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Chris Jones English 1010 Ms. Blommer May 23, 2013 Issue Exploration Project Reflection

My issue exploration project is probably one of the toughest school assignments I have ever had to complete, and because it was such a hard assignment, I feel by writing it I have grown dramatically as a writer. I have never done as much research for any project as I did for this one, and truthfully when I began writing it I knew almost nothing about the issue of gun control, which is the subject I decided to write about. I chose this subject because my dads friend said that when a person is 18 years old their opinions are incomplete and dont matter as much as real adult opinions. When I found out I had to do an issue exploration project I decided that would be a good opportunity to do research on one of the prominent issues in the United States. This project was hard in a lot of ways simply because of the amount of time it took to do it. After researching the issue I had to write and revise several essays before compiling them into one relatively long paper. Time was an issue because I work quite a few hours outside of school and so I would often have to stay up late after work in order to finish the assigned portion of the project. As a whole my writing process has been largely centered around procrastination, partially because of my lack of time, and partially because I have procrastinated on my assignments for as long as I can remember.

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However I have been better about meeting deadlines with this assignment than I have been with past assignments, but I can still work on not procrastinating. This assignment was very critical in my developing an opinion on where exactly I stand on the issue of gun control. When I first started writing for this portfolio, I understood that gun control was an issue, but I didnt know the specifics of what people where debating about. In my mind I figured that guns should be controlled and the other side of the argument didnt have any good evidence to support their claims. After doing so much research for this portfolio I realized how wrong I really was and I opened my mind up a little bit. This project demonstrates my achievement in SLCCs learning outcomes. I am not sure what my major will be once I start college, but when I was researching my topic I realized that I find politics fascinating and now I am possibly considering majoring in political science. I also know that being able to do a large research paper such as this one is desirable by many potential employers, and now that I am able to do so I am more likely to succeed in a job that may require such tasks. This project also forced me to think critically in order to stay focused on what I was researching and writing about. It also assisted me in learning about a critical issue in my country so I can talk intelligently about it with others and potentially be constructive in finding a solution. I could refer back to method I did this project and use a similar structure for future projects in other classes because I really did like the underlying process of this project. The material that I studied could also be useful background knowledge if I choose to take a class on politics in college. What I have learned from taking English 1010, however, will be much more

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useful in my future education because the course basically refined my writing strategies, and from what I hear from all my friends that are already in college, writing is a critical piece in succeeding in college. The class also improved my ability to analyze sources with is an important not just in college but in life in general, because if I have the ability to analyze images and text my understanding of the world will increase dramatically. The main thing this project demonstrates about what I have learned from English 1010 is my ability to analyze a source. When I began this class I could do a basic analysis of text, but not to the depth that I can know. Truthfully I didnt even know what the word rhetoric meant. This project assisted me further in my ability to analyze written sources because I had to read so many of them in order to successfully complete assignment. My ability to analyze visual sources has also increased dramatically. When I first had to analyze a visual I had no clue how to analyze it, and when I began this project I was fairly adept at analyzing visuals, but this project further pushed my abilities and I feel I interpreted the visuals used in this project than visuals I have used in the past. This project has also helped me truly grasp how to correctly cite my work. Before when I wrote essays I could kind of cite my sources but writing the annotated bibliography really helped me to understand what I was doing. Even though this project seemed really difficult I know I have harder ones ahead of me as I progress through college. Truthfully I am glad I did this one before I actually started college so that I have an idea of what to expect. I am also glad to have the knowledge I gained from doing this issue exploration project.

