Kristof Response

In reading this article, Kristof's main claim is very obvious and it is that gun laws should be regulated more seriously. In addition to this man claim/central argument of the paper, Kristof also finds ways to add in many more sub claims that are relevant as well. These include the ease of buying a gun, the tragedies that can come of guns, as well as safety rules that should be instated. Now throughout this paper it is apparent that Kristof makes solid attempts to make use of ethos, pathos, and logos to really convince the reader/audience that something should be done about the relaxed gun regulations that are currently in effect. Kristof is able to make use of statistics, professional studies done, personal anecdotes, references to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, and even hit home with a reference to the Sandy Hook shooting of 2012. Through the use of logos, pathos, and ethos Kristof really gets through to readers. For example, in the beginning of the article the Sandy Hook reference is made which automatically gets into the emotion level of readers because it makes one think of little 4 and 5 year olds that were innocent souls that deserved more from their life than what they were given. Kristof continues on this pathos route in the next paragraph as well. He states, "the fundamental reason kids are dying in massacres...is that we suffer from a political failure to regulate guns". Children are "13 times more likely to be murdered", lets think about the diction here. "Massacres" and "murder", two gruesome words that get the reader to start thinking a little more opened minded about this very controversial topic. Next Kristof continues to briefly hit on the logic aspect by turning to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and hits the audience with the fact that ladders.."have five pages of regulations..and kill 30 people a year". Meanwhile guns have zero regulations and kill 30,000. We even regulate toys better than we do guns, laughable right? We have gone through too many tragedies at this point, and nothing has been done yet. Slowly Kristof is opening people up to the idea of change without the reader fully knowing it. One of the last ways, and maybe one of the most powerful ways he persuades readers to a new mindset is through his personal story. Kristof says, "my dad gave me a .22 rifle for my 12th birthday. I understand; shooting is fun! But so is driving, and we accept that we must wear seat belts, use headlights at night, and fill out forms to buy a car. Why can't we be equally adult about regulating guns?". This is a valid point Kristof,and it leaves the audience really thinking about the central issue which is the need for better regulation of guns. The final note that Kristof leaves readers with is in the last paragraph, "If we don treat guns in the same serious way [regulated safely], some of you and some of your children will die because of our failure." A chilling thought to most, but an excellent way to ensure the attention that this topic requires.