SUMMARY

The Supreme Court kicked off a new term of arguments with a major case focused on federal regulations of ghost guns. The justices weighed whether the government can regulate the firearms assembled at home with a kit with the same standard as other firearms made by licensed manufacturers. Geoff Bennett discussed more with News Hour Supreme Court analyst Marcia Coyle.

View the transcript of the story.

News alternative: Check out recent segments from the NewsHour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.

WARM-UP QUESTIONS

1. What is a "ghost gun"?
2. Who is Marcia Coyle and what is her background?
3. Where is case about ghost guns being heard?
4. Why does Marcia Coyle say that this case is not about the Second Amendment?
5. How does this case represent questions about administrative power of the executive branch?

FOCUS QUESTIONS

Why do you think the federal government has tried to prohibit the sale and ownership of ghost guns? Do you think doing so would help reduce gun violence? How?

Media literacy: What other upcoming cases mentioned in this segment do you find interesting? How could you find out more?

Alternative: See, Think, Wonder: What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What would you want to learn more about?

FOR MORE

What students can do:

1. Discuss as a class — How do you think young people can act to help curb gun violence? What should the federal government do? What about local governments?
2. Check out this recent Student Voice series that gathers the opinions of teens from across the country about the best ways to curb gun violence.
3. If there is time, watch the new Student Reporting Labs documentary "Run, hide, fight: Growing up under the gun" (embedded below) and discuss how the experiences of the students in the documentary are similar or different than your own.

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