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Annotated Bibliography Editorial Board. Now Is The Time For Gun Control. Connecticut Law Tribune. 18 December 2012. ctlawtribune.com. The Editorial Board is a staff of writers that write opinion columns for the Connecticut Law Tribune. The article states that gun control cannot wait and that the tragedy of Sandy Hook elementary school should be enough reason to push for gun control. The intended audience is American citizens, specifically parents. The article specifically questions the reasons as to why more gun control laws are not in place. This editorial will be used in the commentary section to represent a specific position on the gun control debate. Gresham, Tom. Gun Control Has A Clear Record Of Failure. The Columbus Dispatch. 6 January 2013. dispatch.com. Tom Gresham is a column writer for the Columbus Dispatch. Gresham uses examples of past gun control laws to express why he believes more laws would not help gun-related violence. He also writes that he believes that if more citizens carried guns there would actually be less gun-related violence. This contrasts directly with the article written in the Connecticut Law Tribune. Haines, Mindy. Speak Out Against Gun Control if the General Assembly Will Let You. The Baltimore Sun. 15 February 2013. baltimoresun.com. Mindy Haines is a writer for the Baltimore Sun. In this article Haines writes about how upset she was when she went to protest gun control laws and the senate ignored her. She continues to write that if the senate will not listen to the people then how can people know that gun control will benefit them. She also adds that she believes a licensing system placed on firearms will not give any new information to reduce gun violence. Her unique perspective adds depth to this project as a whole. Miami Herald Editorial. Gun Control Faces Perilous Road Ahead. The Miami Herald. 14 April 2013. miamiherald.com The Miami Herald Editorial is a board of writers who write editorials for The Miami Herald. The article mainly discusses that there is no clear solution for gun-related violence, but suggests that new gun control laws are a good place to start. The article also states that gun-control laws will face a lot of opposition from people who do not want the laws to pass. The editorial itself is kind of weak in opinion as it tries to stay neutral, but it is helpful in providing a balanced view between two different stances on the presented issue.

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Porfido, Michael. Gun Solutions, Not Gun Control. Rightwing News. 20 January 2013. rightwingnews.com Michael Porfido is a writer for the online news website Rightwing News. In his article he argues that gun control laws will not keep criminals from obtaining guns, and that law abiding citizens need access to them as well so that they can protect others from potential violence from criminals who own guns. He also points out that recent shootings have been in states where it is illegal to conceal weapons. Seattle Times Editorial. Keep Momentum Going On Gun Control. The Seattle Times. 14 April 2013. seattletimes.com The Seattle Times Editorial is a board of editorial writers who write for the Seattle Times. The article comments on how much political momentum the issue of gun control has right now, and states that U.S. senate should use this momentum to pass laws to prevent more tragedies in the United States. This article is different from the others used in this project because the intended audience for this article is the U.S. senate and other political figures. Steinhauser, Paul. Gun Control Support Rises But Divide Remains Over What To Do. CNN. 28 January 2013. cnn.com Paul Steinhauser is a Political Editor for the news publication CNN. In his article he writes about the facts and statistics of gun control support, as well as analyzing what other solutions besides gun control laws could reduce gun-related violence in the United States. The article was especially useful in this project because it provided many statistics about how Americans feel about gun control laws. Trifunov, David. Joe Biden Gun Control Solution: Buy a Shotgun, Skip She AR-15. Global Post. 19 February 2013. globalpost.com David Trifunov is a writer for the online news website Global Post. The article primarily discusses high ammunition weapons, and earns credibility by quoting the vice president, Joe Biden. The article argues that high ammunition weapons are not needed to protect ones family.

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Introduction Within the past year the topic of restricting civilian firearm use within the United States has been intensely debated and discussed. Advocates of controlling civilian firearm access state that it is necessary to prevent unnecessary deaths and tragedies. Opponents of controlling gun access say that restricting firearms is a restriction of citizens rights, and that restricting firearms will not prevent gun related violence, and will in fact reduce citizens ability to protect themselves from such dangers. The massacre at Sandy Hood Elementary school added even more intensity to the growing debate of if, and how firearms should be restricted within the United States. The issue should be a priority because if a solution isnt chosen more peoples lives could be at risk. The biggest issue in finding a solution to the problem is that people dont want to lose their rights as stated by the 2nd Amendment. The public have the right to bear arms and they dont want to have that right removed or decreased in any way. People are worried that by taking their guns away they wont be able to protect their families. Many also believe that instead of focusing on controlling guns and weapons the country should instead focus on maintaining the health of mentally unstable individuals who may in fact be at risk for causing gun-related violence. Many believe that the only way to reduce gun-related violence to educate the public on gun safety, as well as making sure that all citizens are allowed to carry guns to protect themselves and the people around them. The debate is not that gun-violence in the United States is a problem; the question is how to deal with it. Its difficult for so many people to come up with a solution that appeases everybody and reduces gun-related violence in the United States.

