jcaulfield20ahsgov

[jcaulfield20ahsgov]

CIVIC ACTION ASSESSMENT OF ISSUE

“And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you –

ask what you can do for your country.”

President John F. Kennedy

“Service is never a simple act; it’s about sacrifice for others and about accomplishment for ourselves, about reaching out, one person to another, about all our choices gathered together as a country to reach across all our divides.”

George H.W. Bush

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

President Barack Obama

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Gandhi

·         Review the quotes above and reflect upon/answer:

1.      What do you see as your roles as a citizen of this country in meeting the needs of our community?

          -I believe that my role as a citizen of the United States is to look into issues that I feel strongly about and to figure out how I can help advance certain causes. I think that it is important to contribute my opinions on the issues surrounding my community because every voice matters and could make a difference.

2.     What have you learned in this class about civic responsibility?

          -In this class, I have learned that civic responsibility can range from researching different issues to protesting and writing to senators. There is a wide range of civic responsibilities that citizens can take part in, but every single one of them is important. I think that as long as you contribute in any way, you are making a difference.

3.     Do you feel it is your civic obligation to help address the problems your civic action issue has created? Explain.

          -Yes, I think that it is my civic obligation to address gun control and gun violence because I am now knowledgable and informed on the subject. I strongly believe that communities around the nation need to increase gun control and safety. I think that ways of addressing these issues are speaking out to senators and representatives, and creating interest groups to speak out as a group and inform more people. 

4.    Have you volunteered your time to respond to this issue, either by directly volunteering; educating the public about it;  expanding your knowledge of the issue by attending government or non-government meetings, demonstrations, etc.?  If so, explain this experience in detail, provide dates and evidence.

          -Yes, I have volunteered time to this issue, by attending a meeting of the Mom’s Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. This is an advocacy group for stronger laws and policies that will reduce gun violence. They are a non-partisan grassroots movement with millions of supports all over the nation. On November 7th, I went to the first meeting of the Contra Costa Chapter of this organization. I was really excited and interested to see how they would talk about and explain their organization, not to mention how they would start it up. I talked to multiple mothers and attendees before the meeting started on their experiences and why they attended. All of them just wanted a safer community. The presentation started with the presenters’ backstories, and then they told bold and surprising statistics which captured my attention. Then they discussed what they do-advocate and talk to the community members. They ended with information relating to the next steps, recruiting more members, and the roles of the Chapter that would be needed to be filled. I was overall pleasantly surprised by the organization the meeting.

The picture below is a selfie of right before the presentation and meeting began.

[jcaulfield20ahsgov]

Executive Action Assessment of Issue

White House: https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/

1.      President Trump’s stance on gun control is that he wants to increase it. He wants to decrease gun violence and injuries from guns. He believes in more background checks and not allowing people with mental illnesses to have guns. Although he says that he supports gun control, no action has been done to support his spoken beliefs. He also wants to make sure that Americans are still able to keep and enjoy their gun rights.

2.      I mainly agree with the President’s stance on gun control and violence, except I think that he is more encouraging of guns than I am.  Also, I believe in more restrictions and control in more depth than he does.

Cabinets: https://www.usa.gov/branches-of-government#item-214500 

3.      The Department of Homeland Security is the Executive Cabinet that manages my issue.

4.      The Department of Homeland Security’s mission statement is “to secure the nation from the many threats we face”. They want to keep America safe, which directly relates to gun control because restrictions on gun use limit gun violence and protect the citizens of the United States.

5.      Chad F. Wolf is the secretary of the department. He has a background of over 20 years of policy development and management experience in both the public and private sectors and has made many advancements and achievements in his department. He is professionally qualified to lead this department, which can lead to beneficial outcomes for the department. Also, it should lead toward advancements in the issue of gun control.

6.      Citizen Corps and ‘If you see something, say something’ are two programs of the department suitable for responding to my issue. ‘If you see something, say something’ can help with watching out for and reporting signs of a shooter. Citizen Corps prepares citizens to respond to threats and terrorism, which gun shootings fall under.

7.      I am not satisfied with the executive action on gun control, because there has not been much movement on the issue when this is a very pressing time of gun violence.  It appears that President Trump wants to increase this Cabinet’s funding, which seems like a good idea. Gun control needs a lot of work and time spent on it. I think that decreasing funding would lead to even slower movement and advancements toward more gun control.

