More than 300 Southern California students, teachers, and counselors took a field trip to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley. They joined ProCon.org and the Reagan Library to honor the film The Great Debaters, celebrate...
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More than 300 Southern California students, teachers, and counselors took a field trip to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley. They joined ProCon.org and the Reagan Library to honor the film The Great Debaters, celebrate Black History Month, and kick off the Great Communicator debate series.

ProCon.org’s mission to educate on the issues and President Ronald Reagan’s call for “informed patriotism” led to an ideal partnership between the two nonpartisan organizations. Representing schools from Ventura, Los Angeles, and Orange Counties were students from Centennial, Dominguez, Smidt Tech, and Apollo High Schools, among many others, as well as foster youth from Penny Lane Centers in Northridge.

The day began with an introduction from Anthony Pennay, Chief Learning Officer at the Reagan Library, followed by an homage to debate by Télyse Masaoay, a senior at Vanderbilt University, who told students: “Debate will help us become change-makers, to push back against injustice and fight for the things you care about.”

Next, Lauren Morganbesser, a senior at Harvard Westlake High School in Los Angeles, and Ronald Thompson, a student at Northern Virginia Community College, debated the pros and cons of felon voting using an abbreviated version of the Great Communicator debate series format.

After a short break, The Great Debaters was screened for the student audience. The film tells the true story of how a novice and determined debate team from Wiley College in Texas, a small historically black college, upset the national champion Harvard University debate team. Set in the 1930s during the Great Depression, the movie starred Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, and four young actors playing the Wiley College debate team.

After lunch underneath the actual Air Force One used by President Reagan, students returned to watch a Q&A panel featuring talent from the film. The screenwriter, Bob Eisele, and two of the actors, Denzel Whitaker and Jermaine Williams, who played debaters James Farmer and Hamilton Burgess, shared their experiences from making the film. A video of their discussion is available here. Eisele, who grew up in a multi-racial family, said, “I knew young black men and women who were intellectual athletes. And all we saw were sports athletes.” He described the tale of Wiley College’s debate team as “a great human story… one I was burning to tell.”

Actor Jermaine Williams said, “This was a time when we didn’t have a voice, and people didn’t care what we thought.” Denzel Whitaker added, “Even in 2007 when we made this project, our voice was just starting to grow, and we’re starting to see that now more and more in the media because we’re becoming a little bit more conscious.”

ProCon.org CEO Kamy Akhavan summarized the day’s purpose by saying that debate requires skill at thinking, speaking, and listening. He led the audience in a powerful exercise that demonstrated the importance of listening.

All of the attending teachers and counselors received a 12-page film discussion guide tied to Common Core standards, created by ProCon.org researchers. This guide was also posted on the ProCon.org website, making it available to teachers everywhere at no charge.

A generous grant from the Arthur N. Rupe Foundation allowed ProCon.org to host this event at the Reagan Library, as part of the ongoing Arthur N. Rupe Debate Series in LA. 

 (via ProCon.org and Reagan Library Celebrate Black History Month with The Great Debaters - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

The term “binge-watch” was first used in 2003 and means “to watch many or all episodes of (a TV series) in rapid succession,” according to Merriam-Webster. [1] The phrase gained popularity in 2013 when Netflix released the full 13-episode season of...
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The term “binge-watch” was first used in 2003 and means “to watch many or all episodes of (a TV series) in rapid succession,” according to Merriam-Webster. [1] The phrase gained popularity in 2013 when Netflix released the full 13-episode season of House of Cards at once. [2] In 2015, “binge-watch” was declared the word of the year by Collins English Dictionary, which said use of the term had increased 200% in the prior year. [3]

73% of Americans admit to binge-watching, with the average binge lasting three hours and eight minutes. [4][5] 90% of millennials (ages 20-33) and 87% of Gen Z (ages 14-19) stated they binge-watch. 40% of them binge-watch an average of six hours of television in one sitting. [4] Helen Newstead, Head of Language Content at Collins Learning, stated “The rise in usage of ‘binge-watch’ is clearly linked to the biggest sea change in our viewing habits since the advent of the video recorder nearly 40 years ago.” [3]

Is binge-watching a harmless pleasure or a harmful addiction? 

