Gun Control In Bowling For Columbine, By Michael Moore

In the documentary, Bowling for Columbine, film maker Michael Moore stresses the importance of more gun control in America. Moore focuses mainly on the shooting at Columbine high school in Colorado. He continues his documentary by examining why there are more yearly shootings in America than in other countries such as Canada, Australia, Japan, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. When Americans are exposed to just as much violence through the media, the poverty rates are equivalent, or more so in other countries like Canada, and people leave their doors unlocked, why does America kill the most?  
Moore conducts multiple interviews on different groups of people throughout the United States. Even though each of the people being interviewed

leads separate lives, they each share a few things in common. They appear to have low education levels as noted by their poor communication skills, lack of understanding, and poor use of grammar. Moore interviews one young adult, Brent, who was expelled from school for using a stolen gun out of anger. Another man interviewed, Nicholas, jokingly puts his gun to his temple which demonstrates a lack knowledge about the guns potential danger. Another young man is at the top of the list for potential bomb threats. First, he denies knowing why he is on the list. Then, explains that he has made bombs, but they are only small bombs. This young adult who has the knowledge to make a bomb is allowed to own a gun. 
Another scene in the beginning of the film shows a local bank that gives away a free gun to anyone who opens a bank account with the company and passes a background check.

While filming, Moore opens an account with the bank and is awarded a gun of his choice. Moore walks out the bank saying, “Do you think it’s dangerous handing out guns in a bank?” This specific scene emphasizes the need for more extensive gun control in America. As mentioned earlier, a young man with no criminal record had the materials and knowledge to build a bomb. If this teenager opened a bank account with the local bank, he would be given a free

weapon.
  In a following scene, Moore interviews members of a militia who believe it is the responsibility of an American to own a gun. The militia members explain knowing how to use a gun can protect you and your family and that their organization is simply built around that concept. Although this is the mantra behind the militia group, in 1995 two members used their guns to kill people. These members acted out of anger which explains why Moore is an advocate for additional gun laws. It should also be noted that during this interview when the men were asked about their current employment status, one member was unemployed. As mentioned earlier, men who tend to support the National Rifle Association (NRA) and fewer gun laws are from poverty stricken areas with low levels of education.
Moore concludes the documentary by addressing the question is the media scaring Americans into owning guns? Moore interviews the author of The Culture of Fear, Professor Barry Glassner to discuss issues within the media. Glassner states, “They’re not making it up. But they’re choosing what they cover.” Glassner is referring to how the media portrays African American men as “dangerous black guys.” When news reporters have the choice to air the story of a young black man who robbed a bank or a white couple who adopted homeless children, they typically focus on the bank robbery. This type of media coverage has created nervous American citizens who are fearful of particular races of people. Therefor, they feel inclined to own a gun to protect themselves from possible threats. Another scene involves former President Bush asking Americans to defend themselves after the acts of terrorism on September 11th. After encouraged to purchase weapons by George W. Bush, gun sales at Walmart rose 70%. It is evident that the creation of fear is necessary for the continuation of the weapons and ammunition industry, according to Michael Moore.
 A common theme throughout these examples is a gun ends up in the wrong hands. Of course, there will always be people who intend to use guns responsibly, but there will also be people who do not. The message intended from Moore’s documentary is not to take away an American’s second amendment right to bear arms, but to highlight the dangers when citizens do not bear arms responsibly. Moore believes when measures are taken to prevent guns from being used out of anger or as an act of violence, we are acting as responsible America citizens.
In Bowling for Columbine, Moore creates a documentary that causes viewers to question their own perceptions regarding our nations gun laws.

The film uses a variety of interviews from people who support the ownership of guns and people who are victims of gun violence. Moore also discusses the possible reasons for the number of gun related deaths and murders each year, but allows the audience to develop their own ideas about further guns restrictions. Although Moore never blatantly states his opinions on gun control, he focuses his interviews on people who have been directly affected by gun violence, people from low income areas who are uneducated and support the use of guns, and he questions the intentions of large, successful corporations. Each of these interviews and candid questions imply that Moore supports further gun control as he focuses on the negative aspects of owning a weapon with the ability to kill someone. Bowling for Columbine brilliantly related fear within American people caused by the media to the high number of gun owners by using creative scenes and imagines. Moore is correct to call attention to the number of gun related deaths in America as they amounted to 33,599 in 2014, according to the CDC, Centers for Disease Control. Of the 33,599 mortalities, two-thirds were intentional suicides and the CDC reveals that 12,000 of those deaths were

murders.
In order to make the film more relatable to parents of children in school and students, Moore uses the shootings at Columbine High School and other victims such as a six year little boy, to convey his message. Fourteen years ago in 2002, two teenagers walked into Columbine High School and killed 13 students, injured 20 others, then committed suicide. Ten years later, Adam Lanza kills 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School with a semi-automatic AR-15 assault rifle (CNN). This weapon was not registered to Adam, but his mother, a gun enthusiast (New York Times Company). After the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, by 2015, there were 64 more school shootings in the United States (BBC). Creating tighter gun laws will prevent people like Adam Lanza from harming anyone else. Based on these numbers and statistics, Moore was undeniably right to bring the lack of gun control to our nation’s attention.
Moore uses this documentary to effectively call attention the the false perception that black urban areas have a higher number of gun related deaths. While visiting his homes state in Michigan, Moore interviews a prosector who corrects this fallacy. After the prosecutor explains that guns are a bigger problem in the white suburbs, Moore responses with “I didn't think that’s what you were going to say.” Moore continues by saying” I thought you were going to say it was black kids in the inner city.” The prosectors’ statement is confirmed with data recorded by the FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, stating that Caucasian offenders outnumber African American offenders in murder cases during 2013.
Finally, during the documentary, Moore visits James Nichols who is the brother of Terry Nichols, the man who assisted Timothy McVeigh with the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was the set target by McVeigh who killed 168 innocent people and injured 500. During adolescence, McVeigh had a history of selling and collecting weapons ranging from small pistols to eventual deadly bombs. Contrary to the way McVeigh presented himself, a decorated army veteran who was very knowledgeable, he purchased weapons that would be used for one of the largest acts of terrorism on American soil (CNN).
By the end of the documentary, Moore has presented the audience with the tragic deaths associated with guns. He effectively demonstrates how the easy access of guns is linked to school shooting such as at Columbine High School and Newtown Elementary School. He uses original and entertaining imagines to retain the viewers interest while discussing policy changes. He presents all of the necessary factors for viewers to take into account such as lack of knowledge regarding a gun’s danger, negative media influences, and the need for large corporations to be profitable. As the number of gun sales have continued to rise over the past decade, Moore makes a compelling and engaging argument as to why our country would benefit from further gun restrictions.