Need help creating a knowledge quiz

[ZeSpectre]

Folks I've been handed a golden opportunity to do some activism work. My place of employment is re-thinking some of it's safety/security policies, specifically with regards to allowing CCW. Due to my background I have been invited to participate on the committee and (here's the exciting part) I was able to wrangle the concession that before we started to discuss policy I would be able to have a little "quiz" to determine the level of firearms and firearms laws knowledge of the committee.

In other words they've agreed that before policy is made, those making the policy should be able to demonstrate that they know what they are talking about! (Yup, knock me over with a feather!)

So here's where I need some help. What I want are questions (and answers) to put on the quiz. Keep in mind I must try to avoid pushing a specific agenda with this quiz, rather what I'm trying to assess is "do these folks know enough about firearms, current law, and CCW to legitimately create policy or do they get to go "back to school" for a bit until they do.

A few questions I've come up with so far...

Q: List the "Four Rules" of firearms safety.
A: (list four rules)

Q: Describe the difference between an automatic (aka Machine) gun, semi-automatic gun, and a revolver.
A: Magazine and multiple shots from one trigger pull, Magazine and single shot from one trigger pull, Rotating Cylinder and one shot per trigger pull.

Q: Describe the difference between a "single action" and "double action" trigger.
A: Double action cocks the gun and then fires it. Single action only fires it.

Q: Briefly list the requirements for having a CCW permit in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
A: Age of 21 or older, background check by State Police, no criminal history, no history of mental illness, fingerprinted, ....

Q: What does a CCW permit give you permission to do?
A: Carry a weapon concealed. (it does NOT give you "license to shoot").

Q: List some uses for a firearm
A: Self defense, sports, hunting, ....

 

[Prof. A. Wickwire]

ZeSpectre,

Congratulations on your opportunity!

How about:
What are the State restrictions on a Virginia CCW?
Does State Law address employees keeping firearms in their cars?
(You would know the answers better than I do.)

Also, I thought Virginia was a Commonwealth, not a State? Depending on the outcome of Heller, the Bill of Rights might not even apply!

Perhaps we could have Politicians pass a version of your quiz in order to propose new gun laws.

Good luck.

Sincerely,

Prof. A. Wickwire

 

[ZeSpectre]

Yup, VA is a commonwealth, edited that.

 

[tinygnat219]

Zespectre,

Well, I think you are doing a good job in introducing the concept of weapons in the hands of citizens. Another thing to look at is maybe include examples of incidents where students legally carrying weapons stopped the crime.
Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, VA
Bell Tower in Texas (back in the 60s)
Shoot, ANY of the NRA Armed Citizens...
are two that immediately come to mind.

Hope this helps, and please let us know if there's anything we can do to help.

TJ

 

[Robert Hairless]

Nice opportunity and good questions so far.

May I suggest revising one of your questions to:

Q: List two uses for a firearm in addition to self defense.
A: Sports, hunting, target shooting.

Please post your finished quiz? It would be interesting and might be useful to others.

 

[Autolycus]

What is the difference between a clip and a magazine?

 

[jlday70]

Q: What is a High capacity magazine?
A: ANy magazine holding more ammunition than the manufacturer made magazine. (High-cap is a media/anti gun movement buzzword)

 

[ZeSpectre]

This is good stuff folks, keep it coming...PLEASE!

 

[Robert Hairless]

Question:

1. A. What requirements must a person meet for buying a firearm legally?
1. B. What requirements must a person meet for buying a firearm illegally?

Question:

2. A. What requirements must a person meet for carrying a firearm legally?
2. B. What requirements must a person meet for carrying a firearm illegally?

Question:

3. A. What prevents a law abiding person from carrying a firearm in a Gun Free Zone?
3. B. What prevents a lawbreaker or mentally disturbed person from carrying a firearm in a Gun Free Zone?
3. C. What protects law abiding people from being murdered by lawbreakers or mentally disturbed people in a Gun Free Zone?

 

[cambeul41]

Q: In what way are "assault weapons" (as defined in the Federal Assault Weapons Ban) more dangerous to the public than ordinary semi automatic fire arms?

A: They are not. The term "assault weapons has been attributed to anti-gun activist Josh Sugarmann. It is used to refer to semi-automatic firearms with cosmetic features which make them appear more military and thus more frightening. Many assault weapons are actually less powerful. than common deer rifles.

