Gun Rights for Teens?

Gun rights advocates have created a cottage industry by suing local and state governments to overturn the gun control laws, including suits against the District of Columbia and Chicago, which have led to landmark Supreme Court rulings.

For instance, the National Rifle Association (NRA) is challenging a long-standing Texas law that allows only those above the age of 21 to carry concealed weapons. The only exception involves 18- to 20-year-olds who are military veterans or who are on active duty.

The NRA and James D'Cruz, an 18-year-old Lubbock resident, sued the state in federal court, arguing that the law unconstitutionally restricts the teenager's right to keep and bear arms. Keep in mind that Texas allows Mr. D'Cruz to own a gun and keep it in his home and car; he just may not carry it around with him until he turns 21.

Mr. D'Cruz argues that he needs a gun for protection when "shopping in certain parts of the city." A lawyer for Mr. D'Cruz explains that the Wal-Mart in Lubbock is in a bad part of town. There's another reason why Mr. D'Cruz says he wants a concealed-carry permit, according to his complaint: "Mr. D'Cruz has a 29-year-old brother and military friends who share his interest in firearms safety and collecting. He would like to transport to, and carry a handgun in, their homes so that they might jointly discuss and demonstrate proper cleaning and safety practices with the handgun."

Mr. D'Cruz filed a separate suit against a federal law that prohibits licensed gun dealers from selling a handgun to anyone who is not yet 21.

The Supreme Court has ruled that law-abiding adults have a constitutional right to keep and bear arms, but that right is not unlimited. The court made this clear by citing several restrictions, including prohibitions against carrying weapons into a courthouse or a school. The Texas and federal laws fit into this category.

Eighteen-year-olds can and do fight for their country, and they are able in many instances to vote and partake of the full rights enjoyed by much older citizens. Judges have ruled in the past that there may be nothing unconstitutional about the state or federal government determining that a few more years of maturity, and the discipline and wisdom that hopefully comes with such age, are needed before a young person is allowed to carry a lethal weapon on the street.

BookCarts are complete learning activities for students with all the resources and information needed to complete an inquiry-based assignment. This one-stop solution for teachers and students saves valuable classroom time, reduces plagiarism, increases time on task, and can customize learning resources for advanced, at level, or challenged students who are focusing on the same topic/issue.

Each BookCart learning activity copied by the teacher can be easily edited to add additional articles and websites, student directions for the activity, call numbers of print resources, and essential questions for critical thinking to challenge students.

ProQuest has created a BookCart learning activity for students to learn more about the enduring issue of the Second Amendment and gun control laws passed by states and cities: "2nd Amendment--Gun Laws and Domestic Violence."

• Log on to the eLibrary Curriculum Edition TEACHER EDITION.
• Click the BOOKCART ADMIN link at the top of the Teacher Edition.
• Click the PROQUEST CARTS tab.
• Type "2nd Amendment--Gun Laws and Domestic Violence" in the Search box.
• Click the COPY icon in the ACTIONS column to the right of this title.
• Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS.

This BookCart already includes all the information that a student needs to complete the assignment. Teachers can also edit it to customize it for their students.

• Click the new BookCart Title to open it; it has the prefix "COPY OF."
• Delete "Copy of" and type your name in the AUTHOR boxes.
• Type your email address in the EMAIL box; or use your initials as a required filler.
• Optional: Edit the existing STUDENT DIRECTIONS and ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS in the DESCRIPTION box.
• Scroll down and click SAVE.
• Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS.

You may also want to download our newest complete listing of more than 800 ProQuest Carts learning activities collection. The list is organized by curriculum area and the titles are in alphabetical order. Each Cart title is hyperlinked to the ProQuest collection, so when the hyperlink is clicked, (while in the Teacher Edition), it will give you a shortcut to copy it to your local collection.

Assign students to write a report of at least 150 words (or a PowerPoint presentation of at least seven slides) that cites at least three resources. Student should use the search terms listed in the pathfinder below to ensure relevance and save time. Students should address at least three of the following essential questions for critical thinking in their reports (you can substitute others):

• What can be done to make ownership of guns safer?
  
  
• What evidence is there that states that fewer guns would make for less crime and gun deaths?
  
  
• What evidence is there that states that additional guns provide a safer community with less crime?
  
  
• How do gun control laws and safety in other countries compare with the U.S.?

Type "Gun Control" in the Search box

Your search results will access one of more than 3,000 editorially created Essential Pages that save students time and provide a variety of relevant resources with a variety of media types. Explore all the Essential Pages in our new document.

Australia celebrates its 110th birthday. By virtue of an act of the British Parliament passed in July 1900, the Commonwealth of Australia came into being on January 1, 1901. The Commonwealth was created by uniting six separate former British colonies.

There was an original population of 3,772,000 (not including uncounted Aborigines).

Students should write a report of at least 150 words that cites at least three resources on an assigned Australian author.

Students should use the pathfinder listed below for best results. Students should address the following essential questions for critical thinking (you can add or substitute others):

• What is a recurring theme of the works of your assigned Australian author?
  
  
• What is this author's best known work and what do the critics have to say about it?
  
  
• How do the geography and culture of Australia affect the works of this author?

Type "Australian Authors" in the Quick Search box > Click "More" to expand results > Click an assigned author

Your students can use our custom ProQuest models for written and PowerPoint-style reports.

Teachers may be interested in a ProQuest flexible rubrics model for evaluating inquiry-based learning activities.

Educators may also wish to employ the Quizinator Web tool (free, but registration required) for creating a variety of printed resources, including short assessments.

Australia celebrates its 110th birthday this year. By virtue of an act of the British Parliament passed in July 1900, the Commonwealth of Australia came into being on January 1, 1901.

The Commonwealth was created by uniting six separate former British colonies. There was an original population of 3,772,000 (not including uncounted Aborigines).

Assign students a report of at least 150 words, or a PowerPoint of at least seven slides, that cites at least three resources focused on this month's assignment from ProQuest.

Students should use the pathfinder below to find the best results for this assignment. Students should address the following essential questions for critical thinking in their reports (you can add or substitute others):

• What makes Australian Aborigines a unique culture?
  
  
• How were Aborigines treated by the Australian colonists?
  
  
• Who are some famous Aborigines and how are they connected to significant events in Australian history?
  
  
• What is the status of Aborigines today?

Click the History source icon > Select Study Units > Enter "Indigenous Australians" in the Study Unit Title box

Your students can use our custom ProQuest models for written and PowerPoint-style reports.

Teachers may be interested in a ProQuest flexible rubrics model for evaluating inquiry-based learning activities.

Educators may also wish to employ the Quizinator Web tool (free, but registration required) for creating a variety of printed resources, including short assessments.