At Trinity Classical Academy, students are expected to learn about multiple worldviews.
While these views may not necessarily correspond to what individual students actually believe, Liz Cadeau, one of Trinity's founders and the school's government teacher, wants her students to ask questions. There is.
“You can be a part of the conversation,” Kadow said. “I don’t think there are many schools where something like this happens, where you can actually have a civil discussion and come to terms with opposing views.”
Caddo was referring to a debate held at Trinity University on Tuesday in which government students questioned local politicians on a wide range of topics, including gun control, taxes and immigration. Trinity holds such debates twice a year.
The guest invited to the discussion was Santa Clarita City Councilman Jason Gibbs, a member of the Republican Central Committee.th Meeting district. Andrew Taban, founder and chairman of the Santa Clarita Democratic Party; John Doe, Chairman of the Los Angeles County Libertarian Party. Alexander Avalos, member of the Democratic Socialist Party of America.
Guests first met with students in small groups to help them understand the representatives of each political party before participating in a traditional debate format.
Taban said it's interesting to hear different perspectives in that while some of the desired end results may be the same, how each party wants to get there may be different.
“There are some issues that many of us agree on,” Taban said. “Everyone wants personal success. Everyone believes in the same things. It's just a matter of how you do it.”
One issue that received mixed reactions was gun control. Mr. Douhet expressed a very clear opinion on this point. His belief was, “The more guns, the better.”
“You have the right to protect yourself,” Douhet said. “You should have the right to own a gun.”
Avalos said that as a believer in Marxist principles, he does not believe that guns and other weapons should be forcibly removed from the working class.
“I think the working class should have the power to protect themselves, especially if you look back at the history of the United States,” Avalos said, adding that some restrictions on convicted domestic abusers and those with a history of violence would be good. For the country that may have added.
Gibbs took the question a little differently, saying gun control is less about gun ownership and more about how the gun market is regulated.
“Going back to the Constitution for the Second Amendment, it says, 'The security of a free State requires a well-regulated Militia, and the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.' . “It's the only item in the Bill of Rights that says 'shall not be infringed,'” Gibbs said. “So the question becomes, 'What is infringement?'”
Gibbs cited background checks and waiting periods as regulations that could be interpreted as infringing on the right to bear arms.
Taban said he is a gun owner himself and said everyone should have access to guns, but within reason.
“The question here is who's getting the guns and why they're getting the guns,” Taban said. “The question is, are they mentally ill, how do they have access to this information, and how can we close that loophole?”
For Taban, the right to bear arms is not an issue. The idea is to keep people with a history of violence away from them, thereby preventing mass shootings from occurring.
“So take your guns and do what you have to do. Just don't hurt the public. I think that's where we seem to have a little bit of a problem,” Taban said. “It’s just a background check and some regulation.”
Gibbs said during the debate that sitting in the middle of the table next to Taban, flanked by Duet and Avalos, was somehow reminiscent of how society works today. Kadow agreed, noting that while students would ask Gibbs and Taban their thoughts on certain issues, other students would ask Due and Avalos their thoughts on other issues.
“I think they're really showing a big dichotomy that (Tavan) and our answer is close,” Gibbs said. “And then there are smaller pieces that seem almost symbolic.”
