The  87th Texas state legislative session began on January 12, 2021.  Thousands of bills have been introduced.  Yet, some bills will receive more attention than others.  The purpose of this paper is for students to examine a bill that has been introduced in the 2021 session and its related issue.  The student should discuss the general intent (purpose) of the bill, the arguments for and against the bill, and the students prediction on the outcome of the bill (becomes law or not) and/or his/her own personal position on the bill.

The student can discuss more than one bill as long as the bills are related to the same general topic (issue).

Research paper requirements:
    Minimum FIVE pages in length
    Standard font and margins
    Appropriate citations (i.e. MLA format)
    Works Cited page

TEXAS CASTLE DOCTRINE (STAND YOUR GROUND)

HB 196        Relating to the use of deadly force in defense of a person or property.  It would require a person to be unable to safely retreat before they could use deadly force to protect their habitation or property. It would also remove robbery and aggravated robbery as crimes that could be legally stopped with deadly force by property owners.

SUGGEST PAPER OUTLINE
I.    Introduction
II.    Purpose/Intent of the selected bill(s)
III.    Pros and Cons (Arguments for and against the bill)
IV.    Conclusion
a.    Predicted outcome of the bill (will it become a law or not)  AND/OR
b.    Students personal position on the bill
V.    Works Cited page

It is not required but the student can break down the paper into sections with subheadings for each part (as indicated in the outline shown above).