Article URL:

8.      SACAPS: 

          S: The subject of the article is the stances of the 2020 presidential candidates on gun control. They all believe in more gun control, like background checks. Additionally, some strongly believe in more extreme restrictions like licenses and gun buybacks.

          A: Maggie Astor is the author of this article.  She is a political reporter for The New York Times and has experience with many other newspapers.

          C: This article is very relevant today because there have been many gun shootings recently. These shootings have led to many injuries and deaths, and have led to increasing awareness of gun violence. 

          A: The intended audience of this article is the voting public. It is written towards anyone who would be voting for a democrat, so they can be more informed on their candidates. 

          P: I think that if the author is biased, it is with the stance that there should be gun control. This is because all of the candidates she talks about want at least some sort of gun control. 

          S: The significance of this article is that there needs to be new gun control and restrictions fast. Also, it represents that all of the Democrat candidates want gun control. I agree with this because there has been too much gun violence recently. 

[jcaulfield20ahsgov]

State and Legislative Action

Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (https://a16.asmdc.org/)

      -She has the position of supporting gun control, including needing background checks and licenses in order to own guns. She wants more safety. Other than the Second Amendment, this issue mainly falls under state authority.

      - I agree with her position because I believe that there needs to be more gun control and safety. 

      -She has sponsored the Mental Health Diversion Gun Control Bill (AB 1121). This bill places restrictions on people with mental illnesses possessing firearms. She also sponsored the Trust Transfer Gun Control Requirements Bill (AB 1292 ), which oversees gun transfers to make sure they follow the laws and requirements.    

State Senator Glazer (https://sd07.senate.ca.gov/).

     -He strongly supports more gun control and regulations, with the purpose of increasing the safety of the citizens of the United States.

     -I agree with this because I believe that guns are dangerous and consistently cause unnecessary harm and violence. 

     -He has sponsored a bill on transferring firearms (SB 61), which limits the number of times firearms can be transferred. 

Current California bills that pertain to your issue:  https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billSearchClient.xhtml

     -The bill number is AB-893. This means that it is in the Assembly.

     -The bill was introduced on October 11, 2019.

     -The last major action of the bill was to prohibit the sale of firearms and ammunition at the Del Mar Fairgrounds property.

     -I think that this bill is positive and beneficial because the sale of firearms at the Fairground was unsafe and could easily lead to injuries or accidents to occur. Also, the sale of firearms to unregulated customers was unsafe. I would definitely encourage my representatives to support this bill.

Congressman Desaulnier (https://desaulnier.house.gov/)

     -He supports gun control and regulation. He believes in higher levels of gun violence prevention and safety. 

     -Yes, he has sponsored a gun safety bill (H.R.4177). This bill was created by the Board of Gun Safety, and is very new. As it is just being introduced, the bill summary is still being developed. Since there is no information on the bill, I can not say whether or not I support it.

Senator Harris (https://www.harris.senate.gov/)  

     -She also supports gun control and further regulations to increase gun safety.

     - She co-sponsored the bill S1831, which prohibits the distribution of 3D printer plans for the printing of firearms. I support this because I think that it should be illegal for people to be able to make their own guns.

Senator Feinstein (https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/) 

     -She is a strong advocator for gun restrictions and control. Among other components, she wants to stop all weapons of war from being produced and distributed.

     -A bill she sponsored was the Assault Weapons Ban Act Bill (S66). This halted the movement of 205 military-style firearms and banned large-capacity magazines and ammunition. I support this bill because I believe that the things that are restricted in this bill are unnecessary and should be banned.

 www.countable.us

Yes, there are 10 bills that pertain to gun control.

The bill number of one House Bill is 582.

The bill discusses whether or not congress should condemn the president's executive actions on gun control.

If it gets passed with an answer of no, more legislation could be passed by the president on gun issues. If it passed with the answer of yes, then it may become much harder and slower to pass legislation on gun issues.

I would vote “yes” because it would create one more check to the powers of the president to make sure that a decision was not rashly made. 

The bill originated in the House and was introduced on January 6th, 2016. The Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Committee on the Judiciary are the committees that have reviewed it. It has 41 co-sponsors but has not been voted on yet. 

