Yes, we will be meeting on Monday (Columbus Day), even though the Library is closed. Same time (10:30am), same place (the Howard Room).
There’s a lot of political rhetoric about gun control these days…from both sides…so this week we’ll try to parse through the issue in detail:
- How much of a problem is gun violence in the US?
- Mike W. found an interesting Pew Research study about gun violence trends.
- I’m sure someone can find a study comparing violent crime in the US to other developed countries.
- What does the Second Amendment really mean?
- What sort of “arms” are protected? All? Only non-combat weapons? Only for state militias?
- What has been the influence of the Supreme Court on the interpretation?
- So what can be done to reduce gun violence?
- What exactly are President Obama’s “common sense reforms” and, if passed, would they really accomplish much?
- Where do each the 2016 Presidential candidates stand?
- Here are the alternatives as I see them. (You’re invited to bring some more if you think I’ve missed something important.)
- Do nothing
- Adopt “common sense reform” (aka minor tweaks to existing law
- Wait for Supreme Court turnover to reinterpret the Second Amendment
- Go “whole hog” for repeal. Here’s another article (sort of) discussing How to Create a Gun-Free America in Five Easy Steps.
Lastly, here’s a Washington Post article from last week on How to Argue About Gun Control that provides some arguments, pro and con, on various subtopics related to the issue.
See you tomorrow!