1. As you interpret the Second Amendment, did the Supreme Court reach a correct decision in the Heller case? Explain.
2. In Chicago, 32 public school students died of gunshot wounds in 2009. In all of Australia in 2008, by contrast, 30 people died by gun homicide. As a matter of public policy, did the Supreme Court reach a wise decision in the Heller case? Explain.
3. Six states specifically permit the concealed carrying of weapons on campus by students and others with the remaining states about evenly split between those that ban the concealed carrying of weapons on college campuses and those that leave the decision to the school. What are your thoughts about student s and faculty members carrying guns on your campus?
You may recall that the Constitution grew out of the 1778 Articles of Confederation. The Articles contemplated a “firm league of friendship,” but each state was to maintain its “sovereignty, freedom, and independence.” The Articles soon proved faulty. Seven years of war had basically bankrupted the colonies. Currency was largely worthless. The 13 new states fought over economic resources, interstate disputes were routine, and the federal union that emerged under the Articles of Confederation had little real authority. As a result of this turmoil, and in an effort to strengthen the Articles, the Constitutional Convention was called to order in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787.