 (via Binge Watching - Top 3 Pros and Cons - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

Daylight Saving Time (DST) began at 2am on Sunday, Mar. 11, 2018 with “spring forward” when most of the United States moved clocks forward by one hour, and ends at 2am on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018 when those clocks will “fall back” one hour. DST was...
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Daylight Saving Time (DST) began at 2am on Sunday, Mar. 11, 2018 with “spring forward” when most of the United States moved clocks forward by one hour, and ends at 2am on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018 when those clocks will “fall back” one hour.

DST was implemented in the United States nationally on Mar. 31, 1918 as a wartime effort to save an hour’s worth of fuel (gas or oil) each day to light lamps and coal to heat homes. It was repealed nationwide in 1919, and then maintained by some individual localities (such as New York City) in what Time Magazine called “a chaos of clocks” until 1966 when the Uniform Time Act made DST consistent nationwide. [8]

Approximately 1.5 billion people in 70 countries observe DST worldwide. [26][29] In the United States, 48 states participate in Daylight Saving Time. Arizona, Hawaii, some Amish communities, and the American territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands) do not observe DST. [8] In the first quarter of 2018, bills were considered in at least 13 state legislatures to amend DST or exempt individual states from DST. [33] 33% of Americans think DST is worth the effort, while 48% do not and 19% are not sure. [20]

(via Top 3 Pros and Cons of Daylight Saving Time - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

The United States has 120.5 guns per 100 people

Proponents of more gun control often want more laws to try to prevent the mass shootings and call for smart gun laws, background checks, and more protections against the mentally ill buying guns. Opponents of more gun laws accuse proponents of using a tragedy to further a lost cause, stating that more laws would not have prevented the shootings.

Source: gun-control.procon.org

As almost 20 million students prepared to go back to US colleges and universities, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released new unemployment statistics. The data indicated that people with at least a bachelor’s degree have more employment and higher...
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As almost 20 million students prepared to go back to US colleges and universities, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released new unemployment statistics. The data indicated that people with at least a bachelor’s degree have more employment and higher participation in the workforce, but also showed that unemployment rates for less-educated workers is falling faster.

The July 2018 total unemployment rate was 3.2% for people over age 25 and 3.9% for those over 16. For those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, the rate was 2.2%, while those who earned associate’s degrees or went to college but did not graduate had a rate of 3.2%. The rate jumped to 4.0% for people with only a high school diploma and 5.1% for those who did not finish high school.

The numbers were an improvement over July 2017, when the rates were 3.6% for people over 25, 2.3% for bachelor’s degree holders and higher, 3.7% for an associate’s degree or some college, 4.5% for high school graduates, and 7.0% for those who did not finish high school.

While the unemployment rate for workers without high school degrees was higher than their counterparts with more education, the rate was the lowest it has been since 1992, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics adjusted how it measures education. However, fewer people without high school diplomas are participating in the workforce. In July 2018, 46.9% of people without high school diplomas were in the labor force, compared to 57.9% of those with high school diplomas, 65.4% of people with some college or associate’s degrees, and 73.4% of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher. 

 (via College Graduates Less Likely to Be Unemployed, per US Department of Labor Data - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

Attorney General Jeff Sessions implemented a new “zero-tolerance” policy for illegal immigration that involved prosecuting all adults crossing the southwest border illegally, noting a 203% increase in illegal border crossingsfrom 2017 to 2018. [1]...
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Attorney General Jeff Sessions implemented a new “zero-tolerance” policy for illegal immigration that involved prosecuting all adults crossing the southwest border illegally, noting a 203% increase in illegal border crossingsfrom 2017 to 2018. [1] The change resulted in about 3,000 children being forcibly separated from their parents because the children couldn’t be held in a federal jail alongside their parents. [2][3] The separated migrant children were detained at government-run facilities, including a new “tent city” built to handle the influx of kids needing housing, while their parents were held in federal jail. [4][5] Previously, families who were contesting deportation or applying for asylum remained in the United States out of detention until their cases were resolved. [6]

