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Video

30 Years After Basketball Star Len Bias’s Death, Its Drug War Impact Endures

Description: The video details the brief and potentially bright career of Len Bias. The article details how the country was stunned when at the age of 22 Len Bias died as a result of cocaine use, and his death in 1986 became a trigger for the war on drugs.

Questions to Consider:

1. Compare and contrast the reaction of our government to Len Bias’s death from cocaine and the reaction to mass shootings?

 

Ilona Szabó de Carvalho: 4 Lessons I Learned From Taking a Stand Against Drugs and Gun Violence

Description: Ilona Szabó de Carvalho discusses the Global Commission on Drug Policy and some of the lessons she has learned as the executive coordinator of the organization

Questions to Consider:

1. According to Ilona Szabó de Carvalho what is a civil society diplomat?

2. Identify the lessons learned in Brazil. How can these lessons be applied to our situation in the United States?

 

Web

Fast Facts: 2011 Tucson Shooting

Description: CNN presents the time line from the time that includes the birth of shooter Jared Loughner, when he purchased the weapon that he used to kill six persons and seriously wound then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and concludes on August 7, 2012 when Loughner plead guilty to 19 charges in exchange for the government not seeking the death penalty.

Questions to Consider:

1. Is there any information in the time line that you find noteworthy? Why, or Why not?

2. If Rep. Giffords had not been shot, do you think that we as a nation would have been as interested in this particular shooting? Explain.

 

Related Article

In Attack’s Wake, Political Repercussions

Questions to Consider:

1. In both articles, Loughner’s disruptive behavior and drug use are included. Discuss what significance and/or importance you ascribe to Loughner’s disruptive behavior.

 

Study: For Every Gun Used in Self-Defense, Six More Used in Crime

Description: Christopher Ingraham, from The Washington Post reports the latest research on the prevalence of firearm use in self-defense finds that these incidents are much less common that many gun rights advocates believe. For every person who uses a gun in self-defense, the research finds, nearly six people use a gun to commit a crime.

Questions to Consider:

1. Why must we be cautious when reviewing the research on defensive gun use (DGU)?

 

The NRA vs. America

Description: Tim Dickinson discusses how the country’s biggest gun-rights group thwarts regulation and helps put military-grade weapons in the hands of killers.

Questions to Consider:

1. What does Dickinson use as support for his claim that “Wayne LaPierre has done more than any other man alive to make America safe for crazed gunmen to build warlike arsenals and unleash terror on innocents at movie theaters and elementary schools”?