About firearms

3 different tasks on the same subject - moreover, the same article:

Many lawmakers favor stricter gun control laws as a method of curbing crime. Americans
now own __________ pistols and revolvers, __________ handguns for every __________
households. Even sophisticated rapid-fire combat weapons are available. An FBI report revealed
that firearms were involved in more than __________ of the murders in the United States in
__________.

A; three B; 1984 C; 65 million D; half E; two

Proponents of gun control are pressing the government to at least require
registration of all handguns and to require background checks on all potential handgun buyers to ensure that they do not have a criminal record. Some opponents of handguns favor a complete ban on their sale and possession. While 70 percent of all Americans surveyed in 1985 favored registration of handguns, only 4 percent favored having a law to ban sale and
possession. All the same, the lobbies against gun control are very influential. Congress passed a bill in 1985 to loosen restrictions on firearms, despite protest from law enforcers. Many Americans fear that gun control laws will prevent law-abiding citizens from being able to protect their homes.

Lacking confidence in the ability of the courts, the police, and ___________ (legislate)to deal ___________ (swift) with the problem of crime, many Americans look for ways to protect themselves from attacks and ___________ (burglar). Refusing to be ___________ (victim), some people are willing to break the law in order to defend ___________ (they). When New York subway passenger Bernhard Goetz took the law into his own hands to avoid being the victim of another crime, he was hailed as a hero by most New Yorkers. The incident ___________ (occurrence) in 1984 on a subway train when four ___________ (young) demanded five dollars from him. Goetz, a man with no ___________ (crime) record who had already been mugged and ___________ (severe) beaten several months earlier, ___________ (act) by pulling out a gun and shooting the four youths, all of whom had criminal records, including convictions for armed ___________ (rob) and ___________ (burglar). In a three-month trial in 1987 Goetz was finally acquitted of all but the relatively minor charge of ___________ (legal) possessing a gun.

Classroom-ready handout (with key :) ) here.