Analysis Of Gun Rights Are About Keeping White Men On Top, By Nathan Wuertenberg

Gun Control and Mass Shootings in America Gun violence is an unquestionable issue in America, with the United States ranking as one of the worst with both homicides and suicides using guns. That being said, we outnumber Mexico in gun related deaths and among first-world countries we rank far above others in the number of gun deaths, such as England and Australia. Consequently, we live in one of the only first world countries that does not have extensive gun laws and restrictions to gun access. Aside from the countless homicides and suicides by firearm in this country, one particular issue within this predicament is mass shootings, with the most recent mass shooting occurring on February 14th, 2018 at a high school in Parkland, Florida where 17 people were killed. Although, it may seem like an easy fix to just implement gun control laws into our society to eliminate gun violence, but it is important to note that Americans own nearly half of all firearms globally, which is roughly 325 million guns;

Author Darryl Lorenzo Wellington, wrote “The Power of Black Lives Matter,” published in 2015 in The Crisis, and he emphasizes the importance of Black Lives Matter and argues that is the only way to correct the issue of class. Wellington builds his credibility with reputable facts, statistics, citing sources, and successfully employing rhetorical appeals such as ethos, pathos, and logos. He adopts a didactic tone of voice in order to sound like a high scholar to create a sense of superiority, while addressing the issues of class and race to white Americans’ and other races in the United States. In his article, Wellington first introduces his argument by making an inference of a cultural shift by saying, “Something indeed is happening here and now in America,” and that “class exists” and

Often times a lone assailant carries out these attacks as opposed to other countries where terror groups often orchestrate these attacks to send a message to the world. It appears the shootings we are concerned with center around the attackers proving something to the victims themselves, rather than to the world. For example, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold targeted the “white hats” or jocks of the school, although it was apparent they had hatred for virtually all students due the pair’s indiscriminant

While a majority of the statistics reported in the article are horrific, another one sticks out to the reader: “Americans overall are ‘25 times more likely to be murdered with a gun than people in other developed countries’”. In terms of gun violence alone, the United States is 25 times more dangerous than other developed countries. Would you like to be 25 times more likely to be shot and killed? Anyone with a brain would not. The American identity represents a culture revolving around not just guns, but violence in general, and so

“There were 372 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2015, killing 475 and wounding 1870” BBC News reports. According to the statistic, mass shootings are happening everyday and even every minute an hour. Mass shooting is a huge public concern. Therefore, when a shooting occurs, media would often report the shooting with bloody detail, surprised statistics, and influential old shooting. Moreover, the media are the biggest fear mongers which create public panic to the society by using various methods.

Gun owners throughout the United States are bound together by their ownership of a firearm(s), resulting in a, more-or-less, “community” of people with common characteristics. This being the possession of a gun. The article, “Gun demanding: the psychology of why people want firearm”, brings insight into the mind of a gun owner, such as the people within one's immediate family, or oneself. The Guardian, the news outlet that published the article, carries a very unfavorable view of gun ownership throughout the column, to say the least. Regardless, the rhetor, Dean Burnett, uses a wide range of rhetorical strategies such as logos, rhetorical questions, and tone, just to name a few, to enhance his article and give some credibility to the statements

Furthermore, when someone opens fire on a gathering of innocent people, they strip them of a fulfilling and unharmed life. All those injured, all those killed, and all the families of those affected were brought unnecessary suffering. To end this injustice, we must first realize the value that every single human life has. The statistics are appalling in themselves, but gun violence is so normalized now that they remain just that. Every data point represents a human person, and each uptick in the averages signals an outcry for

“Honor,” one of the qualities that guns represent, is a socially constructed factor that can be used to differentiate class. “Human triumph over nature” is a literal presentation of humans supposed ability to dominate nature, and “individual protection” is a means of maintaining one’s socioeconomic status. All of these three qualifications suggest an idea that guns are used to demonstrate or maintain one’s social class (or domination over lower social classes and

Guns don’t kill people. People kill people. Many believe this, but columnist Nicholas Kristof, author of “Our Blind Spot about Guns,” published in 2014 in the New York Times, disagrees. A rhetorical analysis should consist of: logos, pathos, and ethos. Kristof’s use of logos is strong due to the amount of facts and statistics he offers to his audience, but he fails to strongly use pathos and ethos, due to the lack of these elements Kristof’s argument is weakened.

In modern society, guns are seen as a form of control. Those who have guns are able to overpower those who do not. This trend was set when guns were first invented and has stayed the same throughout history. The one place where guns are not a symbol of power and control is in literature, specifically “The Old Gun” and Hamilton. In Mo Yan’s short story “The Old Gun”, the protagonist is a hungry boy who does not even know how to use the titular firearm.

A weapon in the wrongs hands is the maximum danger humanity can face. Nowadays, violence and delinquency in society are viewed as the maximum problem solver. Humanity is full of chaos; hate and envy seize our souls. Guns are the ultimate security for some citizens but for others, these add to a feeling of defenselessness. Throughout history, any topic related to guns means a plethora of problems.

Gun control has been a controversial issue for years and numerous solutions have been proposed and enacted. The debate sparked after tragic civilian attacks, like school shootings. An example, is the tragedy in 1999 at Columbine High School. Two teens attacked the school, killing 13 people and wounding more than 20 others before killing themselves. Following this attack, numerous solutions have been argued and purposed.

Gun Control in America Gun control in America is a highly debated subject. James Wilson speaks against gun control in his article “Gun Control Isn’t the Answer”. Gun laws need to be more restricted. Gun control reform is needed to safeguard children and prevent access to those with mental illness and a criminal background. Wilson talks about the shooting at Virginia Tech using it as a platform to talk about people not weapons being responsible for the tragedy.

There is an estimation that about half of the households in the United States owns at least one gun. As such many people can have access to guns, including children and other family members. Many school based attacks involve young people carrying guns owned by their parents and going on a rage through schools and other places. Similarly, the ease of acquiring guns has led to vulnerable deaths of people across the country. Moreover, this leads obsessed people to escape their frustrations on minorities by murdering and threatening them.

Ever since the inception of this country 240 years ago, guns have been an integral part of the American identity; a sense of lawlessness, individualism, personal autonomy and freedom. They were the tools that liberated us, and gave us independence over a tyrannical, unrepresentative empire. However, in more recent years, these tools have been used more and more frequently in mass shootings, some of which are occurring at schools, targeting teachers and children. Since the infamous shooting at Columbine High School 19 years ago, we have had several shootings at schools, and we tend to get “thoughts and prayers”, a gesture with good intentions, but little actual progress made. This problem can be contributed to the increasing power of guns, and a lack of mental health coverage, gun