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Whitney Clark
English 1010-406
Professor Fiona Harris Ramsby
October 15, 2014
Are more gun restrictions the answer?
People are looking for solutions involving guns that include armed house invasions,
school shootings, armed robberies, and other gun crimes. In "Gun Control is Out of Control"
published by Amarillo Globe-News, the editorial talks about their opinion involving the attorney
general (Eric Holder) and his idea of a biotech -facial recognition- bracelet. They believe the
attorney general's idea is ridiculous and that it will not solve the problem with the misuse of
guns. Amarillo editorial believes that having to wear bracelets would restrict the rights of
Americans as well. The editorial says that there is more to the problem than just guns. The
editorial suggested "Rather than looking at even more laws that slap the Second Amendment, it
would be nice if the attorney general focused on the real cause of gun violence mental health
issues and how the federal government can help." (Amarillo Editorial, "Gun Control Out of Control" 1.)
That being said, it shows that the editorial believes that there are problems other than the gun
itself. This discourse analysis paper explores how the Amarillo editorial shapes how we perceive
their point of view on more restrictions on gun control. Using Genevieve Birk and Newsome
Birk's principles of selection, slanting and charged words (The power of Media, Selection, Slanting and
Charged Language) , I argue that the Armrillo Editorial leaves us with an unfavorable impression of
the situation dealing with the attorney general and his idea involving biotech bracelets.
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In this article (Gun Control is Out of Control), the Amarillo editorial talks about the event
that took place April 4, 2014 involving Eric Holder and his idea for a biotech bracelet. Eric
Holder presented his idea to the Justice Department and house appropriations committee.
(townhall.com) The idea was to have gun owners wear a bracelet that would recognize their face in
order to use their gun. It was to help ensure public safety and gun owner safety. His idea was to
help get the guns out of the wrong hands, such as black market sells, stolen guns and other ways
of obtaining a gun illegally. He also wanted to spike up background checks, so it would include
a full mental health screening as well. (freebeacon.com) So in other words, the gun owner would
have to wear this bracelet anytime they carried a gun, and be able to be recognized by their
bracelet if they were to use their gun.
The editorial speaks to those who stand by the United States Constitution, in particular
the Second Amendment. Eric Holder believes in finding a balance between public safety and
have Americans still be able to enjoy their rights. Eric Holder's idea was "By making them either
through fingerprint identification, the gun talks to a bracelet or something that you might wear,
how guns can be used only by the person who is lawfully in possession of the weapon. Its those
kinds of things that I think we want to try to explore so that we can make sure that people have
the ability to enjoy their Second Amendment rights, but at the same time decreasing the misuse of
weapons that lead to the kinds of things that we see on a daily basis. (Amarillo Editorial, "Gun Control
Out of Control" 1.) The editorial in return said there should be no more restrictions on the Second
Amendment, that there is a underlying problem, and it's not the gun. Looking again at this
section of the article, the editorial made this clear by suggesting "Rather than looking at even
more laws that slap the Second Amendment, it would be nice if the attorney general focused on
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the real cause of gun violence mental health issues and how the federal government can
help." (Amarillo Editorial, "Gun Control Out of Control" 1.) The editorial is expressing how there is more to
this problem than an object (the gun).
After reading this article, it came off as disrespectful. Even though I agree in the end, it
used slanting of charged words and slanting of emphasis. One example of slanting with charged
words was "Maybe the U.S. attorney general just has a bad sense of fashion when it comes to
bracelets or just doesnt fancy the U.S. Constitution." (Amarillo Editorial, "Gun Control Out of Control" 1.)
This made it seem that Eric Holder only cared about one of those two things. Either his fashion
or that he did not care about the U.S. Constitution. Amarillo did not express Eric Holder's idea
favorably, even though Holder's agenda was to find a positive solution for public safety and gun
owners. The example of slanting by emphasis used was the picture located at the top of the
article. The picture was that of a gun aiming at a gavel. It gave the clue that this article was
fighting for gun rights. It definitely made it more favorable to gun owners to read. This article is
conservative (holding to traditional values). It was in favor of the United States Constitution
(tradition of America). Reading different media sources can lead to certain conclusion or
opinions. Some media are biased towards gun control and others are leaning towards no more
restrictions on gun owners. Every article talking about a debate will lean towards a side, even it
if it trying to have a balanced view. This article was no different. I do agree with its
contents/facts, but I feel it was slanting too much for my taste.


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Cites:
Main article:
"Editorial: Gun Control Is out of Control." Amarillo Globe-News. Ed. Armillo Editorial. Amariollo, 10 Apr.
2014. Web. 9 Oct. 2014. <http://amarillo.com/opinion/editorial/2014-04-10/editorial-gun-control-out-control>.
More Informative Articles:
Pavlich, Katie. "Editorial: Gun Control Is out of Control." TownHall.com. Town Hall, 8 Apr. 2014. Web. 9
Oct. 2014. <http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2014/04/08/eric-holder-lets-track-gun-owners-with-
smart-gun-bracelets-n1820124>.
Harrington, Elizabeth. "Editorial: Gun Control Is out of Control." The Washington Free Beacon. 7 Apr. 2014.
Web. 9 Oct. 2014. <http://freebeacon.com/issues/holder-we-want-to-explore-gun-tracking-bracelets/>.