Gun Control Speech

It is hard to believe that this time last year, the same discussion about gun control was happening. In light of the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that happened a few weeks ago, it was no surprise that this speech appeared on the TEDTalk popular feed. This topic is obviously controversial and highly debated; but this speech is inspiring, unique, and should be heard by everyone. In 2016, Dan Gross gave a TEDTalk in Vancouver, Canada that was titled "Why gun violence can 't be our new normal". The purpose of his speech was to inform American citizens why we need to vote and advocate for stricter background checks when it comes to buying a gun. Gross uses the rhetorical devices of kairos, and a mixture of logos and pathos to

He recalls "Suddenly, my family was thrown into the middle of a nightmare, being told my brother was going to die…". Rightly so, this touches our feelings. It hurts us to see other people suffer, and we all know that gun violence affects many more people in our country than it should. Most of the time people are very separated on the topic of gun control. Either you are a republic, democrat, pro-gun, or anti-gun and this divide in the public is why nothing can ever get accomplished. Most people think that the divide is much larger than what is actually is, according to Gross. His speech never points out one specific side in the argument over gun control, instead, he focuses on what all the citizens of the United States truly believe and what his dreams are to fix the problem. In his first minutes of the speech he

Their dream is to cut the number of gun-related deaths in United States in half by the year 2025. This timeline is extremely relevant because it is quickly approaching. The Brady Campaign Pointing out this use of Kairos works to Dr. Gross 's advantage. He knows that America is ready for the change, and all of the citizens of America know it too. He points out that millions of people are saying "enough" in response to the daily gun violence and mass shootings by people who should not have the means of acquiring a gun. The Brady Campaign is working hard to enforce background checks and stop the corruption of our government which accepts money from the corporate gun lobby. I think identifying this common ground is important. He is not advocating for the removal of everyone 's guns; instead he is proposing that detailed background checks could help stop a bad situation before it starts and almost all gun owners would agree with his proposal. The timing of his speech is impeccable. If written any earlier it may go unnoticed or ignored, but in a time where this is one of our most pressing issues among politics and everyday conversation, Brady struck gold on his timing and made a valid point to consider. The audience is really responding to his rhetoric throughout the speech, sometimes clapping before he can even finish his