Country Shaken by Second Mass Shooting in a Week
A Boulder, CO supermarket became the site of the latest mass shooting when a gunman took the lives of ten people, including one police officer. The massacre occurred only six days after another shooter took the lives of eight victims in Atlanta, GA.
Authorities moved quickly to detain and charge both suspects. The shootings were the deadliest since the beginning of pandemic and shone new scrutiny on gun purchasing rules in Colorado and Georgia.
Instructors, click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt and a debate question as well as other assessment questions.
Download the PowerPoint Lecture Spark for “Country Shaken by Second Mass Shooting in a Week"
Links
“First Atlanta, then Boulder: Two mass shootings in a week.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/22/us/atlanta-boulder-mass-shootings.html
“Mass Shootings: ‘This Is What Normal Has Come to Be Like in America'”
https://time.com/5949772/mass-shootings-normal-america/
“Boulder shooting: Motive ‘haunting’ investigators; police confirm suspect used AR-15-style pistol”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/03/26/boulder-shooting-police-confirm-suspect-used-ar-15-style-pistol/7012734002/
“Why this moment for gun politics is different”
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/24/gun-reform-movement-opportunity-477740
“Boulder grocery store rampage follows spike in mass shootings during 2020”
https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2021/03/23/boulder-shooting-follows-spike-gun-violence-during-2020/6965360002/
“The Colorado attack is the 7th mass shooting in 7 days in the US”
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/23/us/7-mass-shootings-7-days-trnd/index.html
“Gun Violence Deaths: How The U.S. Compares With The Rest Of The World”
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/03/24/980838151/gun-violence-deaths-how-the-u-s-compares-to-the-rest-of-the-world
“Atlanta spa shootings revive calls for gun reform: ‘This moment has to be different'”
https://abcnews.go.com/US/atlanta-spa-shootings-revive-calls-gun-reform-moment/story?id=76604284
Assessment
- Writing: Describe some of the obstacles to passing any kind of gun safety legislation. Why is it so difficult to prevent mass shootings through legislation?
- Debate: Is the availability of high-caliber weapons the reason for mass shootings or does all responsibility lie with the perpetrators?
- Poll: Should assault style weapons and high-capacity ammunition be legal in the United States?
- Short Answer: How might the Biden administration respond if it is unable to garner support for meaningful gun safety legislation?
Current events quiz:
1) Why do experts believe that there was a decline in mass shootings in 2020?
a. stricter gun laws banned high-caliber weapons
b. the pandemic closed off many potential targets
c. the U.S. has spent significant resources on mental health
d. most public places have dramatically beefed up security to prevent mass shootings
2) The alleged shooters in Atlanta and Boulder were both charged with ______.
a. domestic terrorism
b. hate crimes
c. illegal purchase of a handgun
c. murder
3) To what do civil rights activists most attribute the increase in violence toward Asian Americans?
a. high profile politicians who blame Asian countries for the coronavirus
b. randomness
c. the expiration of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban
d. films and video games which glorify violence toward Asian Americans
4) This is the first mass shooting in Colorado history. (T/F)
5) Georgia will likely enact strict gun control measures even if the federal government does not. (T/F)
6) A strong majority of the public supports universal background checks for all gun purchases. (T/F)
Answers:
1) B
2) D
3) A
4) False
5) False
6) True
Enjoy using Lecture Spark? Answer this 5-question survey to help us innovate!
Featured Image Credit: Adam Y Zhang
