Introduction

Hello, my name is Mike McLaughlin and I'm a senior Political Science major at Illinois State University. I think that a hot topic in this election year is the debate on the second amendment, which is the right to bear arms. I'm originally from the suburbs of Chicago, where this has been a very active topic as of late. In 1982, the city of Chicago passed an ordinance banning hand guns in order to curb violence. However, this past July, the Supreme Court declared the law unconstitional.  For the first time in 28 years, you could own a hand gun if you lived in the Chicago city limits. This decision coincides with one of the most violent periods in the city's rich history. It seems as if inner city kids are getting gunned down every single day. While many measures have been utilized to stop the killing, it seems as if nothing will work. Will citizens finally (legally) having guns to defend themselves make a difference? Only time will tell. As I said, this is a hot topic this election year. I worked on a major political campaign over the summer, and many calls we received from voters pertained to guns. This topic usually divides people, but hopefully I can illustrate both sides of the issue and we can have some intelligent conversations.