The fourth stage involves assessing which of the policies are likely to be most effective, work best together and identify the impact of each course of action on the problem (Policy Analysis, slide 12). In this stage, analysts must make judgments on the best alternative by evaluating them on the basis of efficiency, equity, and cost-effectiveness. Trade-offs are also utilized during this stage to determine which policy will produce the best outcome over others. To make the determination, analysts ascribe weight to each criterion such as whether or not the government should focus on providing insurance to those in need or address the rising costs of health care instead. The more conflicting policy options, the more the need to weight criterion …show more content…
Tragedy affects the way we view life and can cause one to act impulsively to a crisis in an effort to eliminate a threat altogether. The best example of this can be seen when President Obama, riding the hype of the Sandy Hook murders sought to galvanize Congress and the public in his crusade to implement more stringent gun regulations including universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons and a ban on high-capacity magazines (Kopel, 2015; Jacobs, 2002). While the idea of increasing background checks appears noble and well-intentioned, the background check bills possess a vague rhetoric that would do more harm than good by criminally charging most gun owners for innocent acts – such as letting one’s brother or sister borrow a gun for target practice (Kopel, …show more content…
However, these regulations did not seem as prevalent or as highly publicized until more recent years in what appeared to be an explosion of mass shootings. These attacks, (Virginia Tech, Colorado Theatre, Sandy Hook etc.) outraged the public and spurred the Obama Administration to action. Because these events were so heavily publicized and covered in the media for days at a time, the issue was able to obtain legitimacy from the public as well as from the president and make it onto the agenda for a vote. President Obama brought the issue before Congress to expand background checks for gun buyers in an attempt to minimize criminal access to
Tragedy after tragedy, people find themselves mourning over the lives lost. And over and over again, they look back to see how they could have prevented it. People continue to argue and constantly debate what actions should be taken, and while doing so, more and more people lose their lives at the hands of gun violence. It’s clear to see that not much has been done to keep these weapons out of the wrongs hands: the shootings at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech have shown that. What would happen if there were to be another devastating shooting to occur? How would people react? Or would they just argue some more, while the wrong people can still easily get a hold of guns? The only way they can ever gain control of anything is by controlling the source of the problem, where people are able to freely purchase guns without restrictions. In order to reduce gun-related crime, unlicensed gun sellers should be required to run background checks on their customers.
Public policies are developed in response to the existence of a perceived problem or an opportunity. The analysis delves into a public issue or problem and assesses a set of proposed government action for addressing the issue. The job of the analyst is to describe the background and status of an issue and then, using research and analysis, determine a proper government action to resolve the issue. By comparing options and weighing their expected benefits, the analyst should conclude with a recommended course of action or inaction to addressing the issue.
Guns have possessed the spotlight of almost every news station. From the latest tragedy of a shooting killing innocent men, women and children to the arguments centering around if our gun laws possess strict enough qualities to keep our country safe. Charles C. W. Cooke, the author of “Gun-Control Dishonesty”, spreads his conservative view on the topic by ripping away any hope for a brighter day. Cooke’s main idea states that if nothing has happened to make gun law more strict even after the lives of innocent children were mercilessly ripped away from their young bodies than nothing should or could ever change. On the other hand, Adam Gopnik wrote his article, “Shooting”, uses a more liberal approach and inspires his audience to act upon the much needed change in our society
According to the The Atlantic website, efforts to promote gun control are renewed after tragedies occur; they then quickly vanish. As stated, “We don 't yet know if today 's tragedy in Connecticut will spark a national debate over gun control, or whether, like many massacres before it, it will fade quietly without leaving its mark on a single law” (Thompson). Derek Thompson cites a study by Ezra Klein reporting about ninety five people in favor of background checks being revised. The chart to the left shows that there are multiple gun control policies; ranking the highest are background checks. Many potential policies are taken into account when deciding which policy would have an ongoing positive outcome.
The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms, but only in cases of self-defense and hunting for food. However, the use of guns has drastically changed since 1791 when the amendment was implemented. Today, guns are not solely used in their intended ways. Since 2010, over eighty-seven school shootings have occurred within American grade schools, high schools, and universities, resulting in approximately 107 injuries and 109 murders of innocent students. The two most deadly shootings in the world occurred in the United States: the Virginia Tech University Massacre which left thirty-two dead and Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting which left twenty-eight dead. Each new shooting prompts a debate about gun control laws and leaves citizens wondering about the accessibility of guns; any United States citizen over the age of twenty-one that does not have any previous felonies is able to easily receive a gun license. Forty-nine out of the sixty-one school shootings that occurred between 1982 and 2012 legally obtained firearms. The statistics become even more outstanding: seventy nine percent of all shooters have been diagnosed with a mental illness or disability, including the Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook shooters, Seung-Hui Cho and Adam Lanza. Cho and Lanza were diagnosed with mental illnesses and disabilities, depression and autism, respectively. Even so, they were still able to acquire the guns they needed because extensive mental health background checks did not and still do not exist; Cho purchased his own weapon and Lanza stole his mother’s guns. Although the case studies of Lanza and Cho are only two out of the many school shootings, they should be considered prime examples to illustrate the necessity to add stri...
