A Rhetorical Analysis Of John Lott's More Guns Less Crime

Rhetorical Analysis of John Lott’s “More Guns Less Crime” John Lott’s book, More Guns Less Crime explains how guns don’t increase crime however, guns do decrease crime rates in the United States. Chapter 2 titled, How to Test the Effects of Gun Control which contributes to one of Lott’s main focus in this book. Lott reviewed and conducted many surveys to determine whether gun control will increase or decrease the death rate. The question that arose and drew much attention to surveyors was, “Will these laws improve or degrade the quality of life when it comes to violent crime?” (22) This question forced an answer on everyone even those who support gun control due to the demanding need of self-protection against violent crime. While the midst

Lott wants the readers and those who took the survey to feel a sort of hate for these criminals, which in turn will motivate his audience to think deeper and consider ownership of guns a positive thing.
In the second chapter of John Lott’s book he makes many references to logos. An example of this reference is when he states, “In contrast, crimes like auto theft and unattended cars seem unlikely to be deterred by gun ownership.” (29) This is a very logical statement which makes it almost too obvious and warps this sentence into a fallacy. Stating that unattended cars will not be deterred by guns is an unneeded argument. Lott is simply stating the obvious which in turns leaves this sentence almost

An example of one weakness is shown when John Lott talks about concealed firearm laws which make people safer. When he supports this topic he only gives one perspective and that’s of someone who already had a concealed firearm. Lott should have shown both sides of this topic so his point wouldn’t be as muddy.
In addition to Lott’s weaknesses, he has many strengths in this chapter. One of the strengths is how he shows much data concerning crime rates and then he later correlates it to the right of concealed firearms. This reflection using stats makes his point very vivid and also very hard to argue with. Another strength shown by Lott in this chapter is how well his sentences are structured. He talks about one problem, shows the data and then moves on to this next point. This configuration helps the book flow smoothly and logically.
As a final point, this chapter talks about the statistics of crime and how it effects the law-abiding citizens. Lott shows to the world how concealed firearms can change citizens lives for the better in this book. In Lott’s argument, he urges for those who haven’t taken advantage of their second amendment to do so. This argument has been effective overall due to his supporting evidence of crime rates and how people lives are changed with a way to protect their