North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) will offer a program discussing the 2^nd Amendment and some of the key Supreme Court cases that have led to the current public policy debate on Monday, September 17, in the Beem Center, Room 200 on the NIACC campus from 2:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.  This free presentation will be facilitated by Bennett Smith, history and political science instructor at NIACC, and will commemorate Constitution Day which is held on September 17 of each year. This event is offered through the Lifelong Learning Institute and is free and open to the public. Please register for this event by calling the NIACC Continuing Education Office at 641-422-4358.

The Second Amendment to the Unites States Constitution states, “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” What this Amendment means in practice is a hotly contested area of public debate about the nature and meaning of the Bill of Rights and public policy around the issue of guns. Is the right to “keep and bear Arms” absolute? If not, what are the limits of it? Does government regulation, such as background checks or education and training requirements, constitute infringement of the right?

In honor of Constitution Day, the focus of this presentation will be on examining some of these important questions. We will discuss the historical origins of the Second Amendment and some of the key Supreme Court cases that have led to the current public policy debate. Join us for a lecture on this important Constitutional issue at the annual NIACC Constitution Day presentation. A recommended reading list and handout will be provided, and there will be a question and answer session after the lecture.

Bennett Smith is an instructor in history and political science at North Iowa Area Community College. He is also an instructor in various lifelong learning programs including the NIACC lifelong Learning Institute; the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Iowa State University, and the LIFE program at Rochester Community and Technical College in Rochester, Minnesota. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Communication and a Master of Arts degree in History from Iowa State University. He has also done graduate work at the University of Iowa in Social Foundations of Education. He is from Clear Lake, and currently serves on the Clear Lake City Council.

 Firearms on Campus: North Iowa Area Community College is committed to providing a safe and secure learning and working environment.  The use and possession of all firearms, ammunition, and other dangerous weapons intended to inflict injury, or explosives are prohibited on College property. This includes use of firearms for the purpose of hunting.  No hunting will be permitted on College property. The President or designee may authorize exceptions to this policy to those persons conducting and participating in an approved program of instruction in the college’s curriculum which requires access to such equipment as an integral part of the instructional program and to those persons granted permission at the discretion of the President for specific purposes.

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