Argument Analysis: Gun Violence In America

On October 1, 2015 a gunman, at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, opened fire in a classroom taking innocent lives of many as well as his own. In response, President Barrack Obama politicizes the issue of gun violence and asks the general public to help in the reformation of gun laws. In an online article by Rebecca Harrington, she summarizes and responds to an episode of “Last Week Tonight” in which John Oliver discusses the issue of gun violence. Politicians have dodged the issue and targeted the mentally ill, but are unable to correctly address current issues with mental health care. Harrington’s article focuses on the argument that “mentally ill people are the wrong scapegoat” and that “the mental healthcare system is broken”. She extensively uses the rhetorical dimension of logos and is able to better communicate and persuade her audience through citations of research and experts. …show more content…
For example, she states that “fewer than 5% of the 120,000 gun-related killings… were perpetrated by people diagnosed with mental illness” and refutes the belief that individuals with mental health issues are to blame for these acts (Harrington). One may say that the mentally ill are dangerous to be around, but according to Harrington “people with mental illness are at a risk of harming themselves not others”. To confirm this, she states that “up to 44% of suicide victims have a mental illness. Of the approximately 32,000 gun-related deaths in the US every year, 61% are suicides,”, and in doing so is able to answer possible counter arguments to her viewpoint (Harrington). In my view, Harrington’s argument is logical because it provides evidence that is well researched from credible