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CONSTITUTIONAL ARGUMENT PARAGRAPH. District Required Assessment. WHAT IS A CONSTITUTIONAL ARGUMENT?. A controversial issue is one in which… an issue that challenges the Constitution there are competing values and interests
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CONSTITUTIONAL ARGUMENT PARAGRAPH District Required Assessment
WHAT IS A CONSTITUTIONAL ARGUMENT? • A controversial issue is one in which… • an issue that challenges the Constitution • there are competing values and interests • people disagree strongly about statements, assertions (claims), or actions. • there is political sensitivity (governments tend to stay neutral about these issues) • emotions become strongly hightenend • protest is aroused
OVERVIEW • Amendments to the Constitution grant citizens rights that are supposed to be beneficial to the common good of society as well as to the individual. • Sometimes however, these rights are called into question and people can disagree on the interpretation of the amendments.
OVERVIEW CONTINUED • Remember, most of the amendments to the Constitution were written before the 1900’s. • Times have changed but the document has not! • This assessment will force you to ask yourself, ”is that Constitutional?” which is just what the Supreme Court Justices have to ask themselves every day!
SECOND AMENDMENT “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”
AT ISSUE TODAY: • Was it the intention of the Framers to give ALL citizens the right to own ANY weapon? • Should we have stricter gun control laws? • Do gun control laws prevent crime? • Why does the United States have so many more deaths by gun shot than any other industrialized nation?
TWO SIDES TO EVERY ISSUE • Pro Gun Control = Some government restrictions on access to guns • Major organization in support: • American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) • Brady Bill • Anti Gun Control = No government involvement in individual ownership of guns • Major Organization in support: • National Rifle Association (NRA)
TAKE A STAND – CHOOSE A SIDE YOUR ISSUE
YOUR PROMPT: DEATH PENALTY • Under the present US Constitution, should certain criminal offenders be sentences to death? • Think about: • Is the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment? • Should the death penalty be legal in the US?