Gun Control: Is It Gun Violence or Not?

The conversation of gun control and gun regulation has been a great debate over the decades. NRA Executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, in his speech on Newtown Shooting that occurred on December 21st, 2012, addresses the topic of gun control and argues that guns are not the cause of gun violence. LaPierre's project is to instead of gun control and decreasing the numbers of guns, increase the numbers of guns to solve the problem of gun violence. On the other side of debate, an American journalist, Nicholas Kristof, in his journal, "Do We Have the Courage to Stop This?" argues that guns are the cause of gun violence, but they should not be banned. Kristof's project is to regulate guns with many cautions. While these two authors have different arguments and projects, they use similar strategies to advance their claims. This paper will focus on the way each author strategically uses compare and contrast, cause and effect, and problem-solution to advance their claims and how effective these strategies are used.

Both LaPierre and Kristof compare and contrast to advance their arguments. To support his claim that children should be more protected, LaPierre explains the similarities and differences between the children and the rest of the nation. He explains that people care about their money so they protect the banks with armed guards; they care for president so they protect him with armed Secret Service agents (LaPierre 6-7). He then compares how people care for their children, but they are not protected like the other things that they care about. Using this compare and contrast helps the audience to understand the problem of children not being protected. It is showing the issue that people are not fully protecting all things they ca...

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...mes and the consequences resulting from it, and introduces the lack of children's protection and the solution to fix it. Kristof compares guns with cars and ladders, explains the results from gun violence, and introduces the problem of many guns violence and the solution of stricter gun rules. I agree with LaPierre's viewpoints on gun control, but overall Kristof has a stronger argument than LaPierre because Kristof uses his strategies more effectively than LaPierre does. Although LaPierre appeals to pathos and Krsitof does not, Kristof discusses more in detail with his strategies and appeals to logos while LaPierre does not. By examining multiple points of view in the conversation of gun controls and gun regulations, the audience can understand multiple ideas than just one idea and think more in-depth about his or her viewpoints on gun controls and gun regulations.