Gun Control

1) What is the second ammendment and what does it cover?  The second ammendment is the right to bear arms, but there is no clear distinction between whether that means individual people can own arms or not.  The point of this ammendment when it was created was for states to be able to easily draw up a militia.  But nowadays we have little or no need for a militia, so why do we need to have guns?-http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/ammendment02/

2)What are some positives to owning guns?  Farmers need their guns as a tool of their trade.  For one, if they need to put an animal down, then they simply do it themselves efficiently and cheaply with a gun.  Also, they need to protect their flock from coyotes and other prey animals.  Also going along with protection, guns can be used to protect our families and property from buglary.-idebate.org/database/topic_details.php?topicID=33

3) Do guns cause or protect from crime?

Guns can bean intimidating factor.  As a member of the NRA, a few years ago they sent my family signs that say " There are no guns in this household".  WHat they found is that when people were to put these signs up in their homes, the homes were more frequently broken into.  This being said, sometimes guns get stolen if they aren't locked up properly, and then are used for crimes- same source as above.

4)  Why would anyone want to have a gun?

People want guns for several different reasons, as there are several different types of guns out there.  For one, maybe a woman who works in the city wants a pistol to carry in her purse.  Also, maybe a father in a family wants to protect his family so he keeps a short shotgun in the house.  However, guns can also be used for recreation.  Competetive shooting and hunting are staples on which this country was founded, and bring millions of dollars of revenue into various states like Utah and South Dakota each year.- same website

5 topics

1) Abortion- Should Partial-Birth Abortions Be Legal?-  This whole argument consists of whether abortion should be legal or not.  Obviously someone who is against abortion all together is not going to endorse partial-birth abortion.  However, how many out there that believe in abortion believe in this specific type? At what point do people who believe in abortion find it ugly and repulsing?

2)Gun Control-Although this topic is widely heating up right now based on the recent presidential election, peoples opinions are rather stagnate about gun control.  the website brings up the idea that guns are only made for one thing- killing people.  However, the concept of people carrying self defense weapons does drop the robbery and mugging rates.  Therefore, should concealable guns, and guns in general, be legal to own and use?

3)Immigration- Should laws be passed to allow people to come to our country more easily?  Right now we are going through a recession and jobs are hard enough to find for those of us who actually live here.  Why then would we want more people in the country?  However, should we force others to live in unbearable conditions in slums in other countries where they will never reach their full potential?

4)Driving Age-  What should the minimum driving age be?  For instance, there are many people who are mature enough to drive, yet aren't old enough.  Also, there are plenty of people who are of age who have no business to be behind a wheel.  This being said, what qualifications should be in place for driving?

5)Alcohol Age-  How old do people need to be to drink?  Many believe that it is more of a decision of how well you can hold your alcohol than of age, but does age actually matter?  Some scientists have decided that the human brain isn't mature until 21, but if people are going to drink underage,  why shouldn't we just lower the age? 

Observation of peer editing

Although I thought my first draft of my paper was a bit repetitive, my critic in class did not agree.  He said that he quite enjoyed my paper, and pointed out a few points where I might have been a bit ambiguous or repetitive.  however, I benefited very much from reading another students paper.  One of the main roadblocks for me in writing my paper was to avoid bashing President Obama.  The paper was to reflect what the cartoon was trying to say, not my political views on the cartoon.  As for my paper, i strayed away from bashing Obama, and stuck to what the meat of the cartoon meant.  However, the student whose paper I read did not follow the guidelines so closely.  As a result, the paper focused more on hating Obama than what the student's cartoon was trying to portray.  The benefit from reading this paper came to me in that I learned what it's like to read a paper that bashes something, instead of staying on topic.  All throughout high school I had trouble keeping my own beliefs out of my work; however, because of this paper I have learned how those papers come to the reader.  I wasn't convinced to believe his opinions by reading the essay; rather, I was turned off of the essay and thought of it as Obama-hating.  The most important thing I got out of this assignment was to make sure that I stayed on topic and strayed away from random, hating tangents.