[jcaulfield20ahsgov]

Political Interest Groups, and PAC Assessment

1.       Identify one national interest group that represents your issue. Include:

a.      Interest group name: Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

b.     They want to create a safer America and increase gun control.

c.       - It wants increased background checks, and restrictions on bump stocks and who can purchase guns.

          -It believes in weapons of war being banned.

          - Their mission is o reduce gun violence by 25% by 2025.

          - They want to fund more gun-violence prevention programs in urban areas.

          - They work on Capitol Hill and in statehouses all around the United States to make sure gun laws are passed and enforced.

d.      They are trying to legalize the bipartisan Prevent Family Fire Act. This act embraces a market approach to increasing safe firearm storage. It is supposed to reduce family fire incidents.

e.       This interest group is located in Washington DC, but there are chapters all across the nation. On November 13th, there is a meeting in Oxnard, California, and it is hosted by the Ventura County Chapter.

f.        Yes, there are volunteer opportunities. They are going to events, talking to representatives, and donating. The soonest event is the one above.

g.       It is interesting how they add strong statistics to their page, like how a woman is shot by her partner every 16 hours in the United States.

2.       Identify one state interest group that represents your issue. Include:

a.      Interest group name: Gun Owners of California

b.      This group has the perspective of pro-gun ownership.

c.       - The Second Amendment needs to be supported for the freedoms of the citizens of the USA.

          -Hunting and responsibility with guns is an American tradition and heritage that needs to be upheld. 

          -They believe that the sport of shooting should not be restricted.

          -They held a raffle for guns in 2019.

          -The members of this group are constantly active in Washington fighting for gun-rights.

d.      The piece of legislature, CA A 276; Firearms: Storage, is one piece of many legislations that this group is fighting against. It is from April 2, 2019, and states that guns need to be securely stored while not in the residence of the owner.

e.       This interest group is located in Folsom, California. The soonest event is a crab feed in April 2020, in Citrus Heights, California.

f.        Volunteer opportunities are voting, donating, going to events like the one mentioned above, talking to representatives, and gaining membership.

g.      They display their sponsors, which is interesting. They also show ways of getting around gun trouble or legislation. 

3.       Compare the two interest groups: The Brady campaign seems more organized and successful because they are a national organization. Their target audience is much greater than the Gun Owners of California. The supporters of the Brady Campaign are anyone who believes in greater gun control. Also, anyone who has been affected by gun violence.  

4.       Choose one PAC or Super PAC that pertains to your civic action issue. Include:

a.      PAC name: Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund

b.      This group ants more gun control and protection to the citizens of the USA.

c.       They have raised $176,074, and they have spent $105,520. They now have $89,433 cash on hand. 

d.      90% of their budget is spent on Democrats, and 10% is spent on Republicans.

e.       There are 6 donors shown from 2019. Kathleen McGrath(in the US Navy), Alice Neumann(doctor), Kevin Rowe, and Wyndham Robertson are some of there donors. These people seem to want to protect the citizens of the nation.

[jcaulfield20ahsgov]

Political Party Action

The position of the following political parties on your issue: 

Republican (www.gop.com)

-Position: They want more gun freedoms and less gun control. They support citizens’ right to have and bear arms.

-I don’t agree with this position, because they don’t propose enough gun control. It centers around gun freedoms more than control.

Democrat (www.democrats.org)

- They want to expand and strengthen background checks and increase gun control.

- I agree with this position because I believe in strong background checks and regulations.

Libertarian (www.lp.org)

- They believe in the right to keep and bear arms, and that people should be able to exercise that right. 

- I don’t agree with their stance, because it is for strong gun freedoms, instead of gun control.

Green (www.gp.org)

- They believe in expanding background checks and victim’s rights. They support gun control.

- I agree with this position because they support gun control and the victim’s rights.

Peace and Freedom (www.peaceandfreedom.org)

- They want to defend and expand the right to keep and bear arms for individual and collective defense. 

-I don’t agree with this position, because I don’t agree with strengthening gun rights. They don’t promote strong gun control, which is what I believe in.

I identify with the Green Party the most, which is a little surprising to me. I thought that I would identify with the Democratic Party the most, but I really liked some of the stances of the Green Party. However, I wouldn’t necessarily vote for the Presidential candidate only because of this subject, because I would want to see where the candidate stands on other issues too.

