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Emma Gonzalez's Argument Against Gun Control

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Since the beginning of 2018 the United States has seen an increase in outcry both for and against gun control. One of the key contributors to the cesspool of argument is 18 year old Emma Gonzalez. While her goal of spreading awareness of gun violence is noble, her famous “We call B.S.” speech, which put her on the map of pro gun control, committed multiple fallacies. She fails her argument by using an appeal to emotions, appeal to authority, and ad hominem.
To begin to understand Emma Gonzalez’s speech, one should understand the context and her reasoning for speaking out for gun control. On February 14, a massacre occurred at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Seventeen people were killed and more were wounded, making it …show more content…

For example, According to a transcript done by CNN, Emma states in her speech, “We are going to be the kids you read about in textbooks.” For her argument to get across, she must make the point that she stands with the children of the United States. Instead of arguing against the legislation currently in place against guns, she apparently has to make the point that they are kids, even though her and a majority of the seniors at Douglas High School are legal adults. By stating that the ones standing against the NRA are kids, she triggers an unspoken thought which put vaguely tells the audience that killing children are bad so therefore Emma must be correct. She continues by stating, “The people in the government who were voted into power are lying to us. And us kids seem to be the only ones who notice and our parents to call BS.” She explains the claim by saying the conglomerates and politicians are oppressing the “kids” into silence without offering adequate proof. She uses her pathos statements to speak for themselves, which, as a result, offers the assumption that she did include this jump in logic on purpose. All in all, one of the major issues of her speech is how she uses pathos as a form of argument without offering full proof for her

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