Bans and restrictions bec ming abundant

Americans feel their rights are being attacked with every decision made by government officials and that those decisions are limiting freedoms. However, how does the government determine who or what deserves the most protection? Does an unborn baby deserve more protection than the pregnant woman? Should children be protected from potentially sensitive content or is their right to read books of their choice more important? Regardless of any of our personal perspectives, the government is often making those choices for us, whether we like it or not.

ASHLEY MOUNTAIN, REPORTER

Roe v. Wade

Many restrictions or bans have gone into place as of recently across the country that have been targeting mostly minorities in the United States. Recently, the US has allowed each state to decide whether or not abortions will be kept legal due to the overturn of Roe v. Wade. This allows and protects women to have the right to choose in the constitution. The overturning of it had led to each individual state to decide whether or not it should be kept legal or illegal with or without restrictions as well. People who live in more liberal states would have access to abortion, while those who live in restrictive states would only have access if they have significant resources to travel out of state.

The effects of this ban are dangerous across the country for many woman who don’t have the proper resources to take care of a child due to personal reasons. The following states are effected:

Book Bans

Another recent ban concerns the censorship of access to certain books across schools in the United States. These books have mostly targeted minorities such as LGBTQ+ and people of color bringing up issues of racism and spreading awareness of anti-LGBTQ+ behaviors. These bans have made it more difficult to learn about many issues and bring knowledge to possible pieces of favorite literature and cause a very negative impact on students.

A librarian at Park County School district said, “People in many parts of the country don’t seem to remember that the school library has been deemed a space that has special constitutional protections for open access to information and ideas. And as such, school districts are meant to exercise great care and make decisions in a narrow fashion to uphold students’ right to access information and not be removing materials in a way that is suppressing the ideas that a particular individual (or group) doesn’t like.”

It should be up to each individual students to decide what book is best fit for them and helps their education.

According to ALA, the American Library Assocation, these were the top 10 most commonly banned or challenged books in 2021:

“Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe

“Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison

“All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson

“Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Perez

“The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas

Marijuana Legalization

The legalization of marijuana has also gained some controversy. Some see its legalization as beneficial, whereas others think it should be kept illegal, but with exceptions kept on the table. Here are some of the terms on the banning of marijuana.

Legalization: This means that a once-banned drug for Americans has been made legal.

Decriminalization: This means that a drug is still illegal, but you will no longer be prosecuted or charged with a crime for having a specified amount of it.

Medical Marijuana: This refers to the prescribed use of marijuana as a medical treatment for certain health conditions (e.g. cancer, multiple sclerosis)

Recreational Marijuana: This refers to the personal, or recreational, use of marijuana (i.e. not a medical treatment for a health condition)

Most states are in favor of the overall legalization of weed. Since this is the majorty of most states it should be legal in al 50 of them.

“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie

“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews

“The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison

“This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson

“Beyond Magenta” by Susan Kuklin

Assault Weapons

Another issue that has sparked controversy in the United States is whether or not assault weapons should be banned or whether the process of purchasing them should include more restrictions.

Polling from June 2022 showed that 63 percent of Americans support banning assault weapons, and 8 in 10 were in favor of raising the age to buy an assault weapon to 21 years old. The poll also showed that 84 percent of Democrats favored banning assault weapons. Recently President Joe Biden has pushed for further action in banning assault weapons and plans to start going somewhere with this as president.

Overall, since the majority of Americans make it clear they are in favor of banning assault weapons, they should be illegal.