2008 Woodie Awards
Panelists debate gun control
Stewart Salwin
Issue date: 4/2/03 Section: News
One of the points of contention in the debate was the handgun ban that has been in place in Washington, D.C., for the last two decades. Caroline noted the high crime rate in the District in order to question the effectiveness of a ban on handguns. “Read the news,” he said, “Has the gun ban made the citizens of the District any safer?” Haffty countered that a criminal can bring a gun into the District from Maryland or Virginia. Yet Caroline maintained that it would be bad policy to extend “the failed D.C. model” of handgun bans nationwide.
The question and answer session sparked a lively discussion between the students and panelists which at times was accompanied by enthusiastic clapping and laughter in response to the panelists’ wit. The sponsors of the panel attempted to balance this session as much as possible so that one side of the political spectrum would not overpower the other. One question would be asked from a student supporting additional gun control, and then another would be asked by a student in opposition to it.
Mary Gibson, President of the College Democrats, was very pleased with the how the question and answer session turned out. “We easily had questions from both sides,” she said.
Caroline concurred, “I think students represented both sides of the debate in their questions.” He also respected the quality of the students’ questions, adding, “Most of them asked questions because they wanted an answer, not to make a public policy statement.”
One of the predominant issues brought up in this session was the question of individual responsibility. Caroline explained the importance of individual responsibility, asserting that “with rights comes responsibility.”
However, Haffty maintained that even having a gun in your home could lead to a disaster as far as children are concerned. “How many of you know a kid who when they find a really cool forbidden toy would not play with it?”
The question and answer session sparked a lively discussion between the students and panelists which at times was accompanied by enthusiastic clapping and laughter in response to the panelists’ wit. The sponsors of the panel attempted to balance this session as much as possible so that one side of the political spectrum would not overpower the other. One question would be asked from a student supporting additional gun control, and then another would be asked by a student in opposition to it.
Mary Gibson, President of the College Democrats, was very pleased with the how the question and answer session turned out. “We easily had questions from both sides,” she said.
Caroline concurred, “I think students represented both sides of the debate in their questions.” He also respected the quality of the students’ questions, adding, “Most of them asked questions because they wanted an answer, not to make a public policy statement.”
One of the predominant issues brought up in this session was the question of individual responsibility. Caroline explained the importance of individual responsibility, asserting that “with rights comes responsibility.”
However, Haffty maintained that even having a gun in your home could lead to a disaster as far as children are concerned. “How many of you know a kid who when they find a really cool forbidden toy would not play with it?”