I was once asked the question what do you think of gun control?

My response to this question was that I think of both fanatical and sometimes ignorant people on both sides of the equation. When I say fanatical people, I mean people that only want to believe the side of the argument that fits them, without even considering the opinion or views of the opposing party. I have yet to meet a person who is in the middle of the spectrum. A lot of these people also tend to be somewhat ignorant or misleading with terms that they use. One term is assault rifle; I have yet to see a proper use of this term. An assault rifle is already highly restricted for civilian use because the term indicates a weapon that is not a machine gun, but a rifle that still has a selective fire option that allows a person to select full auto fire. Being that I am a father of a four year old girl and a seven year old boy, I can see how some people would want stricter gun control. On the other hand I am also a gun owner and I feel that keeping guns out of the hand of children as well as training proper gun safety outweighs stricter gun laws. This means that to an extent, I understand both sides of the debate. I fall more towards gun rights than I do gun control, but by no means am I extreme on either side. So with that being said, I want to present a little from both sides of this timeless debate, so during the next few pages, I will introduce two images and analyze them. Both images herein provide opposite sides of the gun control issue. The gun control issue may be old, but the reasons for both sides have not much changed over the span of the last few decades. I obtained the first image via the website for NBC News: (http://usnews.nbcnews.com) dated 29-April-2013. This image is of one of two billboards put up in Greeley, Colorado. Greeley has a population of 95,357 people according to the website: (www.city-data.com) with 59.3% being white, 36% being Hispanic and the rest of the population being of many different races. These statistics would indicate that Greeley is not a small town of hunters, but that it is a wellpopulated area consisting of a diverse people. So these billboards were meant to be seen by many people of different backgrounds. By using the image of the Native Americans with the words Turn in your arms, the Government will take care of you means that these images were

meant to play on the common fear that the Government is misleading and is trying to take the peoples rights away. These billboards were put up because during this time Colorado introduced several gun control bills stemming from the Colorado theatre shooting in Aurora in July of 2012 as well as the Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Connecticut in December of 2012. This argument appeals to people because Colorado was in a transition period in gun control. With this being the status of the state, the billboards were put up to appeal to people who believe that they would be losing their rights with the new gun control bills. Since these billboards have been put up, the billboards as well as the images contained within have achieved national attention and have been on the websites for NBC News, ABC News, CNN, and Fox to name a few. It has also been dissected and put up on the website for the Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education (www.tribalcollegejournal.org) written by Professor Ryan Winn dated June 10th, 2013 with the article being named We Were All At Wounded Knee. Professor Winn teaches English, theater, and communications at the College of Menominee Nation in Keshena, WI, where he also serves as the Humanities Department Chair according to the (www.tribalcollegejournal.org) website. This would show that he has a lot of extrinsic knowledge about the Native American history. Combined with being covered by Professor Winn, as well as being covered by many different news sources, means that these billboards have been seen by millions of people and not just that of Greeley, Colorado. The second image was originally put on Facebook by a group of people called Moms Demand Action. Moms Demand Action is an organization created December 2012 in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting by Shannon Watts who is a mother of five children According to the website: (www.momsdemandaction.org). Since the creation of this website, Moms Demand Action has grown significantly with their Facebook profile reaching more than 125,000 likes on just the profile. The organization has led marches on Washington as well as

rallied Congress for stricter laws on gun control. I believe this organization has both intrinsic as well as extrinsic ethos behind it. The image was put on Facebook on Sunday April 14th, 2013 and being that it was put on Facebook, the image would have reached millions of people all over the world of all races and ages. This image is intended to reach the parents who are concerned with the safety of their children in school and appeals for the increase of gun control. Lets dissect the images a little. The billboard in the first image is black and white and has the image of three Native Americans on it. The person in the middle (who would be known as the tribe chief by the headdress that he is wearing) is carrying what appears to be a Winchester Model 1886 lever action that at the time would have been most likely chambered in .45-70 Government round. This individual is standing in front of what is called a Tipi. Due to the sparse trees in the background - the tent looks as if it is in a field or meadow, possibly placing the photograph somewhere in the Great Plains nation. The person on the photographers left is carrying a tomahawk ax and appears to have no headdress, so it is hard to tell what his position is in the tribe. On the right side of the photographers viewpoint is a man with nothing in his arms and a headdress of three feathers on his head (each feather is awarded for an act of bravery, including the coming of age where the participant is required to go through many rigorous and dangerous trials). The photo in the billboards was dated to Wounded Knee by Professor Ryan Winn in the article We W ere All at Wounded Knee on the website for the Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education (www.tribalcollegejournal.org). This would place the picture to before the date of December 29, 1890. Above the Photo are the words Turn in Your Arms and the words under being The Government Will Take Care of You. Now anyone who knows history would know that the Government never kept a single promise to the Native Americans, this would play on the logos by using the fact of the government incontrovertible deceitfulness towards the Native Americans throughout history. I believe that this billboard is saying that the government most likely wont keep promises to the rest of the citizens, just like they didnt keep any promises that they made

