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Persuasive speech - Gun Control - sph101-b2
- 1. Gun Control Why WeNeed to Curb Gun Violence Chris Allen SPH 101-B1 Summer 2012
- 2. Gun Control Food ForThought – “The number of people killed every six weeks in this country is the rough equivalent to the number of people killed in 9/11. ” – Over 58,000 People have been shot in America. – Roughly 270 people shot every day.
- 3. Gun Control The Right to Bear Arms: a Right of the Individual, or a Right of the State?
- 4. Gun Control More Guns Leads to More Death States with Highest Gun Death Rates States with Lowest Gun Death Rates Households Gun Households Gun Rank State Owning Death Rank State Owning Death Guns Rate Guns Rate 1 Alaska 60.6% 20.64 50 Hawaii 9.7% 3.18 2 Mississippi 54.3% 19.32 49 Massachusetts 12.8% 3.42 3 Louisiana 45.6% 18.47 48 Rhode Island 13.3% 4.18 4 Alabama 57.2% 17.53 46 New York 18.1% 4.95 5 Wyoming 62.8% 17.45 46 New Jersey 11.3% 4.95 Source: The Violence Policy Center • “Households Owning Guns” refers to the percentage of households in a state that report the ownership of guns. • “Gun Death Rate” refers to: For every 100,000 people, “N” people die from Gun Violence.
- 5. Gun Control -What Can Be Done? • Ban Private Gun Ownership? - Not Constitutional • Gun Advocates: Leave Everything Alone! - And We Want More Rights! • Need for Compromise - Do You Really Need Assault Weapons?
- 6. Gun Control -What Can Be Done? • Improve Enforcement of Existing Laws - “No Questions Asked” for reporting harmful individuals - Improve Gun Education - New Rules of Engagement for Citizens - Provide Verbal Warnings When Defending Self - Harsher sentences for gun-related crimes.
- 7. Gun Control • ImprovingEnforcement will prevent the violence • Annals of Emergency Medicine (2003): – “41% of gun-related homicides and 94% of gun- related suicides would be avoided.” • Opponents argue Gov’t has no grounds • Improved Enforcement and Education will make a positive impact
- 8.
Editor's Notes
- #2 The death of Trayvon Martin, The glut of campus shootings at colleges and military centers across the nation, The recent shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin: All of these have prompted emotional discussions by the general public in regards to the amount of gun violence in America: exclamations of shock and grief followed by the persistent questioning of “How could this happen?”
- #3 As one blogger on the website, AmazingInfo.org (Groobiecat), highlights the situation, “The number of people killed every six weeks in this country is the rough equivalent to the number of people killed in 9/11. Let that sink in for a moment: Every six weeks there is another 9/11 in body-count from gun violence here in the United States.”(Logos) The website for the Brady Campaign to prevent Gun Violence presents another amazingly scary statistic: over 58,000 people had been shot in America as of August 4, 2012. This means over 270 people are shot on any given day. (Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence)B. Credibility: Outraged at these statistics, (ETHOS) I have researched why such violence is so prevalent.C. Preview/Thesis: I would like to explain to you WHY gun control seems to have lost its meaning, and what you need to do about it.Transition: Many of the arguments regarding gun control center around one of our inalienable rights as American Citizens, the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.II. NeedA. The need to regulate gun ownership is apparent, but our government has been inactively pursuing the apparent need for regulations. As Paul Kane of The Washington Post reports on July 24, “After the Colorado shooting, Democrats are reluctant to talk gun control… either fully embracing gun rights or lamenting that nothing can be done.” (Kane)
- #4 Such reluctance is due to conflicting interpretations of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which reads (Logos): “A Well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the Security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” (U.S. Constitution)Opponents of gun control, particularly the National Rifle Association, passionately argue that the Second Amendment means to protect the rights of individuals. Their argument is justifiable, as the bearing of arms, or weapons of any kind, has always been a means of self-defense, a means of obtaining sustenance, and under appropriate circumstances a means of sport and recreation (hunting for food & hunting for sport/trophy).One argument by proponents of gun control is that the language used in the second amendment applies to each state’s rights to assemble its own means of security, now seen today as police forces and National Guard troops, and does not pertain to the individual. This conflict of interpretation is not the only factor affecting the situation. The Violence Policy Center, “a national education organization working to stop gun death and injury,” released a study in October 2011 “States With Higher Gun Ownership and Weak Gun Laws Lead Nation in Gun Death.” (Langley)LOGOS: The release discusses, Based on 2008 national data (the most recent available) from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.. States with lax gun laws and higher gun ownership rates had a per capita gun death rate far exceeding the national per capita gun death rate than states with strong gun laws and low rates of gun ownership.2.According to the CDC study and this press release, states that have the lowest rates of gun death are Hawaii, followed by MA, RI, NY and NJ.Transition: As Kristen Rand, a Director for VPC, is quoted “The equation is simple. More guns lead to more gun death, but limiting exposure to firearms saves lives.