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Summary, Source Analysis and Synthesis The articles Keep the Momentum Going on Gun Control by The Seattle Times, Speak out against Gun Control by Mindy Haines, and Gun Control Support Rises but Divide Remains over What to Do by Paul Steinhauser, each individually represent a different view on the presented issue of gun control. The article by The Seattle Times is written in favor of continuing the fight to better control guns within the United States by using the current momentum of the subject to pass new laws on weapon control. Haines wrote that the government needs to listen to the testimonies of the people it governs, and that voters should not support this bill. The last article written by Steinhauser is of the opinion that both sides of the argument need to decide on a solution to stop violence in the United States. All sides of the argument agree that gun-related violence within the United States is a problem and there needs to be a solution to address this problem. All of the articles also mention the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting as a wakeup call for the nation to do something about gun-related violence. This argument uses strong pathos by reminding Americans of a tragedy that happened to elementary students in a public place where they should have been safe. This creates sadness within the reader and influences them to help decide on a course of action to attempt to reduce gun-related violence within the United States. The articles written by The Seattle Times, and Haines directly contrast with each other. Haines writes that it is against the second amendment for the government to take away citizens right to bear arms and that doing so will not reduce gun-related violence, only reduce our ability to defend ourselves against such attacks. The Seattle Times, however,

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directly disagrees with this statement, writing that it is bogus to claim that restricting firearms would not reduce gun-related violence. The author then continues to state that even though citizens have a right to bear arms, the second amendment is not unlimited. Steinhauser writes that if people oppose gun control they must come up with an alternative strategy to prevent gun-related violence within the United States. Although Haines wrote that voters should reject this bill and other bills restricting their rights, she fails to provide any other alternative and spends most of the article saying that a government should listen to its people. This restricts her ethos making her argument seem more like a rant than an actual argument supported by facts, While Steinhauser and The Seattle Times both have strong uses of ethos and logos. Steinhauser uses ethos both because he writes for CNN and also because his argument uses strong logic and analyzes both sides of the debate. Logos is used within his argument when he writes that if people do not want to restrict the right to bear arms they must propose an alternative solution. The Seattle Times also uses ethos because it is a professional newspaper. The author also uses also uses logos by stating that it is unreasonable to expect people to give up all their guns, but guns with high ammunition capacity should be restricted to civilians. Commentary People irrationally assume that the government wants to restrict their rights for no reason. Fig. 1 shows an angry man holding a sign that says limits on ammunition should not be imposed, while the man is saying that government regulations don't do anything to aid peoples safety. The image discredits the man by having him standing right next to a speed limit sign,

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which is an example of government regulations and limits that do make people safer.

Fig 1. Adam Zygis. High Capacity Magazines. 2013 politicalhumor.about.com.

There have been many limits and restrictions that have been enforced by the United States government and all of these limitations have justified causes behind them. Driving laws are one such example. Speed limits help keep people safe by limiting how fast people can go in heavily populated areas, effectively reducing the amount of automotive accidents in such areas. Limits on what guns are available to citizens would reduce the amount of deaths caused by gun related violence, and even if it was only one life saved, wouldnt that be worth it? In Fig. 2 a message questioning whether civilians need to own assault rifles is posted on a church bulletin board in New York City. The question is rhetorical, showing that the church

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believes that citizens do not need assault rifles. The message isnt that citizens dont need, or shouldnt have guns, just that citizens dont need assault rifles, which is true. It is perfectly respectable if a person wants to protect themselves and the people they care about, but low ammunition weapons are perfectly suited for that job. Assault weapons are designed for use in war (hence the name assault), not for use by civilians for protecting their family, or any other legal use of a gun. The article Gun Control Has a Clear Record of Failure written in the Columbia Dispatch by Tom Gresham argues that gun control laws have failed many times in the past, and the only way to prevent gun related violence is to allow good people to carry guns in order to dissuade potential criminals from using guns to harm others. His opinion is understandable and rational, but saying that gun control laws cannot prevent gun related violence is an untrue absolution. Even if gun control laws dont prevent thousands of deaths like people suggest, if they prevent even one death then they should be implemented as soon as possible. However Greshams opinion that people should be able to carry guns to protect themselves is reasonable and I agree with it whole heartedly. A person should be able to carry a gun to protect themselves and their loved ones, and it could potentially reduce gun-related deaths in the United States, but people do not need assault rifles or high ammunition weapons to protect the people they love.

