Reference no: EM133702466

Assignment:

The policy cycle is a process that explains how public policy is created, implemented, and evaluated. Although there are many different variations of the public policy cycle, we shall use a simplified, four step public policy cycle:

Step 1: Agenda Setting

How public policy concerns are understood and how various interests highlight the public policy concern.

Step 2: Policy Formation

The crafting of public policy solutions. Public policy solutions are mostly addressed through legislation or regulation.

Step 3: Policy Implementation

How public policy is applied via federal, state, and/or local endeavors.

Step 4: Policy Evaluation

How public policy is assessed: success or failure.

Policy formation is the second step of the policy cycle.

Often, it is the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the U.S. government that affect public policy via policy formation. Policy formation at government level typically involves regulation, management, education, taxing, and market incentives (Kraft, 2018).

The Second Amendment is a prime example of how executive, legislative, and judicial branches influenced public policy through policy formation. The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution: "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." However, since the ratification of the Constitution in 1789 the 2nd Amendment continues to be interpreted and amended via executive, legislative, and judicial actions. There is little that is "well-regulated" about current American gun policy.

The following policy formation examples highlight one executive, legislative, and judicial action:

On February 20, 2018, the White House issued a Presidential Memorandum that requested the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigate how to regulate bump stocks and other devices (White House, 2018). Later that year the Department of Justice instructed to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to outlaw bump stocks because the addition of this device fell "within the definition of "machinegun" under federal law, as such devices allow a shooter of a semiautomatic firearm to initiate a continuous firing cycle with a single pull of the trigger" (ATF, n.d.).

On June 26, 1934 Congress passed the National Firearms Act. This legislation required firearms to be registered and taxed. In addition, the following weapons were outlawed: "shotguns and rifles having barrels less than 18 inches in length, certain firearms described as "any other weapons," machineguns, and firearm mufflers and silencers" (ATF, n.d.).

District of Columbia v Heller, 2008. In 2001, Washington D.C. passed municipal legislation that required registration of guns (with qualifications on what guns could or could not be registered) and that all guns stored within homes to be kept "unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock." Dick Heller, a police officer, sued the District of Columbia because he was not allowed to register his semi-automatic handgun within his home. The Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment's right to bear arms could not be restricted by the District of Columbia's municipal legislation (Heller v D.C., 2008).

Directions: Using the required, academic readings, and supplemental academic research, please address the following while adhering to the

Select a specific example of public policy from one of the following fields:

Economic policy

An example of economic policy is U.S. budget deficit spending.

Education policy

An example of education policy is the implementation of national education standards.

Environmental policy

An example of environmental policy is the Clean Air Act.

Foreign policy

An example of foreign policy is how we conduct trade with other countries.

Healthcare policy

An example of healthcare policy is the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

Welfare policy

An example of welfare policy is Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

Review the official website of the three branches of U.S. government: The White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court.

• White House:
• United States Congress:
• Supreme Court:

Conduct a keyword search of the official websites for public policies pertinent to your chosen public policy. Each website of three branches of government include a search option on the top of each page.

Select a total of two examples from executive legislative, or judicial actions that have helped or hindered your chosen, public policy. You can pick from the different branches or you can pick two from the same branch.

Summarize the executive, legislative, and/or judicial actions.

How do these examples inform the public policy cycle?