The PBS program “Gunned Down: The power of the NRA” highlighted how the NRA continues it’s stranglehold on the government and gun policies. It is quite clear that gun control advocates attempt to play off the emotion of citizens whereas pro gun advocates fear the public into believing the government is attempting to steal their guns and liberties. The side of the gun control advocates can be seen through the likes of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Conversely, the pro gun effort is shown through Ringleader Wayne LaPierre who continues to save the NRA and second amendment rights. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were both portrayed as compassionate, caring individuals that were fighting for a life or …show more content…
By the end, I had a strong distaste for Mr. LaPierre and what he has contributed to the gun debate. Nevertheless, LaPierre uses a tactic that has had extreme success. LaPierre uses fear to progress his agenda. In this case, LaPierre attempts to convince the public that the government is trying to take their guns and their rights. He threatens that this is a treacherous path leading towards tyranny and a police state. Another example of inciting fear being a successful tactic is through Donald Trump stealing the presidency away from Hillary …show more content…
This power was demonstrated multiple times throughout the documentary. An example of this can be seen through the way the NRA manipulated Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Manchin, an A rated senator according to the NRA, took damaging blows from the association when he attempted to persuade Congress to compromise on closing the gun show loophole with comprehensive background checks. Not only did the NRA tarnish Manchin’s reputation throughout the association, they also killed the bill in its tracks. In my opinion, the NRA and other notable groups of equal power are a threat to democracy. Another instance where the NRA exerted its political power was during Al Gore’s campaign for president. The NRA produced slogans such as “if Gore wins, you lose” to scare voters into believing that if Gore wins, they would lose their second amendment rights. Although Gore lost by a slim measure, this was anything but a slim win for the NRA. This was massive. The NRA played a decisive role in the defeat of Al Gore and silenced the gun control movement for the years to
According to Slate.com “there has been a total of 137 fatal shooting that killed 297 victims since 1980”. Just by reading the title you can tell that the author LZ Granderson has a strong opinion on this subject. He writes this article because during the time of the article texas governor Rick Perry tried passing a bill that would teacher to conceal and carry in schools to try and prevent school shootings. LZ Granderson is a writer for ESPN and has a weekly column for CNN that he writes about controversial topics such as teachers with guns. LZ Granderson wants to show his readers what is going on, as well as why things like the law are happening.
National Rifle Association is a special interest group that lobbies for the rights of gun owners and works to protect the 2nd Amendment. The House Armed Services Committee (Politicians) funds the ATF (Bureaucrats) and provides political support. The NRA works to insure that the 2nd Amendment is never breached.
The article, "America's Unique Gun Violence Problem," by Michel Martin considers that though there is more support for gun control in America, "the NRA's power comes from a lot of single issue pro-gun voters because they're very intense…" (Martin). This intensity is a major reason for the lack of success against anti-gun control parties such as the NRA being that most constituents of the NRA are very active in the voting and political process. Thus, when it comes down to it laws are being passed in the NRA's favor usually because at the voting stand NRA support is much higher than those advocating for gun control laws. In order to see a change, support for gun control has not increased, but rather its supporters have been more active in the voting process and at the political
Continuing on to pages 5 and 6, Dickinson brings to light how LaPierre saved the NRA by rebuilding its power, but at the same time destroyed a historic gun-control effort. Cities started to file lawsuits against gun manufacturers for the social costs of gun violence with the confidence that they could win because they had previously won similar suits against the tobacco companies. In response to the lawsuits, the NRA went to work at the state level, securing bills that would ban localities from suing gun manufacturers. To limit future damage, Smith & Wesson decided to negotiate a settlement with Cuomo. Smith & Wesson agreed to make safer guns and to clean up distribution networks.
Justin Cronin’s “ Confessions of a Liberal Gun Owner” is a very interesting piece, even though Cronin was convincing he lacks strong evidence and authoritative testimony to establish Ethos. Justin Cronin is an award winning author, Father and teacher at Rice University in Houston Texas. Throughout the article Cronin gives us personal anecdotes and reasons for owning guns and how guns need to be further regulated. Cronin’s argument is that we all should have the right to own guns to protect us and our family from any danger. Although, the way he shows it are all personal anecdotes instead of facts, which doesn't really give him any credibility in his article.
The Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown Connecticut resulted in the death of twenty school children and six adults. Following the shooting, President Obama delivered a speech that moved citizens all over the country. President Obama became notorious for his subtle diction and natural body language that conveys sincerity and truthfulness along with the direct implication of his true thoughts. In this speech he effectively identifies himself not as a Democrat or Republican, but as a parent who wanted nothing more than to protect the children of our country. To do this, he uses vivid diction, open body language, controlled facial expressions, and a somber tone to deliver a speech that made the American people waiver.
“Our Blind Spot about Guns” Rhetorical Analysis Essay American Journalist, Nicholas Kristof, in his essay, “Our Blind Spot about Guns”, addresses that if only guns were regulated and controlled like cars, there would be less fatalities. Kristof’s purpose is to emphasize how much safer cars are now than in the past, while guns do not have the same precautions. He constructs a compelling tone in order to convince the reader that the government should take more control on the safety of guns and who purchases them. Kristof builds credibility by successfully exerting emotional appeals on the audience, citing plausible statistics, and discussing what could possibly be done to prevent gun fatalities. Kristof begins his essay by discussing how automobile
NRA has supported laws since 1934 such as the National Firearms Act, Federal Firearms Act, Gun Control Act, Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, and Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act. I personally support the NRA because they make sure that my right to bear arms in the constitution are protected. I carry everywhere I go because you never know what some idiot is thinking about doing and I feel the need to protect my family no matter what it takes. Observers and lawmakers see the NRA as one of the top three most influential lobbying groups in Washington, DC. After 1977, the organization expanded its membership by focusing heavily on political issues and forming coalitions with conservative politicians, most of them being
Pro gun control advocates believe that the second amendment (the right to bear arms) was only meant in the ideal of forming a militia for a common interest and this has since been outdated due to the creation of a central army. While anti-gun control supporters believe that the second amendment was given to everyone to protects themselves from many dangers they face. While many people may never know what the creators of the amendments meant by this, both sides will always feud, believing that the ideas from the opposing side is wrong (“Should”). This is all useless due to the simple fact that no law that bans gun use reduces the gun crime rate effectively (Davidson). The publisher, Robert Farago, of thetruthaboutguns.com also believed this as he stated in an article about the San Bernardino shooting “No assault weapon ban, no gun violence restraining order, no ammunition magazine capacity law would have prevented the San Bernardino slaughter”(“should”).
The NRA is generally known as a main political force and America’s leading defender of second amendment rights, and the highest firearms education organization in the world. One tab in the website displays programs for firearm education. Another tab reveals politics and legalization defending second amendment rights. The NGVAC is against guns.
Gun Control Hypocrisy America has recently seenseveral shooting and indiscriminate firing incidents in schools, malls, and religious place. Do the U.S. people need gun control laws? Should everyone own a gun for self-defense? There are many questions that rise about gun control, but most of them do not have answers.
In today’s society, one of the most alienating issues in American politics is gun control. More specifically, the issue is whether or not guns should be banned in the United States. Some people would say that guns should be banned because it would reduce crime as a whole and keep citizens safer. These people, enthusiasts of stricter gun laws, fear being safe in their country where there are so many people who have access to guns. Opponents of this argument, however, also fear losing safety.
The term interest group refers to virtually any voluntary association that seeks to publicly promote and create advantages for its cause. It applies to a vast array of diverse organizations. This includes corporations, charitable organizations, civil rights groups, neighborhood associations, professional and trade associations. Our nation has many interest that represent our country well. These groups also have very good strategies to employ their ideals.
Gun control has been a debatable issue since the 1870s, not too long after the Second Amendment of the Constitution was added (NPR). This controversial topic has been a factor in determining the fate of guns in the United States of America. Gun control has been a large influence in the decisions voters have made in politics. Gun control is one of the main driving questions for the candidates in the running, which usually persuades voters to vote either way. As of today, the citizens of the U.S. stereotype that Republicans want the ability to own guns without the interruption from the government, whereas the Democrats, want to be able to exterminate or at least limit the power to own guns.
“Gun Control for Dummies” is a comic illustrated by William Warren. The comic depicts a before and after situation. In these situations, a law-abiding citizen originally has two firearms and is standing next to a criminal who also has a gun. However, in the “after” scenario the citizen no longer has possession of firearms, but the criminal next to him does. The author’s claim in this comic is that gun control will not prevent criminals from keeping or obtaining guns but will leave law-abiding citizens without protection.