READINGS

“Guns Have Divided America? Here’s What Happens When 245 People Try to Meet in the Middle” by Abigail Abrams, Melissa Chan, and Karl Vick

One of the most divisive topics in American politics today surrounds gun deaths in America. America’s right to bear arms is constitutionally protected, allowing the public easy access to purchase firearms. However, among developed nations, America experiences the most gun-related deaths—from suicides to school shootings. As these gun-related deaths continue to rise, there has been a noticeably loud debate from both sides of the argument regarding gun control.

WRITING PROMPT

For this essay, you are going to write 500 words that explores the following question: Should the United States government create additional federal laws to regulate firearms? Why or why not? If you believe that the government should create such laws, what popular measures would you propose and why? If you don’t believe the government should create such laws, explain why you believe some of the popular proposed measures are unconstitutional and/or would be ineffective in curbing gun-related deaths.

POPULAR GUN CONTROL MEASURES

These are measures that have been implemented and/or proposed in either state governments or the federal government to curb the amount of gun-related deaths in America. These measures include but are not limited to the following:

Universal Background Checks for Gun Buyers
Barring Sales to People on the Terrorist Watchlist
Assault Weapons Ban
High-Capacity Magazine Ban
Safe Storage Laws
Further Restricting Gun Sales to Domestic Abusers and Stalkers
Licensing (Safety Training)

RESEARCH PARAMETERS

For this essay, you are going to be given more freedom in finding sources for your arguments. Instead of me assigning you sources, you’ll be searching the Internet for ARTICLES with data or quotes that support your positions. You should not be quoting from blogs or generic cookie-cutter websites like brainyquote.com or debate.org. You should be looking for articles from major newspapers and magazines such as the following:

Time Magazine
The New York Times
The Washington Post
Honolulu Civil Beat
The New Yorker

While you’re constructing your arguments in favor of or opposed to popular gun control measures, it’s important for you to understand some of the positions behind the proposed measures. Below, you will find explanations and opinions in favor of or in opposition to the seven most commonly proposed gun safety measures. You are of course free to quote any of these sources. However, these sources are better used to help you understand the issues. There are countless articles and opinion pieces out there surrounding each of these major proposals. As long as they're legitimate sources and you're capable of creating parenthetical citations and works cited citations, you're free to use them.

UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS

SUPPORT: https://gunsandamerica.org/story/19/01/08/what-are-universal-background-checks-here-is-a-breakdown/

OPPOSE: https://www.nraila.org/get-the-facts/background-checks-nics/

BARRING SALES TO PEOPLE ON TERRORIST WATCHLIST

SUPPORT: https://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/who-can-have-a-gun/terrorist-watchlist/

OPPOSE: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-problems-with-using-the-terrorist-watch-list-to-ban-gun-sales/

ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN

SUPPORT: https://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/hardware-ammunition/assault-weapons/

OPPOSE: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-problems-with-using-the-terrorist-watch-list-to-ban-gun-sales/

HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINE BAN

SUPPORT: https://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/hardware-ammunition/large-capacity-magazines/

OPPOSE: https://www.cato.org/publications/legal-policy-bulletin/losing-count-empty-case-high-capacity-magazine-restrictions