Megan Weintraut's, "Government Should Create Stricter Gun Laws", contends that gun control is an impending issue that the U.S. government cannot afford to put off. Weintraut also argues that the occurrence of gun violence in the nation is increasing, thus leading her to call for tighter restrictions on the distribution of arms (specifically ammunition). That said, she proves to be proficient in conveying the importance of the issue through her use of the rhetorical appeals (Logos, Ethos, Pathos) along with other elements, which made her argument all the more stronger.
One factor that made Weintraut's delivery of her argument successful was her appeal to logic, or Logos rather. She was consistent in providing data, specifically statistics, which helped to substantiate her argument. She uses figures to help paint a picture of the severity and urgency of the issue under discussion. In one instance, she stated: "...Many of the 70 million American gun owners claim they own guns for self defense." [par. 3]. A combination of high digits along with a controversial topic only makes the issue seem more dire for the audience. Which could translate into the issue becoming part of public awareness. In other words, providing evidence enabled her to transmit a message of importance, allowing her argument to be more solid. Her claim also helps affirm her stance, which questions whether or not firearms are a requisite to American security. She states, "But today, the majority of American citizens can live their daily lives easily and securely without the use of arms." [par. 2]. Such a statement causes her audience to then ask, whether or not 70 million Americans really do need to have firearms at their disposal. In short, Weintraut highlights that security is sufficient in America, thus causing her audience to downplay the need for personal firearms. Needless to say, Weintruat's use of data along with her strong claim appeals to the audience's rationale, which then equates to logic, or logos.
Along with a strong appeal to the logic, Weintraut has also proven to be proficient in establishing some credibility amongst her audience. For one, she relied on a strong variety of sources to help fuel her argument. Outlets such as, The National Institute of Justice [par. 3] and The American Academy of Family Physicians [par. 4] , are organizations which specialize in data collection and retains a certain amount of respect amidst members of the esteemed public. Moreover, they're recognized on a national level. Using such entities to back her claim enabled Weintraut to secure her plausibility more efficiently amongst her intended audience. Also, her questioning the relevancy of firearms in the U.S. only emphasized her credibility, for members of her audience would potentially agree that her claim (or reasoning rather) is logical. Thus, allowing her credibility to manifest throughout her audience due to her selection of data, which could result in her being broadly accepted as competent.
Not only was Weintraut proficient in validating her credibility, but she was effective in her approach to the emotions. Her use of high figures tied to a controversial subject, made the situation strike one as an urgent matter that needs to be addressed. In one instance she states, "...in 2006 alone, firearms were involved in 68 percent of murders..." [par. 3]. Fusing numbers with an impending issue allows Weintraut to maintain a level of directness to her audience. Which enables her to communicate the seriousness of the issue, by stressing not only the height of the statistics per se, but rather the increase in frequency of incidents occurring due to a dilemma (gun violence) that could prove to be problematic to the stability of the nation. In essence, Weintraut was effective in using data to draw a picture of a nation debating whether or not to implement laws that would tighten gun laws. Perhaps what topped off her argument, was her quoting Chris Rock. It read, "... If a bullet costs $5,000, there’d be no more innocent bystanders.” [par. 6]. In this sense, humor is used to encourage her audience to consider potential solutions that could help relieve the U.S. of its gun violence, by loosely hinting at taxing ammunition as opposed to firearms. Hence potentially allowing her audience to develop a form of sentiment to the matter, and may lead to some calling for tighter gun control as well.
Overall, Megan Weintraut has proven to be sufficient in stressing the imperativeness of gun control in America. Firstly, she provides solid data that substantiate her claim. Secondly, she was successful in establishing her credibility through reason. And thirdly, Weintraut provides information with a tone of directness that causes her audience develop feelings about the topic. These factors, along with other elements, have indeed reinforced Megan Weintraut's argument.
Work Cited:
Weintraut, Megan. "Government should create stricter gun laws." The Ithacan. 26 Jan. 2011. Web. 9 Feb. 2011
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