Gun Safety

Gun Safety

In author Nicholas Kristoff’s article, “Do We Have the Courage to Stop This?”, he claims that the reason there have been numerous homicides in America is due to the N.R.A.’s inability to create a better system as to the selling of guns. Kristoff also claims that the way to reduce deaths by guns is to approach the issue from its origins. Through the use of rhetorical questions and all of Aristotle’s Appeal’s, Kistoff is able to influence his audience that there should be regulations on the distribution of guns. His most effective tactic was his use of statistics for they were gathered from well-known associations and brought a sense of shock to the reader. One thing that caught my attention was his last two sentences: “Some of you are alive today because of those auto safety regulations. And if we don’t treat guns in the same serious way, some of you and some of your children will die because of our failure” (Kristoff 20). I felt that this was a very aggressive move, for Kristoff brought the readers families into a scenario in a negative way. This use of pathos gave Kristoff’s audience something to think about after reading his article and convinces them to consider his claim more than if he hadn’t included it.  Kristoff’s article was convincing and sends a message to his audience.