the united states should require universal background checks for every gun sell or transfer of owner

Resolved: The United States should require universal background checks for all gun sales and transfer of ownership. We affirm the resolution. Definitions: We define the term universal background checks as the current database, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS. Our Framework is: Utilitarianism: the philosophy that the team with the greatest benefit for the greatest amount of people should win the round. We show you that we save as many people as possible through the strengthening of democratic values, and through the number of deaths that can be decreased through the implementation of universal background checks. Contention 1: Power of the People Subpoint A: Public Support The vast majority of Americans support the idea of background checks, as reported by the Pew Research Center. According to Fingerhut 2016, 85% of the public, including 79% of Republicans and 88% of Democrats favored making private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks. In addition, a poll conducted by the Washington Post and ABC News revealed that nine in ten Americans support background checks on gun purchases. This poll shows support from Democrats, Republicans, and even members from the National Rifle Association, which is a group that has vehemently opposed gun control laws in the past. These polls show us that the people are in support of these policies and that in implementing this policy, that the public will support it, therefore solidifying the importance of American democracy Subpoint B: Democracy Democracy is one of the cornerstones of America and needs to be preserved at all costs. In requiring universal background checks for all gun sales and transfers of ownership, American democracy is upheld and according to The Economist, America is a flawed democracy currently. In upholding a policy that is supported by such a large percentage of the American people, the basis of democracy is upheld, therefore saving everyone from extinction. According to Diamond 95 "Nuclear, chemical. and biological weapons continue to proliferate. The very source of life on Earth, the global ecosystem, appears increasingly endangered. Most of these new and unconventional threats to security are associated with or aggravated by the weakness or absence of democracy, with its provisions for legality, accountability, popular sovereignty, and openness." The biggest impact of this contention is that democracy is paramount to not only the support of the people but also the survival of the human race. We have proven to you that the possibility of extinction is quite high based on the rate that America is losing its democratic values, so therefore we must work to preserve democracy and this requires the passing of a policy that is supported by the vast majority of the population. Therefore according to the philosophy of utilitarianism, the saving of as many lives as possible is paramount, so democracy needs to be upheld. Contention 2: Save the People Subpoint A: Suicide According to the CDC, the 10th leading cause of death in America in 2016 was suicide. The top method used to commit suicide in 2015 was the firearm, which accounted for roughly half of all suicides. The major problem with this is that many of these deaths could have been prevented. In fact, universal background checks have caused an average decrease of 0.29 suicides in some states compared to an average rise of 0.39 in states with no UBC"s. If we can work on implementing a background check system that helps to catch and mitigate the number of mentally ill people that have access to guns we can work to lower the number of suicides that are caused in the United States per year. Swanson 2015 shows that most suicides are the result of " the substantial contribution of environmental factors"notably including the availability of lethal means such as firearms"and exposure to media reporting of suicide." If we can lower the availability of these firearms, we can strive towards a very low suicide rate. The impact of this is that we can work to lower the rates of the tenth largest cause of death in the United States.