Nobodyneedsa gun

Discussion
In Britain it is illegalto have a gun without a ticence.
Followingthe Dunblanemassacrein sco'and in
I
1996'when a madmankilledalmost an entireclass primary
of school childrenand their teacher,the laws t
on gun possession have become very strict. The I
same is not true in the United states, where many more
atrocitiesinvolvingguns' such as the columbine
incidentdescribedbelow,have taken place. I
I
anything like Dunblane or columbine happenedin your
l' !" country?
2. Cirn you rememberany similar incidentsin
the news? I
Read the slogan of the united states National Rifle
Association (NRA),which has a lot of political I
influencein the US. I

N
a
3. What do you think abouran organisation that has this as its slogan? I
gr-rns
Ieg:rlin your c,runtry?
Are thcy easyto get?
1. 1.. n
-5.Do yolr or doesanyoneyou know own a gun?\7hy? IJfhy I
not?
I
Reading t
{
on April 20' 1999,two teenage boys at columbine
High school near Denver,colorado, usA, shot over
30 fellow students,killing 12 of thlm -.before I
takinitheir
-"or"on"own rives.The following point of view was {
posted on an interactivewebsite a few days
later by from Britain. Read the text, then answer
the questions below. 4
rl

4
fl
THE COLUMBINE MASSACRE
1:
What is it going to take for America to get I
the protecting innocent people! Ordinary citizens
message? argue
How many more young lives are we going that they I
shouldbe free to arm and defendthemselves d
to seewasted?How can the pro_gunlobby in the
US in accordancewith the .SecondAmendment'. Def.end l
still have such a powerful voice? After the Dunblane
themselves against who? The country isn't under
massacrehere in 1996,gun control laws, which were
attack! The civil war endedover 200 yearsagol
already strict, were tightened further. There was
a Most people in
nationwide amnesty on handguns. Many who had Britain have never seenor handleda
real gun - even our police don't carry them _
guns, for whateverreason,gave them up. Thev but in
were America you
sick of what guns were capable of. people can buy one on a Saturday afternoon
even shoppingtrip.
questioned whether shooting should remain What has happenedto a country that it
an can carry on with
Olympic sport. Dunblane shocked the whole nation one massacreafter anotherand do
nothing? We're supposed to be .cousins' but the
and the effect remainsto this day.
family resemblanceis not very strong any more. I
But in the US, politicians are more worried about
don't recognisetheir culture.A country that can't ban
upsetting the pro-gun groups and losing votes than
gunshas lost its head,and its soul.

Discussion
Answer these questions with a partner:
I' what is the over:rll tone of the article -.ang9!
sarcasm,sympathy,somethingelse?
2.lf you were an American,wourd you take
off..r.. at this article?
3' could someonefrom your country write a
similar articlewith very similar argumenrs?
4' How doesthe writer comparethe Dunblane
massacreto the Columbinemassacre?
5' D. y.r-rthink the wrirer has ever beento the
united States?
6' could the r'vriterapply any of his or her criricisms
ro countriesother than the United States?

17 Nobodyneeds a gun
Taboosand /ssues
Language1 ge 2
Langua
Use these words to completethe opinionson guns Look at this sentence from the text:
and gun laws below: People euen questionedwhether shooting
showld remain an Olympic sport.
wedpon outlauted in self-defence
illegal liues Even is used to emphasisea point you are adding.
Use the correct ending for each sentence below:
1. I think guns shor-rld be made 1. Anybody can buy a gun -
2 . I f g r - r nws e r e . . . , t h e n only criminals 2. Someteenagerscarry guns around -
would have them. 3 . 1 w o u l d n ' t u s ea g u n -
3. Guns don't take . . . . Peopledo. 4. Hardly anybody carriesa gun in Britarn-
4. Anything can be usedas a lethal 5.I think guns should be bannedcompletely-
A gun is simply one of them. a. they euen take them to school.
5 . 1 t h i n k s o m e o n ei s o n l y j u s t i f i e di n u s i n ga g u n b. euen toy ones.
c. euen kids can buy them.
Circle the opinions above that are most similar to d. euen if I was attacked.
your own. Do your classmatesagree? e. not euen the police.

Discussion
Guns and you
1. In which of the following situationswould
y o u u s ea g u n ?
gtr
a. To defend myself against an intruder ED
in my house. trd
b. In self-defenceagainst an attacker
on the street.
c. To hunt animals.
d. For sport on a firing range.
2. Do you know where you could buy a gun if
you walntedone?
"Gun
control? Ouer my dead body!"
Guns and films
Answer thesequestionsin pairs or small groups:
a. (iroups who want to ban guns say that it is impossibleto think of three films
in which a gun never appears.Can you prove them wrong?
b. Why do you think guns are so prominent in films?
c. f)o you think that gun-violencein films has a direct effect on gun-relatedcrime?

G u n sa n d k i d s
Is it OK for children to play with toy guns?Did you do this when you were younger?
Wor.rldyou let your children play with toy guns?

ls it all bad news?

below to help you expressyour ideas.
Do guns have any positiveroles in society?Use the expressions
If we didn't haue guns, we wouldn't haue ...
It's becduseof guns that we ...
r[/e baue guns to thank
fo, ...
['m not in fauour of guns, but I must admit ...

Taboosand /ssues Nobody needs a gun 17