The Pros And Cons Of Battle Of Gun Control

For decades, Americans have been caught in the midst of a great battle. Although the word battle may flash images of physical war in someone’s mind, it is not what we have so deeply involved ourselves in. This is the battle of gun control where no end is in sight and where we may never seem to come to a definite and agreeable conclusion. We have always wondered why we have been fighting this battle for so long and why it is not as easy to solve as other similar issues. Recently, new issues have emerged regarding gun control, successfully complicating the situation even more.
Columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote an article titled “Our Blind Spot about Guns” which was published in The New York Times in 2014. In it, he “argues that if guns and their

owners were regulated in the same way that cars and their drivers are, thousands of lives could be saved each year.” He incorporates multiple statistics in his essay, provides us with views from the opposing side, and compares the issue of gun control to a century-ago issue of vehicle control.
Just in the first two paragraphs, Kristof uses statistics that he is sure will appeal to our emotions, and indeed it does. He goes back to 1921 where vehicle regulations were non-existent, resulting in high fatality rates. He further goes on that if it had not been for the public and politicians fighting for regulations and control on vehicles, 715,000 Americans would be dying each year. However, by acting upon the issue, we have brought down the fatality rate “by more than 95 percent” (Kristof 161). He argues that what we should learn from these statistics is that the issue was not resolved by confiscating cars from everyone, but by “regulating them and their drivers sensibly” (Kristof 161). It is worthy to note here that Kristof refrains from using the term “control,” rather he uses the word “regulation” because it sounds less demeaning and governing. Had he used the term control, a reader might have felt threatened because Kristof would look like he was trying to push for laws that would take his right guaranteed by the second amendment away.