Communication: Speech Preparation
Source 1: Guns in the US: The statistics behind the violence
Value: High
Credibility: High
Source 2: Guns in the home and risk of violent death in the home:
Value: High
Credibility: High
Source 3: An Exploratory Analysis of Guns and Violent Crime in a Cross-National Sample of Cities
Value: High
Credibility: High
Supporting Materials
I will use supporting materials such as statistics on gun violence and mass shootings in the US, testimonials on gun violence, speeches from those involved in gun control. For example, according to the BBC, based on statistics from the Mass Shooting Tracker, there were 372 incidences of mass shootings in which more than 1800 people were wounded and 400 others killed. This statistics also put gun related violence in the US to be the highest in the world (1). Moreover, as the study by Dahlberg, Ikeda and Kreshow indicates, guns within the reach of the American citizens when in the hands of those unqualified to hold guns is likely to result in gun violence. The results of this study indicate that there is an association between gun in the home and risk of firearm suicide or homicide and other forms of domestic violence with fatal results (929). Furthermore, as a cross-state study on the relationship between the availability of guns and crime in the US show, increased availability of guns does not reduce crime rate. According to this study, the International Crime Victimization Survey data show that gun availability has a significant influence on gun assault, gun robbery and gun violence (204).
I would connect this topic to my audience’s own interests by making them part and parcel of the issue which is the subject matter of my speech. I will use language that enables them to connect and identify with the issue of gun violence and how they can become part of the solution to the problem of gun violence in the US. Also, because a significant part of my audience is likely to be composed of people from the legal profession, I will use specific words that are common to their profession and quote from sources known to them such as Amendments to the Constitution. For an audience consisting mainly of people from the law enforcement profession, I would use language or words that relate to their profession.
Personal Story
I can remember when I was ten, my parents and I used to live in one of a city where crime rates were very high and issues of drug trafficking and gangs were a major security challenge. Rarely a day would pass before someone was hijacked and killed in cold blood using shotguns. In most cases, those targeted were members of the minority communities and those who professed certain religious faiths. Little did I know or realize that one day I would become a victim of gun violence myself.
One day, while attending a Sunday Church service with my parents in one of the local churches, two hooded gunmen approached and started shooting menacingly and targeting members of my race and religious faith. I lost my dad in this incident as he struggled to protect us from the gunmen’s bullets. From there on I swore to do something about gun violence and lobby for tighter gun control laws to protect innocent citizens like me and my parents.
Works Cited
Altheimer, Irshad. “An exploratory analysis of guns and violent crime in a cross-national sample of cities.” The Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice 6.3 (2010): 204-227. Print.
BBC. “Guns in the US: The statistics behind the violence.” BBC News. 5 Jan. 2016. b.. ews. Jan. the violence."lated violence in the US to be the highest in the world.ootings in which more than 400 people we Web. 5 June, 2016. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34996604
Dahlberg, L Linda, Robin M Ikeda, and Marcie-jo Kreshow. “Guns in the home and the risk of a violent death in the home: Findings from a national study.” American Journal of Epidemiology 160.10, (2004): 929-936. Web. 3 June 2016. <http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/160/10/929.full>b.. ews. Jan. the violence."lated violence in the US to be the highest in the world.ootings in which more than 400 people we
b.. ews. Jan. the violence."lated violence in the US to be the highest in the world.ootings in which more than 400 people we