Fig. 2. Chris Jones. New York City. 2013.

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The Miami Herald wrote Gun Control Faces Perilous Road Ahead, an editorial discussing the different proposed solutions to reducing gun-related violence, and claiming that no matter what path this country takes towards reducing gun related violence, there will be many difficulties and disagreements. The article also states that there are flaws with both sides of this debate. I agree with this article that no matter what, reducing gun-related death and violence will be difficult and many people will be angered either way; however gun control laws are still needed to prevent further death in this country. Even if a few people are upset to have stricter background checks, making some people upset and saving lives is better than the alternative. It is, however, irrational and wrong to try and take all guns away from people in this country. People use guns for a variety of things, and most of these uses are perfectly acceptable uses. People just dont need the most powerful guns available to do these activities. The Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board published the editorial Now Is the Time for Gun Control which explicitly states that gun control an d more extensive background checks need to happen now. The editorial questions exactly how many tragedies similar to Sandy Hook it will take for the country to open its eyes and begin making a greater effort to control gun sales to prevent potential criminals from causing gun-related violence. The writers of this editorial seem to grasp that these laws are being created to protect people, and that is a very important point that many editorials on this subject seem to forget. Many people forget that one of the numbers behind gun-related violence and death could in fact be their child, or one of their loved ones. Even if the chances are slim, shouldnt we strive to make those chances even slimmer?

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Solution Analysis and Proposal In the past it has been shown that allowing individuals to obtain a concealed weapons permit may possibly reduce gun related deaths within the state. The recent Sandy Hook and Colorado theater shootings were in fact in areas where carrying concealed weapons is illegal. If 5%-10% of the population that usually conceals weapons had been allowed to carry them could lives have been saved? Vice-President Joe Biden proposes that assault rifles should be banned from civilian use and that background checks for gun sales should be more thorough. Biden also explains that he has two shotguns in his home to protect his family and he believes that is all he and the citizens of the United States need to protect themselves and their families, stating that you dont need 30 rounds to protect yourself. There is a problem, however, in defining what makes an assault rifle. Should each gun have to be individually classified and thoroughly reviewed to determine to whether or not it is fit for civilian access? Or should all automatic and semi-automatic weapons be banned from civilian use and access? In the past the government tried banning weapons that looked like military assault rifles, but that solution failed. The reason it failed was because the law was concerned with the appearance of the weapon rather than the function of it. To reduce gun-related violence within the United States, assault rifles should be illegal for civilians, a more thorough background check should be done during gun sales, the legal age to buy a gun should be raised to 21, and all guns should have to be licensed and registered. Each gun model should have to be individually reviewed and classified as whether it

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is an assault rifle, and whether or not should be available for public sale and use. This would help limit the availability of powerful guns to the public. If a more thorough background check was done, then mentally unstable individuals might also be denied the privilege to purchase a gun, reducing gun availability to dangerous individuals. This is not to say that if they had their condition treated they couldnt purchase a gun, but if they have current or very recent mental illnesses they should be denied the opportunity to buy a gun until a later date. The legal age to buy a gun should be raised to 21, so that shootings by people who are between the ages of 18 and 20 can be dramatically reduced. A gun licensing and registration system similar to that of automotive vehicles could help police authorities track down shooters and prevent them from doing it again, or it could also help them prevent shootings before they even happened. With guns being individually reviewed it would also limit potential shooters access to more powerful weapons without denying citizens the right to own a gun. This issue cannot be solved without several concessions from both sides of the debate, but concessions must be made and a solution must be found because the longer people spend debating a solution, the higher the risk of more gun related deaths. Those deaths could be us, our loved ones, or other people essential to our communities. If control doesnt work people can always get their guns back, but it is impossible to bring the dead back to life.