Author Archives: Vanessa

A viral subject that is going around is that of the Syrian Civil War. 62% of the American public feel that we do not have to support the Syrian rebels using any armed intervention to stop a conflict between government and anti-government organizations in Syria.

a second widespread situation that is going on is of the military induced massacre in the country of Nigeria. Reports have said more than 180 villagers have become casualties in the conflict between the Nigerian military and the rebel force called Boko Haram.

President Obama had promised to shut down the Guantanamo bay prison facility. however, his attempt at closing it down failed even with the help of congress. the detainees that remain in the facility have gone on hunger strikes for being in their without standing trial as well as not standing trial, which has resulted in a hunger strike from most of the detainees.

On May 6th, an article written by Alex Hern on guardian.co.uk states that a gun made from a 3D printer has been fired. There is much speculation on whether or not the gun should be made illegal. due to the fact that the person who owns the program for creating this gun on a 3D print is selling it to people who can potentially be or become criminals is bad enough.

as stated on the article “The gun – called the “Liberator” and produced by Defense Distributed, a group that describes itself as aiming to “defend the civil liberty of popular access to arms” through “information and knowledge related to the 3D printing of arms” – is the second to have made the headlines in the past year.”

With the recent bombing at Boston, shooting at Sandy Hook, politicians are considering making 3D printing of guns illegal. The possibility of printing all types of guns for free and without a gun license can lead to an increase of gun-related crimes.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/may/06/3d-printer-gun-has-been-fired

With gun control laws being enacted more often than before, some people wonder if these regulations will actually work. As of January 25 2013, an article on the Huffington Post states    “An Associated Press analysis found that there are thousands of laws, rules and regulations at the local, county, state and federal levels. The laws and rules vary by state, and even within states, according to a 2011 compilation of state gun laws by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. These laws and regulations govern who can carry a firearm, what kind of firearm is legal, the size of ammunition magazines and more. In some places, a person can buy as many guns as desired.” In fact, this maze of gun control laws makes it more difficult for the government to maximize protection against gun related crimes to the extent of what they can at this current time.

Last month, President Barack Obama started to draw attention to the new gun laws and regulations recently passed by the state of Colorado which he believes will help him put public pressure in order to enact similar federal measures. Another article on the Huffington Post stated that “Obama was traveling to the Denver suburbs Wednesday, stepping up his call for universal background checks for gun buyers as well as his demands for Congress to at least vote on an assault weapons ban and limits on large-capacity ammunition magazines.” This would definitely help regulate the use of guns as well as protect the safety of innocents who abide by the law.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/25/gun-control-efforts_n_2549830.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/03/president-obama-colorado-gun-control-aurora_n_3004168.html

Vanessa Vasquez

The interest in gun control has been increasing ever so much. With shootings such as the Aurora theatre tragedy and the Sandy Hook Massacre, politicians want to make sure that these gun laws help lower the chances of things like that happening again.

These gun laws would restrict citizens from purchasing many if not all assault or assault-type guns, and magazines that contain more than ten rounds. An article on the daily news website quotes Representative Craig Miner, “we believe it’s not the gun that kills the person. It’s the person that actually kills the person. That sounds kind of cold, but that’s the way it is.” From what Representative Craig Miner, who was speaking for the Republicans, is seems that they do not find that the problem are the guns but the people who use them are the root of it.

Senator Looney and the Senate president pro tempore, Donald Williams, both Democrats, urged action by March 13  -the next day, March 14, will signify the third month since the day of the shootings. They most likely wanted things to happen due to the fact that the shooting at Sandy Hook happened 3 months before as of now and nothing has really been done except in New York, Colorado and Maryland who have already taken action since the Newtown tragedy. It is quoted in the article that they wrote to their colleges saying “…In Connecticut, we must not bow to pressure from those who would delay action as a way of blocking common-sense reforms.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/06/nyregion/2-conflicting-agendas-arise-from-gun-safety-task-force-in-connecticut.html

According to n article on The Weekly Standard, the Washington Time reports that “Mrs. Feinstein’s measure would exempt more than 2,200 types of hunting and sporting rifles; guns manually operated by bolt, pump, lever or slide action; and weapons used by government officials, law enforcement and retired law enforcement personnel.” Not everyone will have to abide by Senator Dianne Feinstein’s gun control bill because if the proposed legislation becomes law then government officials and others will be exempt.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/feinstein-gun-control-bill-exempt-government-officials_697732.html

Vanessa Vasquez

1.) The New York Times
2.) The Huffington Post
3.) The weekly Standard
4.) NPR
5.) American Journalism Review

Gun Control