to the Native Americans. It says that the government cant be trusted and that only we can protect ourselves. This image is one that uses pathos by relying on a sort of misdirection to try and instill and or reinforce the fears of a big government that a lot of people have. The fear that the Government cant be trusted and are only out to get the people. The fear that the Government will take away peoples right if given the slightest chance. The fear that by giving up our rights, even just a little, the Government wont stop with guns But that they will instead keep taking our rights until we are nothing but a communist nation. This image is one that I feel effectively plays on the emotions (Pathos) since an over controlling government is a huge fear for many of the citizens of the country. The 2nd image is of 2 little girls sitting in what appears to be a school library with an American flag in the upper left corner. The girl on the left is holding the book Little Red Riding Hood in her hands while the girl on the right is holding a Bushmaster (by the symbol that looks like a coiled cobra on the receiver when you magnify the photo) AR-15 rifle which would be chambered in the 5.56mm round. This gun is often correlated with the military and often used as a weapon for gun control. This would mean that by seeing this gun, people would think of the military and bring to mind way and the killing that takes place during these conflicts, making the gun appear more deadly than another weapon. Above the girls are the words One child is holding something thats been banned in America to protect them written in white and Guess which one written in red directly under the above words. Underneath the girls is written We keep Little Red Riding Hood out of schools because of the bottle of wine in her basket. Why not assault weapons? written in white letters. The link to the groups website is directly under that statement. On the bottom right of the picture is the logo for Moms Demand Action also in white letters. The pathos of this picture appeals to the audience by shocking the viewer with the little girl holding the rifle and appeals to the belief that gun laws need to be stricter in order to protect our children. It appeals to the fact that common sense is lacking as far as safety in school goes.

This is why the girl on the left is holding a copy of Little Red Riding Hood in her arms. It begs the question of why we are more worried about banning such classic books just because of a mention of wine in it, when we should be more concerned with the physical safety of our children. The ethos of this picture would be the background of the creator of the organization. Being a mother lends credence to the wanting of stricter gun laws. The logos would be in the words We keep Little Red Riding Hood out of schools because of the bottle of wine in her basket. Why not assault weapons? This would argue the fact that we are more concerned with trivial ways to keep children safe, as opposed to that of what should be the real concern. With both of these pictures, we can see that there is a wide variety of ardent people on both sides of the issue. With image one, the creators of it rely on the distrust and fear that the government is out to get its citizens and will in no way keep the promises that it makes to the people. In image two the creators are relying on the fear of assault weapons. The fear being that since these weapons look deadly, they are deadly and must be banned. While both arguments appeal to their respective audience, it is important to remember that all guns (as well as any tool or weapon) are dangerous in the hands of the wrong person and not because of what they look like. We must also remember that today's government is much different than the one in office 120 years ago, so we cannot hold our government to the actions of the past. I dont believe that guns should be banned and I do believe that we are responsible for our own protection and not the government; I am a Libertarian after all. That being said, I feel that both images are overly drastic and appeal to belief and emotion as opposed to that of intelligence.

References: City-Data website: www.city-data.com Accessed November 10th, 2013 NBC News website: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/29/17976890-pro-gunbillboard-featuring-native-americans-causing-controversy-in-colorado Accessed November 10th, 2013 The Tribal College Journal website: www.tribalcollegejournal.org Accessed November 15th, 2013 Moms Demand Action website: www.momsdemandaction.org Accessed November 10th, 2013