 

[atk]

Q: List the "Four Rules" of firearms safety.
A: (list four rules)

The NRA teaches 3 rules and a corollary. Gun manufacturers often have 10 or more rules in their manuals. You may want to reword this as:

Q: List one of the following
i. Jeff Cooper's Four Rules of Firearms Safety
ii. The NRA's Three Rules of Firearms Safety, plus Corollary
iii. The Rules of Firearm Safety from any firearm manufacturer's manual



You might also list some True/False questions, such as:

Q: True or False: A CCW holder is less likely to improperly shoot someone than a police officer?
A: True (if I recall "In the gravest extreme" properly)

Q: True or False: A CCW holder is more likely to commit a crime than a non-CCW holder?
A: False (Again, if I recall correctly, same source)


If you construct as many such questions as you can, you might be able to mildly skew the test, so that you can directly address some specific misconceptions.

 

[bensdad]

Q: Please list four common defensive handgun rounds.

A: .380 acp, 9mm, .45 acp, .38 spl., .40 s&w, .357 mag, .44 spl., 10mm, etc.


Q: Please list four common centerfire rifle rounds.

A: .223, .22-250, .243, .30-06, .270 win, .308, 7mm-08, .220 swift, etc.


Please write a paragraph explaining why you would consider yourself suitable to serve on a committee/board charged with the mandate of examining safety and security issues as it pertains to firearms.


Q: Have you ever fired a gun?

Q: If you answered "no" to the last question, would you be willing to fire a gun or guns in order to be considered for this assignment?


*Please, please, please keep political questions (and those questions intended to prove a point) off of the questionaire. Asking something like,

Q: True or False: A CCW holder is less likely to improperly shoot someone than a police officer?
A: True (if I recall "In the gravest extreme" properly)

only tips your hand and shows the reader that you already trying to convince someone of something.

I mean no disrespect to whoever posted that question.

 

[novaDAK]

Q: Criminals use "assault weapons" more than "other" types of guns in crimes.
A: False.

Q: Winchester Black Talons were banned due to their armor piercing capabilities.
A: False. Black Talons were never banned. Winchester pulled their line of Black Talons from the "civilian" market due to liability. They are also NOT armor piercing

Q: Machineguns (full auto) and sound suppressors are illegal.
A: False, in most states.

 

[ZeSpectre]

Please write a paragraph explaining why you would consider yourself suitable to serve on a committee/board charged with the mandate of examining safety and security issues as it pertains to firearms.

Not sure I could get away with being that blunt but I sure like the question.

Q: Have you ever fired a gun?
Q: If you answered "no" to the last question, would you be willing to fire a gun or guns in order to be considered for this assignment?

And this may be my favorite question of them all so far.

 

[Conqueror]

Don't call attention to NFA stuff, most people think they're already illegal and that KEEPS them from trying to enact new laws about them. If Carolyn McCarthy knew that anyone with a handgun can buy a silencer, she would have the "Assassination Weapon Prevention Act" on the docket within hours.

Also, avoid questions about calibers and whatnot. An avid pistol shooter might not be able to name four common deer calibers, but he'd certainly be someone we want on that committee.

AVOID answers which "sound" pro-gun, like "Assault weapon is an invented term created by anti-gun activists." That sentence sounds profoundly pro-gun. Your quiz should be neutral, otherwise people will dismiss its results. Stick to completely factual answers with no judgment calls. A better question might be,

Q: How many bullets can an assault weapon fire if the trigger is held down?
A: One. A common misconception is that assault weapons are "fully automatic," ie capable of firing many bullets with a single squeeze of the trigger. In reality, fully-automatic weapons have been regulated since 1934 by the National Firearms Act, and their use in crime is exceedingly rare.

Q: What training is required to obtain a CCW?
A: ________ (whatever). This question will show them that CCW isn't easy to get and requires training, testing, live fire practice, extensive background checks, etc.

 

[cambeul41]

AVOID answers which "sound" pro-gun, like "Assault weapon is an invented term created by anti-gun activists." That sentence sounds profoundly pro-gun. Your quiz should be neutral, otherwise people will dismiss its results. Stick to completely factual answers with no judgment calls.

Thank you for making this point. You are right.

 

[atk]

bensdad,

No disrespect taken Your point is valid - massaging the question might help, but it's probably easier just to drop it.

 

[langenc]

Dont get it to technical.

How many have fired a xxxx gun in the past summer, year or whatever?

Knowledge of local(commonwealth) laws would be good questions to ask.

