Friday, March 20, 2009

Capital Punishment: Continuing to Fight for Execution




















In an ongoing debate, the controversy regarding capital punishment continues to be a significant issue for legislature in the State of California. Although there are many reasons as to why the death penalty should be abolished, various points of the argument suggest that it is essential to the justice system.
Due to the overflow of inmates in our correctional facilities, including those who are on death row, it is imperative that our state carry out more executions in order to not only minimize the amount of inmates in our corrections system, but to serve the justice that is deserve.
According to BalancedPolitics.org, several other points also suggest that the death penalty be instituted. 1) The death penalty gives closure to the victim's families who have suffered so much. 2) It creates another form of crime deterrent. 3) Justice is better served. 4) Our justice system shows more sympathy for criminals than it does victims. 5) It provides a deterrent for prisoners already serving a life sentence. 6) DNA testing and other methods of modern crime scene science can now effectively eliminate almost all uncertainty as to a person's guilt or innocence. 7) Prisoner parole or escapes can give criminals another chance to kill. 8) It gives prosecutors another bargaining chip in the plea bargain process, which is essential in cutting costs in an overcrowded court system.
Although these points have greatly supported the pro-capital punishment position, great debate will continue to transpire in the legislature.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Marijuana Legalization: Just Adding To The Problem?


With the economic hardships that are persistent in our culture today, it is easy to see why drugs, much like that of marijuana is so heavily implemented as an everyday part of life for some individuals. Much debate has risen regarding the legalization of marijuana in our country, today. Many people believe that if it were legalized, not only would the war on drugs may be a little less severe, but less crime would also be committed. These are two fairly naïve points of view that are linked to the legalization of marijuana in our country.
According to
http://www.balancedpolitics.org/marijuana_legalization.htm, there are several significant factors that address the reasons why marijuana should not be legalized. 1) Marijuana is a gateway drug to many other and often lethal drugs such as crack cocaine, methamphetamine, and PCP. 2) The dangers of “stoned driving” would be heavily increased. Because marijuana impairs a driver’s senses, it can be just as dangerous and driving under the influence. 3) Drug usage is morally wrong, plain and simple. 4) If marijuana were legalized, the chances of falling into children’s hands would be greatly increased, thus starting drug usage at earlier ages than current statistics show. 5) Physical damages would be done to not only users but for by-standers who come into contact with the drug.
In summation, it is fairly easy to distinguish the negative aspects of marijuana legalization from the positives. If marijuana were to be legalized, I believe the ethical character of our country would be forever tainted. Not only would it be giving individuals the power to think and act at such impairment, but it would set a terrible example for the youth of our nation. Children are already beginning to experiment with drugs at such a young age; we don’t need to be giving them the freedom and authorization to do engage in such a terrible habit.

Protection Against Gun Control




With so many advances in technology and the array of new and innovated ways to commit crime, the idea of gun violence has seemed like it would have eluded our society by now. But as statistics show, crimes committed with firearms are still continuing to decline. Since the early nineties, the amount of incidents related to firearms has been divided in half. In 1994, the number of firearm incidents in America was up to 1,060,800. In 2005, that same category amounted to just 419,640 (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/firearmnonfataltab.htm).
In our Constitution, the 2nd Amendment guarantees us the right to bear arms. With this being instituted by our legislation centuries ago, we have the right to have firearms accessible in our closed quarters. Aside from the fact that we are awarded the right to possess a firearm, comes the idea of whether this law should change due to the amount of crime in our society. That question can be answered by solely viewing the statistics stated above. Many citizens in America feel that gun ownership causes crime rates including homicide, robbery, rape, and other crimes to increase. Although that may seem logical, we as a nation have to understand who these weapons are being distributed to.
Much debate can be supported by the idea that young children are getting a hold of these firearms and committing terrible acts with them including school shootings and suicide, but the main focus of this topic is whether gun ownership prevents homicides, robbery, rape, and other crimes. With the economic hardships that citizens in America are going through today, it is imperative that firearms be available for protection, alone.
Either way, firearms in this country are unavoidably accessible. If we want to ensure the safety of the everyday citizen in America, we need to make sure that firearms are available for protection. With this said, I believe that the 2nd Amendment of the United States Constitution should remain virtually untainted by legislation so that individuals can continue to have self-protection from those who mean the worst in our society
.