- #5 This conflict of interpretation is not the only factor affecting the situation. The Violence Policy Center, “a national education organization working to stop gun death and injury,” released a study in October 2011 “States With Higher Gun Ownership and Weak Gun Laws Lead Nation in Gun Death.” (Langley)LOGOS: The release discusses, Based on 2008 national data (the most recent available) from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.. States with lax gun laws and higher gun ownership rates had a per capita gun death rate far exceeding the national per capita gun death rate than states with strong gun laws and low rates of gun ownership.Transition: As Kristen Rand, a Director for VPC, is quoted “The equation is simple. More guns lead to more gun death, but limiting exposure to firearms saves lives.
- #6 III.SatisfactionWhile preventing the private ownership of guns is arguably unconstitutional, in light of recent mass shootings, and given how overall gun violence equates to almost 3,000 people dying every six months, the need for further restrictions is on the minds and hearts of many Americans. NRA, who consistently opposes new regulations on gun ownership, is sponsoring “Respecting States’ Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act,” a “self-defense bill” that’d allow an individual who has met the requirements to carry a handgun in one state be allowed to carry a handgun in all other states that issues permits to carry or does not prohibit concealed carry. (National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Actoin)(Pathos) The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence argues this proposed law could result in armed vigilantes like George Zimmerman granted federal permission to legally pack a gun on any street in America, even in states where they could not meet the requirements for the applicable permit. (The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence)The Need for Compromise is more prevalent than ever!A Ban on continued sales of assault-class weapons, including semi-automatic rifles is needed. States and Law Enforcement need to adapt disposal programs (weapons or ammunitions) to encourage disposal of these dangerous guns. Transition: An issue would be the implicit “No Questions Asked” policy such a program would need to adapt. The fairness to victims is undeniably lacking. Such a program, even current legal practices, will grant unwarranted immunity to persons who have committed unspeakable crimes.
- #7 As I see the situation, the Best Option is to Improve the enforcement of existing laws.We need to enact a “No Questions Asked” policy for reporting harmful individuals.–News Reports discuss how the psychologist of the Aurora shooter had reported his questionable mentality to the hospital,yet the hospital did not report the findings to law enforcement.2.We need to improve gun safety and gun usage education.– We need to encourage if not mandate that youths and concerned citizens enroll in self-defense courses, to educate them how to avoid and escape situations that involve dangerous weapons and guns.- We need to establish or refine rules of engagement for when guns are used in self-defense. Similar to how police have to reader alleged criminals their rights as they are placed under arrest, gun owners must verbally warn those they deem harmful before engaging in any self-defense tactics. 3. More states need to impose harsher sentences for crimes that involve guns.- Use gun to commit crime, regardless of discharge = surrender the right to bear arms.- Eliminate the practice of reduced sentences for gun-related crimes – Do the crime, serve the time.Transition: We must continue to find ways to curve gun-related violence.
- #8 IV.VisualizationImproving Enforcement will help prevent the needless violence we are experiencing today in America.(Logos) Annals of Emergency Medicine:An estimated 41% of gun-related homicides and 94% of gun-related suicides would not occur under the same circumstances had no guns been present (Wiebe)Opponents of gun control argue that our governments have no grounds to restrict the bearing of weapons.I think we can agree that improved enforcement and education on gun laws are necessary if we are to prevent the unnecessary violence that is plaguing our society. (Audience Agreement)Transition: I believe that we must demand our legislators to improve enforcement of the law, for we should not have to fear the possibility of death for no reason other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
- #9 ActionReview: Today, I told you why gun control is so important and what you need to do about it. I’m asking each of you here today to consider how our government and we as individuals must actively pursue means of preventing increased gun violence in America.Closure: Enforcing gun control and practicing gun safety will have such a big impact in keeping us all safe from unnecessary violence.We must work to stop the continued debates, so we can again feel safe to walk our streets and go out in public.