The families separated at the border included a mix of legal asylum seekers and illegal border crossers from throughout Central America, many fleeing gang violence in their home nations. [7][8] DHS states that families attempting to enter the country through legal means are not prosecuted, and that asylum seekers at ports of entry were not turned away. [9] Media reports and an ACLU lawsuit disagree, saying that some asylum seekers at ports of entry in Texas and California were separated from their children or denied entry by armed Customs and Border Protection agents. [10][11]

In a June 2018 national survey of 1,000 likely voters, Rasmussen Reports found that 54% of likely voters and 82% of Republicans believed that parents who attempted to enter the United States illegally were more to blame for the separation than the government. [12] A Quinnipiac University poll found that 66% of Americans opposed the policy, compared to 27% who supported it; that support rose to 55% among Republicans. [13]

Following an international outcry and planned nationwide protests, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on June 20 to keep families detained together. [14] One week later, a federal judge ordered the government to reunite children with their parents within a month. [15]

Proponents of the family separation at the US-Mexico border say the policy was intended as a deterrent to people making the long and dangerous journey to cross the US-Mexico border illegally. They also contend that the US government is trying to curb abuse of its asylum process and that people who knowingly violate US laws have to face the consequences.

Opponents of family separation at the border say that the separating children from their parents has a damaging psychological, emotional, and physical impact. They also contend that the policy violates international law and basic human rights, and that separating children from their parents because of immigration status is immoral.

(via Was the United States Justified in Its Policy of Family Separation at the US-Mexico Border? - Top 3 Pros and Cons - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

The 2018 Winter Games are scheduled for Feb. 9 – Feb. 25 in PyeongChang, South Korea. The host cities for four future Games have already been selected: Tokyo Summer 2020, Beijing Winter 2022, Paris Summer 2024, and Los Angeles Summer 2028. [1] The...
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The 2018 Winter Games are scheduled for Feb. 9 – Feb. 25 in PyeongChang, South Korea. The host cities for four future Games have already been selected: Tokyo Summer 2020, Beijing Winter 2022, Paris Summer 2024, and Los Angeles Summer 2028. [1] The host city for the 2026 Winter Olympics has yet to be determined. [2] The International Olympic Committee selects a host for each Games from the cities that remain after a multi-step bidding process that gauges public support and evaluates the vision and planning proposed by each city, among other factors. [48][49]

People who say the Olympic Games are an overall benefit to their host countries and cities state that the Games increase valuable tourism, which can boost local economies; create a sense of national pride; and increase a country’s global trade and stature. People who say the Olympic Games are not an overall benefit to their host countries and cities state that the Games are a financial drain on host cities; force host cities to create expensive infrastructure and buildings that fall into disuse; and displace and burden residents of the host country and city. 

(via Hosting the Olympic Games - Top 3 Pros and Cons - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

Controversial Issues in the News: Marijuana Medical Cannabis Debate“ Efforts by legislators are underway asking the federal government to de-schedule marijuana. Currently, marijuana is a Schedule I drug, which means the drug is considered to have a...
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Controversial Issues in the News: Marijuana Medical Cannabis Debate

Efforts by legislators are underway asking the federal government to de-schedule marijuana. Currently, marijuana is a Schedule I drug, which means the drug is considered to have a “high potential for abuse,” “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States,” and “a lack of accepted safety for any use of the drug.” Without rescheduling, or removing the drug from the federal schedule, marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), a bipartisan nongovernmental organization (NGO) composed of legislators and legislative staff members, approved a resolution on Aug. 7, 2017 stating, “the National Conference of State Legislatures believes that the Controlled Substances Act should be amended to remove cannabis from scheduling thus enabling financial institutions the ability to provide banking services to cannabis related businesses.” The NCSL recommends allowing each state to …

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Top 10 Pro & Con Arguments
 Should marijuana be a medical option?

