Columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote an article titled “Our Blind Spot about Guns,” which was published in The New York Times in 2014. In the article’s context, he “argues that if guns and their owners were regulated in the same way that cars and their drivers are, thousands of lives could be saved each year” (Kristof 161). He incorporates multiple statistics in his essay, provides us with insights from the opposing side, and compares the issue of gun control to one that occurred a century ago: vehicle control.
Just in the first two paragraphs, Kristof does not cease to use startling statistics that he is sure will grab our attention. He brings to light the issue of 1921 when vehicle regulations were non-existent which, therefore, contributed to the issue of high fatality rates. However, this issue was easily solved by implementing safer road laws and introducing the concept of obtaining a driver’s license before operating a vehicle for the first time. In no time at all, our fatality rates had dropped by more than 95% and this was accomplished not by confiscating cars, but by regulating their usage. By proposing a system where we “protect us from ourselves” (Kristof 162), we can expect the same turnout …show more content…
He reiterates some comments he received on this article, some of which included, “Cars kill people, too, so why not ban cars? Why are you so hypocritical as to try to take away guns from law-abiding people when you don’t seize cars?” (Kristof 162). This is where our blind spot comes into play because we fail to see that while we used fatality statistics for regulating cars, we refuse to fight against the too powerful gun lobby, therefore resulting in an equal amount of people dying from guns and cars each year. Why can’t we use the same principles we used for vehicles regulations to accomplish the same results in gun
Just in the first two paragraphs, Kristof does not cease to use startling statistics that he is sure will grab our attention. He brings to light the issue of 1921 when vehicle regulations were non-existent which, therefore, contributed to the issue of high fatality rates. However, this issue was easily solved by implementing safer road laws and introducing the concept of obtaining a driver’s license before operating a vehicle for the first time. In no time at all, our fatality rates had dropped by more than 95% and this was accomplished not by confiscating cars, but by regulating their usage. By proposing a system where we “protect us from ourselves” (Kristof 162), we can expect the same turnout …show more content…
He reiterates some comments he received on this article, some of which included, “Cars kill people, too, so why not ban cars? Why are you so hypocritical as to try to take away guns from law-abiding people when you don’t seize cars?” (Kristof 162). This is where our blind spot comes into play because we fail to see that while we used fatality statistics for regulating cars, we refuse to fight against the too powerful gun lobby, therefore resulting in an equal amount of people dying from guns and cars each year. Why can’t we use the same principles we used for vehicles regulations to accomplish the same results in gun