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In response to an increase of school shootings, America has seen public outcry for safer schools and the implementation of get-tough discipline policies that remove students who pose threats of violence to the safe school environment. One response to the increased rate of violence was the implementation of the Gun-Free Schools Act (GFSA). Criticism of these policies grew, unintended outcomes undermined their implementation, and research data supporting their effectiveness were lacking. The legislature sought to address issues relating to discretion in implementation, due process rights, mandatory expulsion language, and alternative education placement. This study sought to trace the evolution of GFSA legislation in Virginia. Selected sponsors of GFSA and patrons were identified and interviewed to learn their perceptions of goals and outcomes of legislation prohibiting the possession of weapons on school grounds. Interview questions sought to identify key factors that were considered throughout the legislative process. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Interview data were analyzed using QSR NVIVO 9, data analysis software. The research design incorporated the collection and analysis of extant information, as well as the use of open-ended interviews with selected policymakers in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Emerging themes were described, categorized, and analyzed within the structure of a historical timeline of the GFSA legislation. Non-legislative documents were analyzed to add support to the interview findings and legislative analysis. Twelve themes emerged, which were supported in the review of non-legislative documents and in legislative documents. The legislative intent was reinforced in the literature and in the interviews. A review of these data led this researcher to conclude that the General Assembly came full circle and virtually reversed the initial requirements for zero-tolerance discipline policies. Continued study is recommended to trace how the General Assembly ameliorates racial inequity, increased drop-out rates, increased criminalization, and other harsh and unintended consequences of GFSA legislation in the Commonwealth. / Ed. D.

Recently, empirical attention has been directed toward understanding public opinion about gun control laws. Despite this focus, three gaps are evident in extant scholarship. First, few current examinations have relied on recently collected, national data to explore predictors of public attitudes. Second, relatively little work systematically investigates whether type of weapon bans (e.g. handgun versus semi-automatic weapon) affects public support for a given gun control initiative. Third, and importantly, the general focus in prediction support for gun control measures has been on social and demographic factors. Little is known from a theoretical perspective about how other variables - such as knowledge of Constitutinal issues or perceptions of the U.S. Supreme Court - affect public attitudes toward gun control. Using national poll data collected in 2011 by Time magazine, this study addresses these research gaps by estimating several logistic regression analyses. Research and policy implications are discussed. / by Elizabeth Borkowski. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

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The following thesis will merge the field of legal studies with the field of Science, Technology, and Society, and will focus on issues surrounding the gun control debate. The goal is to ultimately bring new light to this hot- button legal topic through the use of STS scholarship. STS tools and theories, which have previously been absent from most gun control discussions, have much to contribute to the discourse in terms of motivating the need for gun control, fully understanding the user-gun relationship, breaking down misconceptions about the technology and its role in society, and further understanding the complex societal network within which guns exist in America. This will begin first with a discussion of the legal history and background of firearms in the United States, and will be followed by an STS analysis of technological agency and somnambulism as they can be applied to guns. Following this, the Actor Network in which firearms in America are imbedded will be explored, in order to better understand why they have been so difficult to regulate. Although this thesis will be heavily policy and law-focused, the aim is not to propose any specific new policy, but instead to use STS to conceptualize gun issues from a new perspective that will allow misconceptions and blockades to be confronted head-on.

La précision de tir d’une arme dépend de nombreux facteurs intervenant aux différentes étapes du parcours de la munition (balistique intérieure, intermédiaire et extérieure). Certains travaux ont démontré l’importance de l’influence de la phase de balistique intérieure, pendant laquelle la munition traverse le tube, sur les résultats à la cible. En effet, c’est cette phase qui détermine les conditions de sortie du tube de la munition et par conséquent son comportement au cours du vol. Les conditions d’entrée du projectile, la géométrie du tube et de l’arme, et les mouvements de ces derniers au cours du tir, sont autant de paramètres pouvant modifier l’interaction tube/projectile et ainsi entraîner un changement des vitesses angulaires et de translation de la munition au moment du largage. Cette étude a donc pour but de mettre en exergue les paramètres géométriques de l’arme et du tube qui influencent la justesse et la dispersion. Une analyse statistique a été réalisée à partir de la base de données des résultats de tir du 25 mm. Elle a permis de mettre en évidence l’influence de plusieurs paramètres dont la rectitude du tube. Par la suite, des essais ont été conduits en appareil de tir dans le but d’isoler la part de la géométrie du tube sur les écarts à la cible et ainsi de confirmer la contribution de la rectitude. Un modèle numérique tridimensionnel a été développé afin de faire varier ce paramètre et d’étudier son influence sur le comportement de la munition en phase de balistique intérieure. La représentativité du modèle a été vérifiée à l’aide d’accéléromètres embarqués dans la munition. Ces tirs ont nécessité le développement d’une solution innovante optoélectronique afin de transmettre les accélérations en temps réel. Les résultats expérimentaux obtenus ont permis de constater que les accélérations de la munition modélisée étaient représentatives. Le modèle permet maintenant de réaliser des études paramétriques et de déterminer les profils de tube les plus pénalisants pour la précision de tir. / Gun accuracy is influenced by several factors during the stages of the ammunition course (internal, intermediate and external ballistics). According to previous studies, internal ballistics are the major contributor to deviations from target. Indeed, this phase determines projectile exit conditions and, consequently, his behavior during the flight. The projectile entry conditions, the weapon and barrel geometry and their movements during firing, can modify the interaction tube / projectile and change ammunition angular rates and its transversal velocities. The purpose of this thesis is to determine the parameters related to barrel and gun geometry, which influence the bias and the dispersion. A statistical analysis was led thanks to the data base of the 25 mm firing results. It was found that some parameters, including barrel straightness, affect accuracy. Subsequently, tests were conducted with a firing appliance in order to isolate the barrel geometry influence on the deviations from the target and to confirm the straightness impact. A tridimensional numerical model was created in order to vary this parameter and to study its influence on the ammunition behavior during internal ballistics. The representativeness of the model was validated using accelerometers embedded in the ammunitions. The firing of these ammunitions has required the development of an optoelectronic system to transmit accelerations in real time. The comparison between experimental and numerical results has shown close amplitudes and similar shapes curves that proves the representativeness of the model. The model can be used now to lead parametric analysis and to determine the straightness shapes the most penalizing for gun accuracy.