  1. Physician Perspectives
  2. Medical Organizations’ Opinions
  3. US Government Officials’ Views
  4. Health Risks of Smoked Marijuana
  5. More Physician Perspectives
  6. Marijuana and Pain
  7. Marijuana vs. Marinol
  8. Addictiveness of Marijuana
  9. “Gateway” Effect
  10. Medical Marijuana Use by Kids

learn more about recreational marijuana and medical cannabis…

Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC - Laws, Fees, and Possession Limits

Top 10 Debate: Medical Marijuana Pros and Cons

Lawmakers Urge Federal Government to De-Schedule Marijuana

Source: procon.org

Overall use and public support of the death penalty is in decline. As of Nov. 8, 2017, 23 people were executed in the United States in 2017, the second-lowest number since 1991. 39 people are expected to be sentenced to death by the end of 2017,...
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Overall use and public support of the death penalty is in decline. As of Nov. 8, 2017, 23 people were executed in the United States in 2017, the second-lowest number since 1991. 39 people are expected to be sentenced to death by the end of 2017, making it the second-lowest number since 1976, the year when capital punishment was declared constitutional again by the US Supreme Court.

Since the death penalty was legalized again in 1976 by the US Supreme Court, 1,465 people have been executed. Texas has accounted for 545 executions, over a third of the nation’s total. Harris County, Texas, which contains Houston, is called the “death penalty capital of the world” and the “buckle of the American death belt” because 126 people have been executed there since 1976, more than any US state except the county’s home state of Texas. However, in 2017, no one was executed in Harris County, making it the first year since 1985 that the county hasn’t carried out a capital punishment sentence. Additionally, no one has been sentenced to death in Harris County in three years.

Between Jan. 1, 2017 and Nov. 8, 2017, 23 men were executed in eight states. The men were 47 years old on average, and between the ages of 35 and 75. All of the men were executed via lethal injection, nine via a one-drug injection (Pentobarbital) and 14 via a three-drug injection (midazolam or etomidate), after spending an average of 19.5 years on death row (between eight and 34 years individually).

In peak years since 1976, there were 98 executions (1999) and 315 new death sentences (1996). Of the 31 states in which capital punishment is legal, executions were carried out in eight and 14 imposed new death sentences. In 2016, the only year with fewer executions since 1976 than 2017, 20 men were executed. A woman was last executed in 2015.

Rebecca Hersher, NPR reporter, stated: “Death sentences and executions have been declining steadily since the mid-1990s. But 2016 also generated seemingly contradictory information about how the public views capital punishment. Even as jurors have increasingly voted for life in prison instead of execution, voters in three states rejected propositions that would have eliminated the death penalty.”

Public support of capital punishment has declined to 55%, the lowest level since 1972, and significantly lower than the 80% peak approval rating in 1994, according to Gallup. Pew Research puts public support at 49%, with Republicans (72%) favoring its use more than Independents (45%) and Democrats (34%).

Also in 2017, Florida now requires a unanimous jury to impose the death penalty, and Alabama has disallowed judges from imposing capital punishment when the jury voted for life imprisonment.

Robert Dunham, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center, stated, “The groups that were thought to be automatic death penalty supporters are no longer automatic death penalty supporters. The issue is becoming less partisan in that now almost a third of sponsors of death penalty abolition bills are Republicans. And the states in which we are seeing more and more activity in terms of abolition are red states." 

 (via Death Penalty Use and Support Near Record Lows - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

School vouchers are state- or school district-funded scholarships that allow students to attend a private school of the family’s choice rather than sending the child to public school. DC and 13 states offered school vouchers: Arkansas, Florida,...
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School vouchers are state- or school district-funded scholarships that allow students to attend a private school of the family’s choice rather than sending the child to public school. DC and 13 states offered school vouchers: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, and Vermont. [2] President Trump has mentioned vouchers as a priority for school reform, and Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is a supporter.

Proponents of school vouchers say that parents should have the right to choose their children’s education; that vouchers create a free marketplace for education overall to improve; that socioeconomic and racial segregations can be overcome with vouchers; and that vouchers lead to better student performance. Opponents say that vouchers violate the separation of church and state; that vouchers financially harm already-struggling public schools; that vouchers disadvantage special needs students; and that vouchers lead to worse academic performance. 