[jcaulfield20ahsgov]

Blog Post #3: Constitutional Issues

1.      What is the name of the case?

District of Columbia v. Heller

2.      The term it was decided?

June 26, 2008 - Roberts Court

3.      Briefly summarize the facts of the case.

District of Columbia Code declared it illegal to carry an unregistered firearm and prohibited the registration of handguns. Owners of lawfully registered firearms had to disable them unless they were being used for legal recreational activities. Dick Anthony Heller was a D.C. police officer. He argued that they violated his Second Amendment right to keep a functional firearm at home without a license. 

4.      What is the constitutional question the justices were deciding?

Do the provisions of the District of Columbia Code that restrict the licensing of handguns and require licensed firearms kept in the home to be kept nonfunctional violate the Second Amendment?

5.      Which constitutional provisions or amendments are in question?

Second Amendment

6.      What was the decision?

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decided that Heller was correct, and the District of Columbia’s requirement that firearms kept in the home be nonfunctional violated the Second Amendment. It was a 5-4 majority.

7.      What precedent does this decision establish?

The Second Amendment should be read to “guarantee an individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation” in order to have self-defense and protection.

8.      Do you agree or disagree with the court’s decision? Explain.  

I agree with the court's decision because I believe that banning hand-guns that people would have at home for protection does not benefit the public and the citizens.

Article from Twitter: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/us/dan-patrick-texas-nra.html

S: Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick of Texas endorsed expanding the state’s background checks to private gun sales, defying the National Rifle Association.

A: The author is Neil Vigdor, a breaking news reporter on the Express Desk.

C: It was published on September 6, 2019, so it is very recent and relevant. 

A: All citizens and Republicans that would be voting for him in the next reelection. He wants to lead the Republicans to be more open to more gun control.

P: I think that the article is objective, although if it was biased, it would be in support of gun control.

S: I agree with the article and Governor Dan Patrick, because having a gun is serious, and there should be thorough background checks on the owners in case of mental illnesses or other issues. 

[jcaulfield20ahsgov]

Media Assessment of Issue

 1. Article from a Liberal source:

    S: The subject of the article is President Trump’s inconsistency when it comes to gun control and laws. The writer explains how he goes between supporting the NRA and new gun laws.

    A: Robert Spitzer is the author of this article. He is a Jesuit priest, philosopher, educator, author, and speaker. He has written many books on religion and self-care. He wrote this opinion piece for CNN.

    C: This source was produced on August 24, 2019. I am not sure where this source was produced. This could affect the meaning of the article because it is very relevant and current. 

    A: The audience of this article are Liberals who desire gun control. This could affect the reliability of the source because it is biased.

    P: The article is subjective and biased against President Trump. The author’s claim is that Trump is not consistent with his policies and a lacking president. I agree with this because President Trump needs to choose a side and start making decisions for it.

    S: The evidence used in this article are quotes from Senators and the president himself. Also, President Trump’s actions in regard to current events are used to display that he is unable to commit to once side.

URL:https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/24/opinions/trump-flip-flops-gun-control-spitzer/index.html

2. Article from an Objective source:

   S: This article discusses revisions to the Violence Against Women Act which would increase gun control relating to purchases by convicted domestic abusers.

   A: The author is Emily Cochrane. She reports in the Washington bureau of The New York Times, covering Congress. 

   C: This article was published on April 4, 2019. This means that the story is still current and relevant. It still holds ground today relating to gun control.

   A: The intended audience of this article is the public and anyone who is interested in gun control updates and news. 

   P: This article is objective. Cochrane discusses both the Democrats’ and Republicans’ opinions on the issue. I agree with the majority of the Democrats that we should pass this act because it increases protection of women and gun control.

   S: The evidence used in this article are quotes from Democratic and Republican Senators. There are also quotes from people in organizations that relate to the issues discussed.

URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/us/politics/nra-violence-against-women-act.html?searchResultPosition=4

3. Article from a Conservative source:

   S: This article discusses the reactions to gun control legislation being passed after a shooting at a synagogue. The gun control advocates appreciate the movement and action, while gun-rights advocates are suing the state.

   A: The authors of this article are Ramesh Santanam and Michael Rubinkam.  They both write for the Associated Press at Fox News.