Submitted by Antonio de Araujo Laplana (antonio.laplana@gmail.com) on 2018-06-21T23:05:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao com assinaturas.pdf: 2005416 bytes, checksum: 382bef7d72051ea2b91f854d3addf131 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by GILSON ROCHA MIRANDA (gilson.miranda@fgv.br) on 2018-06-29T19:04:51Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao com assinaturas.pdf: 2005416 bytes, checksum: 382bef7d72051ea2b91f854d3addf131 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-02T20:04:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao com assinaturas.pdf: 2005416 bytes, checksum: 382bef7d72051ea2b91f854d3addf131 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-26 / This paper investigates the following research questions: (i) Do changes in Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) legislation affect crime? (ii) In the case it does affect crime, are there spillover effects on crime rates in neighboring states? We explore state-level changes in gun control legislation in the U.S. from 1986 to 2014, which show a national trend of lowering the requirements for issuing a CCW permit. By employing a differences-in-differences strategy we find that lowering CCW demands raised drug-related crime rates by 15%, on average, in counties within states where the law was changed. Spillover effects in neighboring states also play an important role. In the counties across the state border (but close to it), violent and drug-related crime rates raised, on average, by 13% and 15%, respectively. We also find evidence that such spillover effects are spatial in nature. The results are robust to a variety of tests and are not driven by differential pre-trends.

One of the most hotly contested topics in the world today revolves around an object. An object that has caused debate among all members of society both in the United States, and all across the globe. But how could an object, something that on its own does nothing, spur such heated argument? This object is the evolution of invention and the product of fighting amongst each other. This object changes the way people think and how they act. This object can be used for both good and bad. This object is a gun. This research project will explore the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution in the 21st century, providing an in depth examination of firearm freedoms and their relationship with public safety and interests. This research is integral to our society, both politically and publically. Firearms are a significant aspect of our country, a longstanding right that many people view as one of the most essential rights of a United States citizen. The research presented will examine vital aspects of the debate regarding firearm rights, and analyze the relationship between firearm freedoms and public safety. This thesis will examine the benefits and detriments regarding firearm freedoms and their relationship with public safety. This thesis will first establish the necessary background information, including general information, legislation, and statistics, in order to analyze the aforementioned relationship. The next step in the analysis is to examine the benefits of firearm freedoms, as well as the problems with having unlimited firearm freedoms. This thesis will also examine other essential areas regarding this debate, including political impact, public opinion, and global comparisons. The thesis will conclude with possible alternatives for legislation regarding firearms, and an analysis of the likely proper path upon which to proceed.

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The present study investigated why communities differing in culture and resources are willing and able to implement gun confiscation as part of a protective order. Specifically, this study explored whether the perceived risk of intimate partner homicide and gun violence, benefits to engaging in gun confiscation, barriers to gun confiscation, community norms about guns, and community readiness to implement gun confiscation: (a) differ in urban and rural communities, (b) are perceived differently by victim service and justice system key professionals within urban and rural communities, and (c) are related to if a community is able and willing to consistently implement procedures that mandate gun confiscation of abusers as part of a protective order. Interviews, guided by an adapted guiding conceptual framework, were conducted with key professionals (N = 133) who work both in victim services and the justice system from a targeted urban community and four Appalachian communities in Kentucky. First, implementing gun confiscation procedures to disarm abusers in rural communities does not seem likely or feasible compared to the urban community given the lower perceived risk-benefit of gun confiscation, importance of gun culture, and limited resources in the selected rural communities. Second, urban justice system professionals, in comparison to urban victim service professionals, reported fewer barriers to enforcing the gun confiscation policy and were more likely to downplay law enforcement limitations in the community and attribute the ineffectiveness of the gun confiscation policy to reasons outside their control. Third, the perceived risk of intimate partner gun violence was associated with consistently implementing in gun confiscation at the emergency protective order (short-term) level, and the perceived community approval of the policy was associated with engaging in consistent gun confiscation at the domestic violence order (longer-term) level. Fourth, both urban and rural professionals pointed out potential unintended negative consequences to implementing the gun confiscation policy, such as violation of second amendment rights and increased danger for victims who seek protective orders. The results have implications for developing more effective strategies for increasing a community’s ability and motivation to enforce gun policy that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous abusers.