I Visit The Gun Range!

A few months ago, at 2:00 a.m. a man tried to break down my parents from door.  Needless to say, when they heard the commotion they bolted out of bed.  My mom stayed upstairs to call the police, and my dad went downstairs to see what the problem was.  It ended up being a very drunk college student (my parents live in Bloomington) who was just at the wrong house, but he still managed to break through the storm door and break the frame of the main door before police came.

I don’t come from a family that owns guns.  We’ve never even talked about having a gun before, but that one incident made my dad change his mind.  Within the matter of a few weeks, he had purchased a handgun and was regularly going to the gun range to target practice.  Even though I don’t think I would want one, I strongly support the Constitution and the people’s right to have guns.  Plus, it was on my bucket list to shoot one, so a few weeks ago, I went with him to target practice.

Being at the gun range was pretty shocking to me.  There were lots of people, in fact lots of kids, and obviously a lot of guns.  There were also a lot of safety measures in place. What was shocking to me however, was the type of guns people were using.  I understand some people may use rifles and shotguns to hunt.  Other may be practicing with handguns for protection – but what were the snippers practicing?  Too old for military practice, I couldn’t figure out why the average American would need all the equipment necessary for being a sniper.  Maybe I’m just ignorant about guns, or maybe we’re taking this whole gun ownership a bit too far.

I was also curious how my dad had purchased his gun.  You see, my dad has a diagnosed mental health disorder and a history of violence.  It seems to me like he fits the mold for a person who probably shouldn’t have access to guns.  However, he told me there was no waiting period, no mental health checks, nothing.  He literally just walked in, and after a quick background check, purchased any gun he wanted.  Again, I support the Constitution, but I also think there should be better regulations around an industry that contributes to thousands of deaths each year – (yes, I know people kill people, not guns, but guns certainly play a role J).

While we were on our break, I’m sure you all heard about the killing of 9 people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.  Unfortunately, it seems every single quarter we’re faced with news stories such as these.  I’ve blogged so many times about gun violence that I’ve lost count.  If you’re interested in reading any of those posts, or your fellow student’s comments, use the word “shooting” in the search bar.  For this week, I’m interested in knowing, “Do you support or oppose gun ownership?  What do you think should be done to curb the staggering amount of gun-related deaths in this country?”  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, August 5^th, 2015

*Please note:  I will be out of town next week, but there will still be a new blog post, so don’t forget to post!

Living Free!

From the big news about Caitlyn Jenner, to Laverne Cox posing nude for Allure magazine and on the cover of Time, there’s no denying transgender issues have risen to the forefront of what the nation’s been talking about lately. This isn’t the first time I’ve blogged about transgender issues. Way back in 2011, I watched a fascinating documentary on transgendered children.  You can ready my thoughts and your fellow student’s comments here: http://historicalandpoliticalissues.blogspot.com/2011/02/when-harry-became-hailey.html

I’m too young to remember Bruce Jenner’s Olympic glory days.  To be honest, I knew him more from his role on Keeping up with the Kardashians than I did from his athletic accomplishments.  Still, it was a bit of a shock to watch his Diane Sawyer interview in which he revealed that for “all intents and purposes” he was really a she.  Not long after, the world was introduced to Caitlyn Jenner, and all hell broke loose.

All of a sudden, it was all anyone could talk about – and talk about it they did.  There was a lot of positivity being directed her way.  She’s courageous.  She’s saving lives.  She’s beautiful.  There was also a lot of hate speech being directed towards her.  People started saying she shouldn’t be allowed around her grandchildren.  She started being subjected to comments about how she looks, rather than what her message is. There were even those who thought she shouldn’t be honored with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPY Awards. The discussion became not about how brave Caitlyn had been to come forth and tell her story, but how many other brave individuals there are in the world, which may deserve the award more.

I’ve started watching a new show on TLC called I am Jazz, about a transgendered girl who is starting high school.  I’ve only seen one episode so far, but it’s already apparent that Jazz being transgendered means she faces certain challenges. What bathroom will she use at school?  What should she wear to a pool party?  Should she increase her levels of hormone blockers to prevent puberty from setting in?  Teenage years can be hard enough, without all this added pressure. Not to mention the bullying and harassment she faces. In fact, while the show was taping, in front of Jazz’ mother, two teenage boys openly called her a freak. It made me sad to realize it’s often what drives transgendered youth to take their own lives.

So, I’m interested to know what you think!  “Do you think all this talk about transgendered issues, helps or hurts our country?  Would you allow your child to live openly as transgendered while they were still a minor?”  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, July 29^th, 2015.

Choose Your Own Adventure!

I hope you all enjoyed a nice summer break, despite all the rain.  It's always hard coming back to school after the three week  breaks. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching and being surrounded by all the crazy, creative energy that is all of you. That being said, it's still hard to get back into the grind. So even though we have a lot to talk about this quarter, for our first blog post, I'll go easy on you.

This week we started our study of the Constitution and the freedoms that make us uniquely American. You can order your own free copy of the United States Constitution from: http://www.constitutionfacts.com/index.cfm?section=bookstore&page=freeCopy.cfm

A good portion of this class will be spent discussing current events and political issues that affect our everyday lives. For this post, I would like you to tell me at least one issue that you are interested in studying. To help you out, you can look over the blog posts that we've had in the past several years to get an idea of the type of things we've covered. Many of the topics are pretty controversial and I do my best to not censor the information available to you.

So my question to you this week is, "What is one issue that you are interested in studying in this class?" Answers are due no later than Wednesday,
Wednesday, July 22nd 2015. I'm looking forward to a great quarter!