Aroung the time of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the controversial and widely argued issue of gun control sparked and set fire across America. In the past decade however, it has become one of the hottest topics in the nation. Due to many recent shootings, including the well known Sandy Hook Elementary school, Columbine High School, Aurora movie theater, and Virginia Tech, together totaling 87 deaths, many people are beginning to push for nationwide gun control. An article published in the Chicago Tribune by Illinois State Senator Jacqueline Collins, entitled “Gun Control is Long Overdue” voiced the opinion that in order for America to remain the land of the free, we must take action in the form of stricter gun laws. On the contrary, Kathleen Parker, a member of the Washington Post Writers Group whose articles have appeared in the Weekly Standard, Time, Town & Country, Cosmopolitan, and Fortune Small Business, gives a different opinion on the subject. Her article in The Oregonian “Gun Control Conversation Keeps Repeating” urges Americans to look at the cultural factors that create ...
In the article “Gun Control Can Prevent School Shootings,” Bennett shares the effects of gun violence in the past, present, and future. The Sandy Hook shooting occurred on December 14, 2012 when twenty children and six adult staff members were killed. Barely a month after the shooting, eleven of the families affected by the shooting went to meet privately with Joe Biden, and members from the Congress and cabinet. Bennett stated, “They were preparing to wade into some of the roughest waters in American politics: the gun debate.” President Obama gave a speech in Connecticut vowing to fight for change. And as Bennett put it, “Members of Congress started acting as parents instead of politicians.” Bennett explained to the families that they couldn't get rid of assault weapons or high capacity ammunition magazines, no matter how bad the shooting was. The families got angry and stated they did not want to know what they couldn't do, but what they could do to honor their children.
By appealing to several different views, Wheeler is able to grab every reader’s attention. Using schools as his focus point grabs the reader’s attention on a personal level. A school is a place where your children, your friends, your spouses all could be, and we still aren’t motivated to change our gun control laws. Tragic events do not have to happen like those that occurred at Virginia Tech, The Jewish Day care in Los Angeles, and Pearl High School. Wheeler believes concealed carry should be allowed in every school. Let’s make the students and teachers of these schools and colleges their own heroes. Wheeler says we must embrace all of the varied disciplines contributing to preparedness and response. We must become more willing to be guided and informed of empirical finding. School officials base policies on irrational fears. Wheeler states, “What is actually worse, the fear of what we think might happen, or the massacres that actually did occur?” Wheelers essay is very well thought out and uses fear, credibility, and factual evidence to support his beliefs. My belief is we should allow teachers and students to have guns at schools, as long as they have gone through training to do
There are gun control laws to try and reduce the number of violent shootings that occur. They are trying to put limits on weapons that Americans can own. The government is trying to take our guns away mainly because of people that are criminally insane. Most of the people who commit crimes don’t even have the weapons legally. If the government takes away the rights of people who are allowed to have firearms in their possession, it will most definitely cause an outrage. Most people believe that the people should be more capable of maintain proper use of the firearms instead of having them all taken away. Taking the firearms from Americans away would cause a lot more problems than there actually are. The people will be upset with the government taking firearms away because of the horrible people who harm innocent people using them. So they will do anything to their capabilities to keep them.
Many Americans are now applying for a license to carry licensed concealed arms with them. The rate at which licenses are being approved is worrying. This development is concerning law enforcement authorities. Putting so many firearms at the disposal of the public is counterproductive to the gains that are being made on improving security and especially in the cities where incidences of gun crime and violence are on the rise.
Frates, Chris. “The Gun Debate Isn’t Over Yet.” National Journal (2013): Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
Public shootings have recently become the backbone behind the gun control movement. People are hoping that potential shooters wouldn’t be able get the weapons if we put stricter regulations on weapons. Background checks and clip size are just a few of the issues that are being presented to lawmakers. Intensifying background checks could slow the amount of shootings happening but, won’t stop them. Most shooters receive their guns illegally or have someone that will pass a background check buy it
The problem with guns is fairly obvious: they decrease the difficulty of killing or injuring a person. In Jeffrey A. Roth's Firearms and Violence (NIJ Research in Brief, February 1994), he points out the obvious dangers. About 60 percent of all murder victims in the United States in 1989 (about 12,000 people) were killed with firearms. Firearm attacks injured another 70,000 victims, some of whom were left permanently disabled. In 1985, the cost of shootings was an estimated $14 billion nationwide for medical care, long-term disability, and premature death. In robberies and assaults, victims are far more likely to die when the perpetrator is armed with a gun than when he or she has another weapon or is unarmed.
There is nothing wrong about protecting yourself, but we have to make sure that the weapons we use to protect ourselves don 't get to the wrong people. " The debate about gun control is a global issue. However, it is more intense in the United States of America than any other region (‘Gun Control’ par 1). The groups against gun control show concern about violent crime and they don’t perceive gun control is the answer to violence committed using guns. However, they support strict laws against gun-related crimes and better enforcement of those laws. On the other hand, those who support gun control are of the opinion that background checks are
On the morning of December 14, 2012 at approximately 9:30 am, tragedy broke in the small town school of Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton, Connecticut. The lives of 27 innocent people were taken. The gunman Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 schoolchildren, 6 adult staff members and his own mother’s before turning the gun on himself. This incident has since been branded the second deadliest mass shooting, next to the 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre. The tragedy ignited a very controversial debate about the regulation of guns more known as gun control. The argument of gun control circles around the impact of passing laws to regulate the sales and possession of firearms. Gun advocates argue that the passing of gun control laws will be a violation of their second amendment rights, which protects the rights of an individual to keep and bear arms. Those supporting gun control are in favor for the instituting of policies that make the sales and possession of firearms even stricter, perhaps the ultimate banning of guns. Should we wait for horrific tragedies to pressure lawmakers to pass gun control laws or should they be already be enforced to protect the people and make society safer? Gun control laws need to be enforced on the account that guns are becoming more and more accessible; it will ensure the safety of our citizens and will perhaps decrease gun violence.