I post this with hesitation, but what the hell. If it ain't appropriate it'll get deleted.
A little over six months ago I presented a thesis in some undergraduate class at some college to a small crowd of people of mixed age and background.
Essentially, the thesis was a large collab of a handful of related research papers I wrote that more or less amounted to my angle on gun ownership as it pertains to legislation and politics within the United States, with a couple of points tossed in that I aimed to prove or disprove.
I started it a few years ago and played around with up until last winter when I finally got the motivation (easy A) to put my thoughts together and get it all down on paper, and the response from my peers was surprising, to say the least. The audience was a mix of individuals on both ends of the liberal/conservative extremes including active 2A supporters that regularly attended rallies along with people who actively opposed 2A supporters, including an individual involved in the My Sister's Keeper project that had actively campaigned against various forms of gun ownership.
I was thoroughly impressed with the meaningful dialogue that followed, carrying on for some hours. But, I digress. It was suggested to me by a professor that I present my project to other groups. The entire project was mostly verbal, with the use of audio/visual presentations, but I figured I'd just upload the text here as a start for whoever might be interested in critiquing. I'm wondering if it's worth taking it any further and expanding on it for future courses should the topic become relevant again.
In the paper I tackle a handful of interesting things; a brief historical analysis on 'gun culture', analyzing some pro-gun/gun control arguments, active shooters and gun-free zones, "assault weapons", the NRA, Hurricane Katrina, the Weschester and Rockland County fiasco, Various issues with the SAFE act including registries and 'evil features', the magazine argument, concealed carry, illicit firearms, the concept of total gun bans, law enforcement, self-defense, the fallacy of comparing statistics between two or more countries, the complexity of more guns = less crime or vice versa, the AR-15, interpreting 2A, Fast & Furious, potentially positive approaches to 'gun control' and more.
Just a disclaimer for the die-hard 2A defenders out there: it is a moderate-views paper, I do humor some liberal ideology so if you find it offensive, please excuse me. For the most part I make an effort to remain neutral.
I'm not exactly sure what I'm hoping to gain by posting this here. Open discussion, criticism, factual errors, argument, I welcome all of it. Thanks a ton to anyone who puts aside the time to read it, I hope you enjoy.
Gun Politics in the United States
A little over six months ago I presented a thesis in some undergraduate class at some college to a small crowd of people of mixed age and background.
Essentially, the thesis was a large collab of a handful of related research papers I wrote that more or less amounted to my angle on gun ownership as it pertains to legislation and politics within the United States, with a couple of points tossed in that I aimed to prove or disprove.
I started it a few years ago and played around with up until last winter when I finally got the motivation (easy A) to put my thoughts together and get it all down on paper, and the response from my peers was surprising, to say the least. The audience was a mix of individuals on both ends of the liberal/conservative extremes including active 2A supporters that regularly attended rallies along with people who actively opposed 2A supporters, including an individual involved in the My Sister's Keeper project that had actively campaigned against various forms of gun ownership.
I was thoroughly impressed with the meaningful dialogue that followed, carrying on for some hours. But, I digress. It was suggested to me by a professor that I present my project to other groups. The entire project was mostly verbal, with the use of audio/visual presentations, but I figured I'd just upload the text here as a start for whoever might be interested in critiquing. I'm wondering if it's worth taking it any further and expanding on it for future courses should the topic become relevant again.
In the paper I tackle a handful of interesting things; a brief historical analysis on 'gun culture', analyzing some pro-gun/gun control arguments, active shooters and gun-free zones, "assault weapons", the NRA, Hurricane Katrina, the Weschester and Rockland County fiasco, Various issues with the SAFE act including registries and 'evil features', the magazine argument, concealed carry, illicit firearms, the concept of total gun bans, law enforcement, self-defense, the fallacy of comparing statistics between two or more countries, the complexity of more guns = less crime or vice versa, the AR-15, interpreting 2A, Fast & Furious, potentially positive approaches to 'gun control' and more.
Just a disclaimer for the die-hard 2A defenders out there: it is a moderate-views paper, I do humor some liberal ideology so if you find it offensive, please excuse me. For the most part I make an effort to remain neutral.
I'm not exactly sure what I'm hoping to gain by posting this here. Open discussion, criticism, factual errors, argument, I welcome all of it. Thanks a ton to anyone who puts aside the time to read it, I hope you enjoy.
Gun Politics in the United States