 (via School Vouchers - Top 4 Pros and Cons - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

Fifteen states legally permit corporal punishment in K-12 schools, while 28 states ban the practice. Corporal punishment is defined as a “physical punishment” and a “punishment that involves hitting someone.” In K-12 schools, corporal punishment is...
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Fifteen states legally permit corporal punishment in K-12 schools, while 28 states ban the practice. Corporal punishment is defined as a “physical punishment” and a “punishment that involves hitting someone.” In K-12 schools, corporal punishment is often spanking, with either a hand or paddle, or striking a student across his/her hand with a ruler or leather strap. More extreme instances, including the use of a chemical spray and Taser, have also been recorded by US schools. [2][7]

In 2014, 94% of parents with children three to four years old reported that they had spanked their child within the past year, and 76% of men and 65% of women agreed with the statement, “a child sometimes needs a good spanking.” [9] The debate over corporal punishment, especially in schools, remains vigorous.

(via Should Corporal Punishment Be Used in K-12 Schools? - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

On Apr. 6, 2017, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement recognizing West Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel, becoming the first country to recognize any part of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. In the same statement they also recognized East...
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On Apr. 6, 2017, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement recognizing West Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel, becoming the first country to recognize any part of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. In the same statement they also recognized East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

The Russian statement also reaffirmed its “support for the two-state solution as an optimal option that meets the national interests of the Palestinian and Israeli people.”

Israel first declared Jerusalem to be its capital in 1950. In 1980, Israel annexed East Jerusalem, placing all of Jerusalem under its administrative control. However, according to the Negotiations Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization, “all of Jerusalem (and not only East Jerusalem) is subject to permanent status negotiations,” and with respect to East Jerusalem, “Israel has no right to any part of it.”

Although Israel claims Jerusalem as its capital, no country maintains an embassy in the city. The United States has had a long-standing policy that the status of Jerusalem should be resolved through the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv. However, there have recently been discussions within the Trump administration to consider the possibility of moving the United States embassy to Jerusalem. According to the Jerusalem Post, Russia is not currently considering moving its embassy to Jerusalem.

According to Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Emmanuel Nahson, Israel is currently “studying” the Russian statement recognizing West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

(via Russia Recognizes West Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel and East Jerusalem as the Capital of Future Palestinian State - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

33 men are currently imprisoned on Arkansas’ death row and the state planned to execute eight of them by the end of April because Arkansas’ supply of Midazolam will expire at the end of Apr. 2017. Midazolam is one of three drugs used in the state’s...
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33 men are currently imprisoned on Arkansas’ death row and the state planned to execute eight of them by the end of April because Arkansas’ supply of Midazolam will expire at the end of Apr. 2017. Midazolam is one of three drugs used in the state’s lethal injection cocktail and Arkansas currently has enough to execute eight people.

Pharmaceutical companies are no longer manufacturing drugs used for lethal injections, including Midazolam, due to pressure from those who oppose the death penalty.

via Death Penalty Sentences Rushed in Arkansas - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

Daylight Saving Time (DST) began at 2am on Sunday, Mar. 12, 2017 with “spring forward” when most of the United States moved clocks forward by one hour, and will end at 2am on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017 when those clocks will “fall back” one hour. DST was...
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Daylight Saving Time (DST) began at 2am on Sunday, Mar. 12, 2017 with “spring forward” when most of the United States moved clocks forward by one hour, and will end at 2am on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017 when those clocks will “fall back” one hour.

DST was implemented in the United States nationally on Mar. 31, 1918 as a wartime effort to save an hour’s worth of fuel (gas or oil) each day to light lamps and coal to heat homes. It was repealed nationwide in 1919, and then maintained by some individual localities (such as New York City) in what Time Magazine called “a chaos of clocks” until 1966 when the Uniform Time Act made DST consistent nationwide. [8]

Approximately 1.5 billion people in 70 countries observe DST worldwide. [26] [29] In the United States, 48 states participate in Daylight Saving Time. Arizona, Hawaii, some Amish communities, and the American territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands) do not observe DST. [8] At the beginning of 2017, bills were being considered in 21 state legislatures to amend DST or exempt individual states from DST. [27] 33% of Americans think DST is worth the effort, while 48% do not and 19% are not sure. [20]

People in favor of keeping Daylight Saving Time say it allows drivers to commute more safely in daylight, promotes outdoor activities, and stimulates the economy. Those who oppose Daylight Saving Time say that the change is a harmful disruption to health and work productivity, and is expensive. While the time change was initially implemented to save energy, studies are mixed and have found our current use of air conditioning and heating may negate the energy saved by not having to use electric lights and may actually increase electricity usage. [24] [25] Read on for pros and cons in the debate on Daylight Saving Time.