Also as suggested-hit on the requirements for state license-- FBI check!! who else can say that??

 

[JBusch]

Eligibility

Who is eligible to possess a firearm?

What are the requirements to carry a concealed firearm in VA?

What steps are taken to ensure a person is eligible for a CCW?

Who is ineligible to possess a firearm?

What is the federal penalty for firearms crimes?

 

[RKBABob]

You should probably stick to questions that lead the committee to answers that would relieve any fears they might have, and also arm them with knowledge they can then use to back up the committee's decisions.

Try making up some questions that lead them to the following answers:

1.) Virginia requires an extensive background check for CCW permits.
2.) Permit holders are not police officers, and are subject to the same laws as any citizen of Virginia.
3.) Permit holders, as a group, are less likely to resort to violence.
4.) The only appropriate way to carry a firearm is in a secure holster that covers the triggerguard.
5.) Any handling of a firearm in an inappropriate manner can be considered "brandishing" and is punishable by law.
6.) Permit holders are law abiding, while those who choose to carry without a permit illustrate their criminal tendencies by doing so.
7.) Permit holders at XYZ company have left their fireamrs at home as per co. policy. Criminals would not obey company policy, therefore the policy provides no protection from them.
8.) It is not appropriate to point a firearm in any unsafe direction.
9.) It is not appropriate to have your finger on the trigger of said firearm.
10.) You cannot assume a firearm is safe simply because you believe it to be unloaded.
11.) Modern firearms are engineered to not discharge unless the trigger is pulled fully to the rear.
12.) A person who practices violence, in violation of Virginia law, would be more likely to violate company policy as well.

 

[ZeSpectre]

RKBABob,
That's a shift in perspective from the way I've been approaching the question. I like it.

As I say though, I'm trying to avoid overt bias in the initial quiz and just trying to find out if these people actually know anything about firearms and CCW.

 

[RKBABob]

maybe divide it into sections.... such as:

1.) Basic firearms function and safety... put the bits about firearms being designed not to "just go off" here, the 4 rules, and holster stuff.

2.) Firearms and CCW law... put all the criminal background stuff here. Maybe add some stuff about the penalties for carrying w/o a permit, and violations that could result in a permit being revoked, or crim charges.

3.) What went wrong... some questions about actual workplace shootings, and all the answers point to criminal activity that violated company policy

That way they'll realise that firearms are safe.... then come to the conclusion that permit holders are trustworthy.... then realize that the company policy never protected them, anyway.

 

[andy29075]

I generally agree with Conqueror.

ZeSpectre, here's my request. As both a consumer and occasional creator of survey instruments (MPH and PhD in Health Services Policy), it pains me to see heavily biased surveys, whether intentional or not. As you can guess, I am pained quite often;-) The question you must answer is this: is your instrument's purpose to test the knowledge of the participants, or is it something else? If you really care to know the level of the committee's knowledge on these issues, then I urge you to avoid questions that serve any other purpose other than the testing of knowledge, specifically the testing of "political position" on the issue, or to "educate" the participant. To use the latter approaches in a survey is like teaching a pig to sing; you threaten the validity of the responses you're getting, and you irritate the participant.

I'm all for you informing this committee with the proper knowledge, success stories, etc AFTER the pre-test. By "showing your hand" during the testing phase, you may increase the polarity of the committee members' positions; those "on the fence" of this issue may move away from the pro-CCW side as a result of a slanted survey design, and not because of any pro- or anti-CCW argument.

Here's a list of common survey design faults and biases (off the top of my head, Google "survey response bias" or "threats to survey validity" for more):
1) Double-barreled questions - require the assumption of an initial premise to answer the question
2) Social desirability - respondent chooses what they think the survey designer/researcher wants to hear
3) Order based effects - prior question provides info that can be used to answer a later question
4) Acquiescence or Negatory bias - Some questions naturally lend themselves to automatic Yes/No answers without fully considering the question at hand, like "Do we need more taxes" or "Do we need more guns"

One of my recent favorites was an item from a survey that I was called on to analyze recently:

Q: "What is your opinion of the current state of health care in the United States?"
a) It is in a state of crisis
b) It has major problems
c) It has minor problems
d) It does not have any problems
e) I have no opinion

Note, among other things, the assumption of a negative status, and the inability to answer in the affirmative!

On the other hand, you may actually want to (as ATK says) "mildly skew the test, so that you can directly address some specific misconceptions". That's OK too... as long as you win