CBA Choices Remember– you are writing about whether or not something is CONSTITUTIONAL– Not whether or not it is OK! You must base your argument in the Constitution!

GUN CONTROL: To what degree can the government control what guns people can own? The second Amendment says that US citizens have the ‘right to bear arms.’ PRO GUN CONTROL: The Constitution allows people to own guns, sure, but there are limits– automatic weapons, concealed weapons etc. are not protected– they didn’t even exist when the Constitution was written. AGAINST GUN CONTROL: The Constitution could not be more clear. US citizens have the right to own guns, the government needs to stay out!

Death Penalty: Is this an acceptable punishment for the government to give to people? The 8 th Amendment says that there can be ‘no cruel and unusual punishment.’ PRO Death Penalty: The Constitution is referring to torture, we have the means to kill people quickly and those that commit horrible crimes deserve it. AGAINST Death Penalty: It is always cruel and unusual for the government to take someone’s life no matter what they do.

1 st Amendment– chose your topic * medium difficulty. The 1 st Amendment gives us the right to freedom of speech, protest, religion and media, but there are limits to this, what limits should their be? Hate Speech? (ie racist speech, sexist speech) should this be covered? Censorship in a school newspaper? Is it ok to censor kids who are underage in a school? If you want to come up with your own idea, GREAT!

Locker Searches: Can school search student lockers/seize their phones? ** High difficulty. The 4 th Amendment protects citizens from illegal search and seizure. PRO locker searches: Schools are government institutions, students and minors, and lockers are property of the school, therefore it is acceptable to search them. AGAINST locker searches: Schools lease the lockers to the students, and it becomes the student’s property for the year, therefore it is protected by the Search and Seizure Amendment regardless of student age.

The Pledge of Allegiance: Includes a reference to God, is this acceptable in school? ** High difficulty The 1 st Amendment makes it clear that no religion can be promoted by the government. PRO pledge: The pledge reflects the USA and the importance of supporting our government. It is an important tradition. AGAINST pledge: Schools are created by the government. The government should not support religion in anyway, including asking students to reference God.