Gun Control in America

The site I have chosen to analyse supporting increased gun control is http://www.bradycampaign.org/. Opposition to the ideas expressed on this site can be found on http://gunowners.org/, in which gun control is heavily opposed.

The Brady Campaign website is a rare example of American pro-gun control representation on the internet. The vast majority of pages giving opinions on the inclusion of guns in American society are strongly anti gun control. This doesn't mean to say that this example of pro gun control is in any way less reliable or correct than the other sites. In fact, through its focus on facts and figures, the Brady Campaign page makes the idea of increased gun control seem desirable.

On the home page, the campaign talks of how it wants to 'prevent gun violence', and uses the stories of celebrities and well-known people affected by guns, allowing the readers to relate to the examples. The siter takes a very tough stance with the topic. It talks about how the campaign 'Helps Save Lives' and exists to 'protect you, you family and your community.' This is an attempt to win over the largely sceptical pulbic, making it personal to them and showing the seriousness of gun crime in the USA.

One way in which the site really draws your attention to the problems caused by gun ownership in America is through the 'Facts' section. Sub-sections entitled 'Facts', 'Gun Violence', 'Public Opinion', 'Studies and Reports' and 'Resources'. Of these catagories, 'Gun Violence', in my opinion, has particular strength. A link can be found to a list of every case of 'major school shootings in the United States since 1997'. The number of shooting is astounding, and its hard to imagine an American not being shocked by the statistics. Approximately 150 cases have occured in schools since 1997, and using the effects of guns with children, you would imagine, will have more of an effect on Americans. However, the idea of fighting fire with fire in this context is very strong in America, and is something that resonates in the other website I am analysing.

As soon as you look at its home page, the Gun Owners site appears to have far less written information than the previous page. Instead of the using facts and figures, like in the campaign site, this site is far more opinion based, with reactions to news stories and events concerning the use of guns. It could be suggested that this is as a result of, on one hand, the danger of guns and not wanting to admit the facts about the deaths caused by them, and also because perhaps many of the American public already believe that there should be very little gun control . The fact that there are several quotes taken from esteemed Congressman supporting the Gun Owners further supports this idea.

On the other hand, there is no denying the argument put forward by the Gun Owners movement, which in a way makes it more convincing than the pro control website. They explain how they aim to 'preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue.' By associating their work with the nation's 'freedom' and directly relating it to the constitution and traditional American values, it shows a clear sense of direction and understanding of where they can target gun control.

Despite this, I still believe that the pro gun control website, the Brady Campaign, is more convincing and carries more strength than the Gun Owners site. The main reason for this is that the Brady Campaign site attacks gun control head on, looking at the facts and the statistics behind gun control, instead of hiding behind opinions. This in my view creates a far more substancial argument. I believe that America needs to increase gun control, as the idea that to stop gun violence you need to further arm people is illogical and dangerous.