GUN CONTROL

Policy Identification Worksheet

Policy topic:               GUN CONTROL                  

Directions: Do some research and find 3 existing or proposed recent U.S. policies (laws, statutes, etc.) published or proposed on this topic. Do not describe policies proposed/implemented prior to 2000. In addition to a brief description of the policy, you will also indicate the stance (for or against), level of implementation, and provide a link to the actual policy.

Policy 1

Policy name (Precise bill/policy/legislation name):  Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) gun safety bill.     

Policy link (Include a direct link to the policy. Do not use Wikipedia, news articles, etc. Go directly to the source for information):         https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/14/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-new-actions-to-reduce-gun-violence-and-make-our-communities-safer/                                              

Implementation level (Circle one of the following that fits your policy):   

Organizational/Institutional               Local                          State                                           

Brief summary of the policy in your own words (minimum 100 words):    Following attacks across the country, the president signed into law arguably the most progressed bill dating more than three decades. The fight against gun violence has been unnecessarily prolonged due to the lack of political goodwill that is needed to develop policies and laws that determine how guns are distributed in society. The president’s executive order aims at ensuring a raft of measures are incorporated into law by ensuring that people meet certain measures; one of the ways the bill ensures this is achieved is through having several background checks. Furthermore, according to the bill, there should be more public awareness about determining some of the red flags and imposing the need to safely store firearms.

On a scale of 1 to 5, where do you feel this policy lands on the spectrum of being on the Pro or Con side of your topic? Highlight the appropriate number.

Pro side (in favor of)                                                                         Con side (against)

1                                 2                                 3                                 4                                 5

Briefly explain why you think your policy falls on that number in the spectrum. Why is this policy pro, con, or neutral? Do parts of the policy take components from both sides of the topic? For example, does it represent a solution that individuals on different sides of the topic might agree upon? Or, does the policy mainly support one perspective? (minimum 100 words):     The policy is definitely pro-gun control; one of the reasons for this assumption is that the bill ensures there are a raft of measures that have been designed to ensure that before buying guns, there is a series of background checks to determine if the individual meets the prerequisite requirements of gun ownership. Some of the changes have been the focus of most gun policies that have failed to be implemented primarily due to the lack of political goodwill. The policy is a pro-gun policy due to the emphasis it places on the need to have more awareness about guns and that it should be instituted. The policy does not take both sides of the topic as most opponents of the same insist that imposing some of the raft measures it would be an infringement of the Second Amendment.

Policy 2

Policy name (Precise bill/policy/legislation name):  Child-Access Prevention Laws

Policy link (Include a direct link to the policy. Do not use Wikipedia, news articles, etc. Go directly to the source for information): https://www.rand.org/research/gun-policy/analysis/child-access-prevention.html

Implementation level (Circle one of the following that fits your policy):   

Organizational/Institutional               Local                                                              Federal                

Brief summary of the policy in your own words (minimum 100 words): Several states have adopted this law; ideally, the law gives prosecutorial powers over people who carelessly and intentionally give their children unregulated access to guns. These laws are aimed at ensuring that people are held responsible for allowing violent crimes, suicides, and firearm injuries and fatalities to occur. It is estimated that more than 40% of juvenile suicides can be directly linked to children having unregulated gun access. These laws, which are state-dependent, do not have any bearing on federal legislation; hence, their limited adoption. Ideally, these laws are designed to make access to firearms more difficult, which would impair the ability to commit a crime or suicide. The application of this law is restricted to how well parents have knowledge of its existence, given the fact that most states do not have these laws.       

On a scale of 1 to 5, where do you feel this policy lands on the spectrum of being on the Pro or Con side of your topic? Highlight the appropriate number.

Pro side (in favor of)                                                                         Con side (against)

1                                2                                 3                                 4                                 5

Briefly explain why you think your policy falls on that number in the spectrum. Why is this policy pro, con, or neutral? Do parts of the policy take components from both sides of the topic? For example, does it represent a solution that individuals on different sides of the topic might agree upon? Or, does the policy mainly support one perspective? (minimum 100 words):     These laws are pro-gun control; these laws have been designed to impose liability on adults who leave their guns not stored properly and have resulted in fatalities or have used them to commit crimes. These laws have been designed to have reduced crime and unintentional deaths. The implementation of strict laws on the storage of firearms has seen a decreased suicide rate. The logic is that most of the states to have adopted these laws make it their responsibility to ensure that their constituents understand these laws are in effect and the ramifications of leaving guns where there is unregulated gun access. Some opponents of these laws argue that parents may assume that they have safely kept their guns only to have their children gain access to the same guns. In addition, opponents argue that its effectiveness is based on whether gun owners are made aware of the guns; thus, the lack thereof awareness renders them unlikely to store guns safely for the sake of penalties.

