Post #2

The article I analyzed is one of the most recent in the tumultuous sea of editorials and opinions arguing about gun control. This comes in the light of the recent mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. The title of this article is literally, "Look at what you've done, Wayne LaPierre," who is the president of the National Rifle Association, so just from that we can already see what side of the argument the author is on. However, the author criticizes President Obama as well as the GOP for their so called "solutions" to end the violence. Obama pretty much said he would end domestic terrorism by targeting the Islamic State in Syria, while the GOP claimed they were considering investing more money into mental health programs. The author makes a valid point when saying that both of these ideas are fine and dandy, but how does that help with gun control?

In regards to these "solutions", I think there is a bit of doublespeak in action, not in the sense that we are being lied to, but our attention is being diverted from the main issue. I think the pressure on gun control laws is building up more and more as these mass shootings keep occurring, and the answer is staring us straight in the eye, yet no effective solution has been enacted. Both President Obama and the GOP are putting a Band-Aid on the situation by directing our attention to ISIS and mental health within the U.S. because the shooters in San Bernardino showed no signs of affiliation with the Islamic State nor any symptoms of mental disorder. Simply by outlining a plan for the war on non-domestic terrorism and promising to consider aid for mental health programs, these politicians are trying to satisfy the public's thirst for a clear-cut solution to gun violence by talking about other issues plaguing the nation, and the world.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/look-at-what-youve-done-wayne-lapierre/2015/12/07/001bf1ec-9d09-11e5-bce4-708fe33e3288_story.html