Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates "The Constitutional Right to Bear Arms Has Outlived Its Usefulness" At Kaufman Center, November 14th

Award-winning NPR series Intelligence Squared U.S. (IQ2US)— the Oxford style debates championing the art of debate and intelligent discussion—will take up one of America’s most hotly contested and timely issues with a panel of some of academia’s top thinkers on November 14th with “The Constitutional Right to Bear Arms Has Outlived Its Usefulness.”

Recent mass shooting tragedies have renewed the national debate over the 2nd Amendment. Gun ownership and homicide rates are higher in the U.S. than in any other developed nation, but gun violence has decreased over the last two decades even as gun ownership may be increasing. Over 200 years have passed since James Madison introduced the Bill of Rights. The country has changed and so have its guns. Is the right to bear arms now at odds with the common good, or is it as necessary today as it was in 1789?

Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz with University of Texas Law and Government Professor Sanford Levinson will argue for the motion. David Kopel, Research Director of the Independence Institute and Associate Policy Analyst with the Cato Institute will argue against the motion with UCLA Law Professor, Eugene Volokh.

WHAT: Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates "The Constitutional Right to Bear Arms Has Outlived Its Usefulness"
WHEN: Thursday, November 14, 2013 / Reception 5:45-6:30 / Debate 6:45-8:30 PM
WHERE: Kaufman Center/129 W. 67th Street (bet. Broadway and Amsterdam)/New York, NY 10023
TICKETS: $40 ($12 for students w/ ID). To purchase, visit http://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/

The debate will take place in front of a live audience at Kaufman Center in New York City. Before the debate, audience members will vote on the motion; afterward, the audience votes again. The team that moves the most voters to its side will be the winning team in this provocative debate.

ABOUT INTELLIGENCE SQUARED DEBATES (IQ2US)
Winner of the 2013 Silver Radio Award for Best Public Affairs Program and named one of "Five Podcasts that Will Change the Way You Think" by Forbes Intelligence Squared U.S. was founded in New York City in 2006 by Robert Rosenkranz, and has grown into an internationally syndicated series heard and watched by millions. The debates have attracted some of the world's top thinkers including Paul Krugman, Karl Rove, Malcolm Gladwell, Alan Dershowitz, Peter Thiel and Arianna Huffington. Intelligence Squared U.S. has presented 80 debates on a wide range of provocative topics including global warming, genetically engineered babies, science refuting God, and legalizing drugs. Author and ABC News correspondent John Donvan has moderated IQ2US since 2008. The executive producer is Dana Wolfe.