Gun Reform Debate Vocab

Lincoln- Douglas Debate

Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

-Creates a new $750 million funding pot that will be available to states for the
creation and administration of laws that help ensure deadly weapons are kept out of
the hands of individuals a court has determined to be a significant danger to
themselves or others
-Adds convicted domestic violence abusers in dating relationships to the National
Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
-Cracks down on criminals who illegally evade licensing requirements and clarifies
which sellers need to register, conduct background checks, and keep appropriate
records.
-Requires an investigative period to review juvenile and mental health records,
including checks with state databases and local law enforcement, for buyers under 21
years of age
-Creates federal straw purchasing and trafficking criminal offenses, allowing
prosecutors to target dangerous illegal gunrunners
- Helps states to implement, enhance, and expand school-based
health programs under Medicaid through updated guidance, technical assistance, and state
planning grants.
-Provides $500 million through
the School Based Mental Health Services Grant Program to increase the number
of qualified mental health service providers that provide school based mental
health services to students in school districts with demonstrated need.

Gun show loophole

a political term in the United States referring to the sale of firearms by private sellers, including those done at gun shows, that do not require the seller to conduct a federal background check of the buyer. This is also called the private sale exemption.
Under federal law, any person may sell a firearm to a federally unlicensed resident of the state where they reside, as long as they do not know or have reasonable cause to believe that the person is prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms.

Firearm Owners Protection Act

protects those who are transporting firearms for lawful purposes from local restrictions which would otherwise prohibit passage

Brady Law

On November 30, 1993, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act was enacted, amending the Gun Control Act of 1968. The Brady Law imposed as an interim measure a waiting period of 5 days before a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer may sell, deliver, or transfer a handgun to an unlicensed individual.

Gun Control Act of 1968

imposes stricter licensing and regulation on the firearms industry, establishes new categories of firearms offenses, and prohibits the sale of firearms and ammunition to felons and certain other prohibited persons.

Second Amendment

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.

Stand your ground "Castle Doctrine law"

individuals have the right to use reasonable force, including deadly force, to protect themselves against an intruder in their home.

Red Flag Gun Protection Law

prevents individuals who show signs of being a threat to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing any kind of firearm.

Boyfriend Loophole

refers to a gap in American gun legislation that allows access to guns by physically abusive ex-boyfriends and stalkers with previous convictions or restraining orders.

Federal Assault Weapons Ban

was a subsection of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, a United States federal law which included a prohibition on the manufacture for civilian use of certain semi-automatic firearms that were defined as assault weapons as well as certain ammunition magazines that were defined as large capacity.

Strawman Purchase

when one person buys the firearm with the intent of giving the gun to another person for their primary use.

National Instant Criminal Background Check System

is a background check system in the United States created by the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Brady Law) of 1993 to prevent firearm sales to people prohibited under the Act. The system was launched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1998. Under the system, firearm dealers, manufacturers or importers who hold a Federal Firearms License (FFL) are required to undertake a NICS background check on prospective buyers before transferring a firearm.

Background Checks

is a review of a potential employee's criminal, commercial and financial records

Open Carry vs. Concealed Carry

Open carry: Allowed to carry firearms in the open without hiding them
Concealed carry: Allowed to carry firearm if they are hidden

National Rifle Association

The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while continuing to teach firearm safety and competency.
Promotes and defends hunting as a shooting sport and as a viable and necessary method of fostering the propagation, growth and conservation, and wise use of our renewable wildlife resources.

Gun Owners of America

a gun rights organization in the United States. It makes efforts to differentiate itself from the larger National Rifle Association (NRA) and has publicly criticized the NRA on multiple occasions for what it considers to be compromising on gun rights.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention of federal offenses involving the unlawful use, manufacture, and possession of firearms and explosives; acts of arson and bombings; and illegal trafficking and tax evasion of alcohol and tobacco products.

March for our lives

March for Our Lives (MFOL) was a student-led demonstration in support of gun control legislation.

Mass Shooting

3 or more people are shot in a public area with no specified reasoning

Bump Stocks

gun stocks that can be used to assist in bump firing. Bump firing is the act of using the recoil of a semi-automatic firearm to fire ammunition cartridges in rapid succession.

Binary Trigger

A binary trigger increases a weapon's firing speed

Flash Suppressor

A flash suppressor, also known as a flash guard, flash eliminator, flash hider, or flash cone, is a muzzle device attached to the muzzle of a rifle that reduces its visible signature while firing by cooling or dispersing the burning gases that exit the muzzle, a phenomenon typical of carbine-length weapons. Its primary intent is to reduce the chances that the shooter will be blinded in low-light shooting conditions.

Title II Weapons

These are weapons requiring a Type 01 Federal Firearms License (FFL) as well as a Class 3 Special Occupation Tax (SOT) to sell, and an ATF Form 4 (transfer of registration) with $200 tax stamp to purchase. Also a Type 07 FFL

Assault Weapon

The definition varies among regulating jurisdictions, but usually includes semi-automatic firearms with a detachable magazine, a pistol grip, and sometimes other features, such as a vertical forward grip, flash suppressor, or barrel shroud.

Automatic Weapons vs. Semiautomatic weapons

A semiautomatic weapon fires one shot every time the trigger is pulled. An automatic weapon fires continually until the trigger is released.

Caliber

Caliber is used to describe the size of a rifle or handgun bore and the size of cartridges designed for different bores. Caliber usually is measured as the diameter of the bore from land to opposite land and is expressed in hundredths of an inch, thousandths of an inch, or millimeters.

Nullify

to make a legal agreement or decision have no legal force: The state death penalty law was nullified in 1977. to cause something to have no value or effect: All my hard work was nullified when I lost my notes.

Incentivize

to provide with an incentive; motivate

Infringe

to encroach (trespass) upon in a way that violates law or the rights of another