Respond to DQB
Offer two alternative effects of these laws or cases to your colleagues.
Respond as if you are speaking directly to the writer below. Use their references. In text citations. APA format.
Progressivism was the reform movement that ran from the late 19th century through the first decades of the 20th century. During this time, social reformers in the United States sought to address the economic, political, and cultural questions that had arisen in the context of the rapid changes brought with the Industrial Revolution and the growth of modern capitalism in America (Shmoop University, 2016). The judiciary proved the most conservative institution of the Progressive Era. Furhtermore, the Supreme Court had radically redefined the 14thAmendment. The judiciary wielded significant power over Progressive reforms given that it could reinterpret important legislation with a simple majority ruling (Shmoop University, 2016). On the other hand, the court could reject written laws that congressman and state legislatures had spend months pushing through.
In America, the history of gun control is riddled with racism and corruption in addition to deception. The Sullivan Act is one of America’s first gun control laws. Timothy Sullivan represented New York’s Red Hook district. According to Perry (2009), “commercial travelers passing through the district would be relieved of their valuables by armed robbers” (p.1). As a result, travelers armed themselves in order to be protected, which raised the risk of robbery. Sullivan’s outlaw constituents demanded that Sullivan introduce a law that would prohibit concealed carry of pistols, as a result reducing the risk to robbers from armed victims. The criminals were already breaking the law and had no intention of being deterred by the Sullivan Act from their business activity of armed robbery (Perry, 2009). Consequently, the effect of the Sullivan Act was what the criminals intended being that it made their life of crime easier.
The debate over gun control in the United States has stirred a series of mass killings by gunmen in civilian settings. In particular, according to Masters (2016), the killing of 20 schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012 fueled a national discussion over gun laws and calls by the Obama administration to limit the availability of military-style weapons. Gun-control advocates sought to rekindle the debate following another string of deadly mass shootings in 2015, including the killing of nine people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, and 14 at a community center in San Bernardino, California (Masters, 2016). These advocates often highlight the stricter gun laws and lower incidence of gun violence in several other democracies, but many people say this correlation proves little and note that rates of gun crime in the United States have plunged over the last two decades. Moreover, the lasting effects would be the more gun laws are established the more innocent people would get killed in addition to other violent crimes being committed. However, gun laws must not go unnoticed. Having this information is important being that as a person of interest in the criminal justice field it is important to ensure protection at all levels.
References:
Masters, J. (2016). Gun control around the world: A primer. Retrieved from,
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/01/worldwide-gun-control-policy/423711/
Perry, J. S. (2009). The Sullivan Law: History about gun control. Retrieved from,
The Sullivan Act: Some History about Gun Control
Shmoop University. (2016). Law in Progressive Era. Retrieved from,
http://www.shmoop.com/progressive-era-politics/law.html
