Gun Violence and the Second Amendment: Has the Price of Freedom Become Too High?

Date

Episode 15

Believed to be of such importance to its new country that it was included in the Bill of Rights, the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution reads: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” That 27-word sentence had a specific, vital meaning to the Founding Fathers as they went about setting the foundation for their new home country, one free from the tyranny they fought to leave behind. Yet, as we near 250 years since the birth of this nation, those words now present a gray area when it comes to gun regulation. Has our determination to protect the Second Amendment made us numb to the all-too-routine tragedies of gun violence in this country?

Joining Curiosity Unplugged is Cody Jacobs, a visiting assistant professor of law at Chicago-Kent College of Law; Arlen Moller, associate professor of psychology; and Illinois Tech alumnus Jeremy Alexis, a senior lecturer at Illinois Tech’s Institute of Design and the director of the university’s signature Interprofessional Projects Program.