(via Top 3 Pros and Cons of Daylight Saving Time - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

ProCon.org has researched the pros and cons of more than 50 controversial issues, many of which have been in the news this year. Below we present our Year in Review to remind you about some of the big events of 2016 that relate to our...
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ProCon.org has researched the pros and cons of more than 50 controversial issues, many of which have been in the news this year. Below we present our Year in Review to remind you about some of the big events of 2016 that relate to our topics.

Remember when Pokémon Go took the nation by storm, flooding the streets with people staring at their cell phone screens? Or when San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the National Anthem, igniting a national debate about racial injustice as well as the appropriateness of athletes protesting at sporting events? What about the huge doping scandal just before the Rio Olympics that resulted in Russian track and field athletes being banned from competition?

Recently, the devastating loss of Alan Thicke hit our office hard, and we want to fix in our minds the memory of his philanthropic efforts as our celebrity ambassador.

2016 Election
Everyone on the staff here at ProCon.org pitched in to help create our site 2016election.procon.org, with a trove of statements from the candidates that the New York Times called “even more comprehensive” than its own. The Guardian said of our site, “All of the information is reliably sourced, and is presented in a straight-forward manner… This source allows people to make a well-informed decision.”

We created a presidential matching quiz that showed users how their views lined up with the candidates on 75 issues, as well as a candidate comparison chart showing the candidates’ positions. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson spoke with ProCon.org in June, giving us exclusive coverage of his position on many issues. Overall, we researched 16 candidates before the election, which was won by Donald Trump. Since the election, we delved into the pros and cons of the Electoral College as well as President-elect Trump’s cabinet picks.

Marijuana
2016 saw the number of states with recreational and medical marijuana reach a new high. In April, Pennsylvania legalized medical marijuana through legislation. In the Nov. 8 election, voters in Arkansas, Florida, and North Dakota passed propositions legalizing medical marijuana, bringing the total number of legal states to 28. Meanwhile, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada all voted to legalize adult use of marijuana. A July 2016 study published in Health Affairs found that the use of prescription drugs dropped in states with legal medical pot, to the tune of $165.2 million savings in overall Medicare spending in 2013. On Nov. 1, we presented a debate on the legalization of marijuana that was moderated by Alan Thicke at the Santa Monica Pier.

Minimum Wage
ProCon.org launched a new website in Apr. 2016 exploring the pros and cons in the debate over increasing the federal minimum wage, and it quickly became one of our most popular topics. In the Nov. 8 election, ballot measures to increase the minimum wage passed in Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Washington, while South Dakota voters declined a measure that would have lowered the minimum wage by a dollar.

Alternative Energy
The Dakota Access Pipeline made big news in August when a coalition of Native American tribes and other activists began a blockade in an effort to stop its construction. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein joined the protest and the Morton County Sheriff’s Department issued a warrant for her arrest for Criminal Trespass and Criminal Mischief, both Class B Misdemeanors. As the conflict continued, we tackled the pros and cons of the pipeline project to help our readers develop an informed opinion.

Gun Control
President Obama announced some executive actions on gun control, including the closing of the “gun show loophole” by expanding background checks on gun buyers, at the beginning of the year. He approved the hiring of new ATF agents, increased mental health care funding, and more. In the Nov. 8 election, voters in California, Nevada, and Washington approved ballot measures related to gun control.

Cuba Embargo
The pros and cons of maintaining the Cuba embargo took on renewed relevance following the death of Fidel Castro on Nov. 25, 2016. President Obama’s Mar. 20 trip to Cuba made him the first US president to visit the island nation since Calvin Coolidge in 1928.

Death Penalty
Nebraska voters approved the reinstatement of the death penalty, which had been abolished by the state legislature in 2015, bringing the total number of states with the death penalty to 32. California voters rejected a measure to repeal the death penalty and instead voted to reform it. On Oct. 18, we presented a debate on the death penalty at the Santa Monica Pier, moderated by California State Senator Ben Allen. 

 (via 2016 Year in Review from ProCon.org - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org