The debate on gun control is a controversial topic in United States politics. The debate has spanned for decades as opposing sides argue about the right to have guns and restriction of the same. The side that supports the right to own guns consider it a right to defend oneself. The gun culture is embedded in the the American culture as many people owned guns to protect themselves from the early times of the nation’s history.
Moreover, the guns were used for hunting and today hunting with guns as a sport is common. Guns are a symbol of power and many consider owning a gun as an American identity. On the other hand, owning guns has led to violent gun crimes and thousands of innocent Americans have lost their lives.
The gun violence has led to the debate on gun control and the recent incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut that saw the death of 26 children has reignited the debate and President Obama is leading the campaign to pass stringent laws on gun control to prevent the occurrence of such incidences of gun violence in the future.
Many attempts to pass the gun control laws have failed especially with the influence of the National Rifle Association and I think politicians should use emotionally charged events to ensure that the laws are passed.
Politicians can use emotionally charged events to advance political agendas that have been difficult to through the use of intellectual debates. The gun control debate and passing of relevant laws to do a background check on any person that wants to buy a gun and restrictions of assault rifle sales to the public have been slow in passing. The Politicians should use the recent massacre of 26 children in Connecticut to appeal to the quick passing of the laws.
Otherwise, many people will continue to die at the hands of people that own guns and are not fit. Doing a background check on an individual before they buy a gun will reduce the probability of a gun falling into wrong hands. Moreover, the ban of assault rifle sale will help in protecting the lives of many innocent Americans that would fall, victim, if an individual with an assault rifle runs berserk and opens fire randomly.
Furthermore, the appearance of children with President Obama as he announced the executive orders on gun violence is good because it will appeal to the urgency of passing the gun control laws to protect the innocent children and other citizens.
The emotional appeal by the president to the lawmakers to remember the children that died at Sandy Hook Elementary may work by reminding them not to forget those innocent children who died because a gun was in the hands of a wrong individual.
He used emotional appeal and told the lawmakers to remember how the nation felt on that fateful day. He also told the citizens to continue talking and making their voices heard to the lawmakers so that they can pass the gun laws that are necessary to prevent more gun violence in America.
In conclusion, the use of emotions can help pass a political agenda and politicians should use every resource at their disposal to pass laws for the good of the people.
The passing of gun control laws is slow as the camp that opposes them works very hard to ensure they are not passed as they say that they will infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens’ right to own a gun. However, if using emotionally charged events to pass the gun laws is what it will take I support the use because even if only one innocent death is prevented in the future it will be worth the effort.