Gun Control Is Long Overdue By Jacqueline Collins

Gun Control Laws Gun Control Laws – Should they be replaced or stay as is? Imagine sitting in a movie theater and a gunman walks in and opens fire. You immediately fall to the floor trying to hide. You hear shots and people screaming. There is nothing you can do. Seventy people are shot, twelve which lost their lives. How did this happen? How did the gunman obtain the weapon? This could have been prevented. A gun control advocate for the past 10 years, State Senator Jacqueline Collins, wrote the article “Gun control is long overdue,” published February 1, 2014 in the Chicago Tribune, in which she argues the need for stricter gun control laws. Collins builds her credibility by noting her leadership positon as state senator, discussing

She establishes her credibility and provides credentials of authority through her position as a state senator as well as her involvement in marches around a gun shop and organizations of parents that have lost a child to gun violence. Through Collins’ personal experiences in an effort to stop gun violence, she shows that she has a personal stake in and first-hand experience in eliminating gun violence which in turn builds trust among the readers.
Collins appeals to the emotions of the audience by first describing a scenario in which the life of a 15-year old honor student was taken by gun violence, therefore, leaving the family to mourn the death of a loved one. Too often, the lives of young individuals are taken far too soon as a result of gun violence that could be prevented. Collins urges Americans to be a voice in their children’s lives and help protect them from malicious violence. She advocates for stricter gun control. Collins’ goal is to establish an empathic concern among the readers provide a foundation of shared

I do find Collin’s argument and purpose that “gun control is long overdue” important and persuasive, but I also think beyond gun control as gun’s don’t decide to kill people, people kill people. Taking away gun rights is also taking away an individual’s right to protect oneself. If gun rights are taken away, innocent people would be unarmed against intruders. According to a study at Harvard, nations that have more guns tend to have less crime. The United States is #1 in the world in gun ownership, and yet it is only 28th in the world in gun murders per 100,000 people. Guns in the United States are used 80 times more often to prevent crimes than they are to take