   C: This article was published on April 9, 2019, meaning that it is fairly recent and therefore still relevant.

   A: The audience is generally Republicans because Fox News presents to a conservative audience.

   P: While this article presents the opinions of both gun-rights and gun control advocates, it is subjective and has biased towards the gun-rights side. There is more representation and reasoning for this side, which I don’t agree with. I believe that it is correct to have more gun-control legislation after a mass shooting in a place of worship.

   S: The evidence used in this article are quotes from both Senators and governors passing this legislation, but also people from the gun-control and gun-rights activists groups.

URL: https://www.foxnews.com/us/suit-filed-over-gun-controls-inspired-by-synagogue-shooting

4. What are the similarities and differences between these three accounts of your issue?

       The similarities between these articles are that they are all relating to gun legislation either being passed or a lack of legislation. In both the objective and conservative articles, there is legislation being passed. The liberal article is different because it talks about a lack of legislation.

       The differences in these articles are the objectiveness or subjectiveness. Each article has a different bias, or lack thereof, relating to gun control and the issues relating to it.

5. Finally, which source do identify with most and why?

     I identify most with the Liberal source because I agree with the point of the article. I agree that President Trump needs to make decisions regarding this issue. However, I appreciate the objective article the most, because I feel as if I am only receiving information and not opinions.

[jcaulfield20ahsgov]

BLOG POST #1 CONCEPTUALIZING THE ISSUE AND ASSESSING TYPES OF ACTION

Responsible Gun Owners of America because they want more gun rights and they take another perspective on the issue. I find it interesting and surprising that they state that the NRA is bad and a terrorist organization. I don’t think that the NRA is positive, because they advocate so strongly for guns, but I don’t think that they are a terrorist group, because that is a strong accusation.  1.     What civic action issue did you choose and why?

        I chose the issue of gun violence and gun control, because of the many recent school shootings and other event shootings. I feel like this issue will be very interesting to watch over during the next few months because I believe that there will be progression and change relating to this topic. 

2.     Define the issue:  What is it? Who does it affect? Why is it relevant?

        Gun violence is violence relating to guns, usually during a shooting. Gun control is laws and regulations relating to guns, their uses, and being able to attain them. This issue affects people who use guns and people who have been in the crossfires of a shooting. This issue is relevant because there have been multiple school shootings in the last year. Additionally, there has recently been a large quantity of gun violence not relating to schools.

3.     What action do you think needs to be taken to address this issue?

       I think that there needs to be more regulation on who is able to have certain guns, especially automatic ones. I think that certain hunting guns don’t need to be as strictly regulated, as they are not as much as a threat. Additionally, I think that the weapons most used during shootings, like automatic assault rifles, need to be regulated and watched over.

4.     Finally, find five people, groups, agencies, or departments to follow on twitter that pertain to your issue.  List the five that you are on following on twitter in your post and explain why.  Are there any tweets that you find interesting? That you agree or disagree with? Why?  Be sure to follow groups that represent multiple perspectives on the issue.

       1. NRA is the first group I followed because they are a strong advocator for guns and their use. One tweet I found interesting is relating to a regulation proposed which would increase the cost of guns and ammunition. I’m not sure if I agree with the regulation, because some people shoot for sport, but they portray it was something very negative that should not be passed

      2. The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence is another group I followed because they want to regulate gun violence and control it more. One tweet I found interesting is the account saying that Iowa Senator Joni K. Ernst would lose her job if she didn’t do anything. I don’t think this is true, but I find it interesting that they are putting pressure on her.

      3. I followed the California Brady Campaign because they are an advocator for gun control. I also followed the national account for the Brady Campaign. They really want the Senate to act and say #EnoughIsEnough a lot. I agree because there has been an unreasonable amount of mass shootings recently. 

      4. I followed Dianne Feinstein because she is both one of California’s Senators and she is a huge proponent for gun control. I find it interesting that her most recent post is about guns and how social media needs to stop selling guns on their platforms. I agree because it allows anyone to get their hands on weapons easily. 

       5. I followed Responsible Gun Owners of America because they want more gun rights and they take another perspective on the issue. I find it interesting and surprising that they state that the NRA is bad and a terrorist organization. I don’t think that the NRA is positive, because they advocate so strongly for guns, but I don’t think that they are a terrorist group, because that is a strong accusation.