Policy 3

Policy name (Precise bill/policy/legislation name):  U.S. Gun Policy; Global Comparisons

Policy link (Include a direct link to the policy. Do not use Wikipedia, news articles, etc. Go directly to the source for information):         https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/192077/U.S.%20Gun%20Policy_%20Global%20...pdf

Implementation level (Circle one of the following that fits your policy):   

Organizational/Institutional               Local                          State                                          

Brief summary of the policy in your own words (minimum 100 words):    The policy is meant to address the issue of gun control in the U.S. with an emphasis on the comparison of how other developed countries have successfully controlled the use of guns. The policy looks into details of how military-style guns are readily available, which has fueled gun use in the country. The policy looks into how the country has a relatively high gun-to-population ratio compared to other countries. Whereas the government has failed to address gun control measures despite the numerous attacks that have persistently affected the country, other countries such as Britain used such acts to fuel the need to address gun control using political goodwill, which has been a weapon of disposal to the U.S.

On a scale of 1 to 5, where do you feel this policy lands on the spectrum of being on the Pro or Con side of your topic? Highlight the appropriate number.

Pro side (in favor of)                                                                         Con side (against)

1                                 2                                 3                                 4                                 5

Briefly explain why you think your policy falls on that number in the spectrum. Why is this policy pro, con, or neutral? Do parts of the policy take components from both sides of the topic? For example, does it represent a solution that individuals on different sides of the topic might agree upon? Or, does the policy mainly support one perspective? (minimum 100 words):     The policy is pro-gun control; the logic is that the government has measures at their disposal. However, they have failed to materialize due to a lack of political goodwill that has seen other countries successfully implement gun control measures. For instance, due to past gun violence, countries like England, Australia, and Canada have stricter gun laws than the U.S. These countries have in common the political goodwill that took to have these firearms taken away from the hands of civilians. The policy also advocates for a radical change when it comes to the gun culture, arguing that countries such as Israel have a huge population-to-gun ratio, but despite this, the county has a significantly lower homicide rate.

Topic Stakeholders

Stakeholders are people or organizations that have an interest or concern in something (a.k.a. have a stake in the outcome). Now that you are familiar with policies on this topic, you should also become familiar with organizations/agencies that are interested in this issue and have a position statement that may support or oppose legislation on this particular topic.

Below you will identify organizations/agencies which are stakeholders for this topic. Include the name of the organization, paraphrase their position statement on the topic, and include a link to the statement you are paraphrasing. The first one, the American Public Health Association (APHA), has already been selected for you and you will fill out the rest. Researching APHA’s position on this topic will help you understand the public health perspective on this topic. 

1.     ­­­Organization Name:          American Public Health Association (do not remove)    

Position Summary (1 sentence): According to the organization, gun violence is one of the leading causes of premature deaths in the U.S.; as such, it has been classified as major public health crisis.  

­Link to Position Statement:­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­   https://www.apha.org/-/media/files/pdf/factsheets/200221_gun_violence_fact_sheet.ashx        

2.      Position statement from an organization with a “con” stance:

Organization Name: Gun Owners Association ___________

Position Summary (1 sentence):        The association argues that by allowing the government to take away the Second Amendment rights, there is no limit to the extent of the government’s will power to restrict people’s rights

Link to “Con” Position Statement:­­­­­­ https://saf.org/     ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

3.     Position statement from an organization with a “pro” stance:

Organization Name: _Brady__________________________________________

Position Summary (1 sentence):        the organization support gun control, citing the need to work unitedly against gun violence and jointly to prevent the spread of the epidemic regardless of ethnicity, race, and identity

Link to “Pro” Position Statement:­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­     https://www.bradyunited.org/                                               _______