With the most recent school shooting at a Community College in Oregon, gun control is still a hot topic of debate. Passing stricter gun control laws is a political challenge. Voters who oppose gun control often decide who to vote for based only on this issue. Politicians don’t want to be hurt in the next election and are reluctant to propose strict gun control laws. However, Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut has proposed new gun control legislation in the past and is currently introducing new legislation. Listen to this story and then have your class debate whether new gun control laws will keep Americans safer.
Story Length: 4:30
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March 26, 2018
3:25
Across the country students walked out of their classrooms to protest the mass shooting that happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL and called for stricter gun laws. The protest was 17 minutes long in honor of each person killed during the shooting. There was another protest on March 24 in Washington D.C. and cities across the country called March for Our Lives, which aimed to end gun violence and mass shootings. Listen to hear from students at a high school in Philadelphia during the walk out, and more about these protests.
Read MoreOctober 16, 2017
3:37
In Las Vegas, a man shot hundreds of rifle rounds into a crowd at a concert in the deadliest mass shooting in recent history. This has reopened the debate about gun control. Owning guns, hunting and recreational shooting are part of the culture in parts of Nevada. The state gun laws are less restrictive and difficult to enforce. Listen to this story about federal, state and local gun laws.
Read MoreJune 19, 2014
7:05
The Second Amendment is only one sentence long. It allows for individuals to own and use guns. But since its inception, the meaning has been debated. There is still no public consensus around its meaning. Listen to this public radio story to learn more.
Read MoreSeptember 19, 2013
3:02
Starbucks Coffee has a new policy. While the coffee shop used to allow guns, it’s now saying that they’re no longer welcome. Starbucks is not explicitly banning these weapons, but instead just asking customers to leave them at home. This new policy has been met with mixed reactions. Click here to listen to this story about how the gun debate is mixing with coffee.
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