Stop Gun Violence

This is the first action project for the Politics class. The purpose of this project was to pick a current policy or a policy that we want to see incorporated. After we have picked a policy we are to write to a political person and tell them about our view and what we want to happen. I learned a lot about the current gun policy in Chicago and also how many people get killed every year. I am proud of the way my letter turned out and I am really hoping that my letter will make an impact and I will see less people dying around my neighborhood.

Brandon Johnston

GCE Lab School

1535 N. Dayton

Chicago, IL 60625

April 22, 2015

The Honorable Mayor Rahm Emanuel

121 N LaSalle St.

Chicago City Hall 4th Floor

Chicago, IL 60602

Dear Mayor Emanuel:

I understand that you are a very busy person and have a lot of things on your plate seeing as that you the Mayor of Chicago. But, I have a problem that needs immediate attention: gun violence in Chicago. One day, while driving along the south side of Chicago, I saw a man with a gun in his pants (out in plain view). When police asked him if he had a permit, he turned and responded, "Am I being detained?" The police told him "no", so he said, "Then, have a nice day", and proceeded to walk away. It surprises me and scares me a little that basically anyone can carry a gun and if they know their rights, they will not get in trouble for it.

My name is Brandon Johnston and I am a junior at GCE Lab School here in Chicago, IL. I am writing you this letter because I believe that the gun violence issue in Chicago has become so bad that that is what Chicago is most known for. I find it sad that when a Chicagoan comes up to someone who is not from here, the first topics that come up are guns, gangs, drugs and killings. Gun violence has become such a common issue that it is starting to go on ignored and is basically becoming a part of the norm for Chicago. Every summer it gets worse, as the weather gets hotter more and more of my childhood friends get gunned down by some idiot who was trigger happy, I see nothing happening to remedy this constantly growing issue.

I applaud your efforts to address gun violence in our city, and agree that it’s Chicago’s “most urgent problem”. I support your current proposal, which does the following:

• all gun sales would be videotaped
• gun buyers can only buy one gun a month
• gun shops not allowed in 500 feet of schools and parks
• increased police presence
• background checks and training to spot gun traffickers for employees in gun shops
• inventory audits for gun stores to track gun thefts
• 72-hour waiting period to buy handguns and 24-hour waiting period to buy rifles and shotguns

But, I also want you to change some of these conditions because I still feel that they are being too lenient. Just because you video tape someone buying the gun that does not mean that they won't resell it after the transaction. Instead of just videotaping them I also feel like there should be a monthly checking with a police officer at that person's house to see if they are still in possession of  the gun. How many guns does one person need? I feel like one gun a month is still way too much because honestly nobody should need twelve guns a year and I feel like that condition should at least be changed to two guns a year. I do agree that gun shops should not be allowed within 500 feet of schools and parks but, the only flaw I see in that is that people have cars and they can travel and you can't always tell who is carrying a gun and who isn't so it would be hard to detect someone with a gun. The only condition that I believe in 100% is more police presence. With more police patrolling I feel like gun violence will go down because most people don't have permits and do not want to get caught so they will probably be less shootings. Background checks are a great way to cut down on violence also but I do not understand how anybody can positively spot a gun trafficker. Checking inventory is always a smart decision especially when people want the product for illegal use. To cut down on stealing guns make a harsh punishment of caught and people will be less likely to steal them.

Bridge Breaking

In this unit we talked about forces, load, and triangles. The purpose of this project is to make a bridge only using 50 popsicles sticks and white glue. The requirements are that the bridge will have to have a length of at least 1 foot and support a weight of at least 5 pounds. I learned about triangles and how they are the best for most structures because they distribute weight equally. I also learned a lot about the different types of bridges and when a certain type of bridge is used.

At first my partner and I were thinking about making an arch bridge, but it turned out that we didn't have enough time to make the material bend. So we decided that we would look up more basic designs and found that the truss bridge is used for short distances because of its stability. A few sketches later we had found our design that is based on the Bridge L-158 design.

Our sketch to model ratio 1cm. : 1inch.

Our bridge is 18 inches long and about 3.5 inches tall. For angles we mostly used 90 degrees, but for the truss itself we used 60 degree angles. Out of the 50 Popsicle sticks that we were given we used all of them. 

At first we were going to design an arch bridge, but then we had to think of easier bridges that didn't require that much time and material, yet were just as strong as an arch bridge. So that's when we decided to do a truss bridge. At first we had a general design that we were going to stick to, but we had to pay attention to the most vital parts of the bridge. For example the base of it had to be pretty sturdy to keep the truss system in place. For the base we started with two layers of sticks, but it could still snap too easily, so we added one more layer to re-enforce it. Also when it came to building the truss system I had to make little notches at the base so that they would stay in place while the glue dried.

My main issue was the fact they all we had to work with was Elmer’s white glue, which takes a really long time to dry. So what happened was that I just needed to plan wisely and hope for the best that it wouldn't fall apart overnight. Another issue was that when we made measurements for the bridge and had plans, some of the parts of the bridge didn't match up like we planned so we had to improvise. What I learned from both of these issues is that you always have to expect the unexpected.

Citations

"Bridge L-158." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Jan. 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

"Parts of a Roof Truss." Roof Truss. QuinStreet, 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.