Friday, March 20, 2009
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Weighing the Costs of The Death Penalty
In a society that is consistently fixated on our nation's expenditures, the topic of the death penalty is often brought to attention. Depending on whether or not an individual is a supporter of the death penalty, the fact that both sides have contradicting ideas and facts regarding the costs of executing inmates on death row, has become one of the numerous heavily debated subjects for many years.
After researching several discrepancies regarding the death penalty, the idea of being against capital punishment has been embedded in my mind as being the most efficient solution, from an economical standpoint. In years past, it has been said that executing an individual on death row is a more contemptible termination to an inmate’s life. Research done in Texas, (the state with the highest number of executions) has shown that executions have cost the state more money as opposed to confining an inmate for life.
According to BalancedPolitics.org, other costs that pertain to executing inmates consist of 1) “cruel and unusual punishment” 2) Appeals and other procedures involved with an inmate on death row, congest the court system even further, 3) Wrong Message: Showing people that killing is wrong by killing people who kill people, 4) Life in prison is more of a punishment and a more effective deterrent, 5) The possibility of innocent men and women being put to death exists.
Several other facts suggest that capital punishment should be abolished but the main idea is that the death penalty costs taxpayers several times the amount of that of life imprisonment. It may be easy for one to assume that life imprisonment would cost the state’s taxpayers more due to the amount of resources given to death row inmates, but the truth is, court procedures and appeals cost taxpayers more due to the fact that courtroom workgroups are very costly.
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