“And It Is The People Who Should Wield It”: An Original Forum Theatre Play by Loyola Students
Directed By Kelly Howe
Production Dramaturg
Mia Luparello
Welcome
Welcome to the dramaturgy website for Loyola University of Chicago’s Fall 2026 original Forum Theatre production! Here, you will find many resources and information about the chosen topic. Please remember this is a working document and if you have any questions or would like something added to the website, please contact me!
Contact Info:
Email: mluparello@luc.edu
The chosen topic for our Forum Theatre production is gun violence, therefore the resources provided discuss this topic and surrounding/intersecting forms of oppression including racial injustice, mental health and self harm, hate crimes, and domestic violence. There are no images included of firearms or any forms of violence on this website, but some of the outside resources included may contain such imagery. Please browse and research at your own level of comfortability!
Content Advisory:
Table of Contents
Theatre of the Oppressed
“The theatre is a weapon, and it is the people who should wield it.”
-Augusto Boal
Origins
Methods
Present-day Impact and Practices
Watch until 11:48
Forms and Techniques of TO
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Participants
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Forum Theatre
Gun Violence in the United States
Introduction
Statistics, Studies, and Data Trackers
About 46,000 US Americans die from gun violence every year—an average of more than 125 per day
As of 2022, the United States has 121 Firearms per 100 residents. Making it the only country with more civilian-owned firearms than people.
Gun violence costs the United States approximately $557.2 billion each year, of which $12.6 billion (2%) is paid by taxpayers.
The rate of gun deaths has increased 15% from 2015 to 2024
By the end of 2026, an estimated 1.27 million guns will have been illegally trafficked since 2017.
Gun Deaths in 2024
Activism and Resources
Everytown for Gun Safety
Everytown For Gun Safety is the largest gun violence prevention organization in the US. Everytown promotes evidence-based solutions throughout everytown in the US to educate people and fight towards reducing gun violence. Everytown hosts several movements including Moms Demand Action, Student Demand Action, and Gun Sense Action Network.
Brady: United Against Gun Violence
Brady is the oldest and one of the largest organizations against gun violence in the US. Founded in 1974, Brady’s strategy targets policy reform, industry oversight, and cultural change.
Giffords
Giffords is an organization led by former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford. The organization’s strategy is fighting the gun lobby campaigns and litigation in courts.
Community Justice Action Fund
Community Justice Action Fund is a gun violent prevention organization that focuses on ending gun violence in Black and Brown communities. Their mission is to empower those whose experiences are closest to the issue to build political power, amplify voices, and advocate for policy change.
Sandy Hook Promise
Sandy Hook Promise is an organization founded and led by some family members who had lost loved ones in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Their goal is to educate young students and educators on the warning signs of potential violence to seek help.
Chicago CRED
Chicago CRED is a non-profit gun violence prevention organization that uses a street outreach and intervention approach to support those who are at the highest risk for gun violence involvement in Chicago communities.
Resource Links
Access and Laws
Check State by State Gun Laws
Learn More About Background Checks
Federal Gun Laws
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“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.”
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The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act includes extended background checks for firearm purchases under the age of 21, clarification of the federal firearms license (FFL) requirements, funding for state red flag laws and other crisis intervention programs, further criminalization of arms trafficking and straw purchases, and partial closure of the gun show loophole and boyfriend loophole. In 2024, the ATF and DOJ finalized the definition of individuals engaged in business of dealing firearms, clarifying that unlicensed sellers as must register FFLs and run background checks.
Important Events and Court Cases
Supreme Court Rulings
District of Columbia v. Heller (2008): The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.
McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010): The Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self-defense. (In other words, the right is protected from state as well as federal interference.)
Caetano v. Massachusetts (2016): The Second Amendment extends to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding, and this Second Amendment right is fully applicable to the states.
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen (2022): When the Second Amendment's plain text covers an individual's conduct, the Constitution presumptively protects that conduct. To justify a firearm regulation, the government must demonstrate that the regulation is consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation.
United States v. Rahimi (2024): An individual found by a court to pose a credible threat to the physical safety of another person may be temporarily disarmed consistent with the Second Amendment.
Bondi v. Vanderstok (2025): The Gun Control Act of 1968 permits the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to regulate some weapon parts kits and unfinished frames or receivers.
Important Events and Historical Context
The Opposition
Issues and Intersecting Forms of Oppression
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Glossary
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The Gun Show Loophole is a term that refers to selling or trading of a firearm in absence of the federal requirement for background checks for private sales of firearms. Sales and trading of firearms includes trades at gun shows, flea markets, or online.
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The Boyfriend Loophole is a term given to the gap in older gun laws that allowed for physically abusive ex-partners and stalkers with previous convictions and/or restraining orders to obtain firearms. The loophole was introduced when the Lautenberg Amendment, which banned people with domestic violence convictions from owning guns, was introduced. The Lautenberg Amendment ban only applied if the abuser was married to, had a child with, or lived with the victim. Therefore if the abuser did not live with or was never married/had children with their victim, they could obtain a firearm.
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