Guns for Safety? Dream On, Scalia.

Arthur Kellerman Sunday, June 29, 2018 Washington Post

(1) The Supreme Court has spoken: Thanks to the court's blockbuster decision last Thursday,
Washingtonians now have the right to own a gun for self-defense. I leave the law to lawyers, but
the public health lesson is crystal clear: The legal ruling that the District's citizens can keep
loaded handguns in their homes doesn't mean that they should.

(2) In his majority opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia explicitly endorsed the wisdom of keeping a
handgun in the home for self-defense. Such a weapon, he stated in the court judgment, "is easier
to store in a location that is readily accessible in an emergency; it cannot easily be redirected or
wrestled away by an attacker; it is easier to use for those without the upper-body strength to lift
and aim a long rifle; it can be pointed at a burglar with one hand while the other hand dials the
police." But Scalia ignored a substantial body of public health research that contradicts his
assertions. A number of scientific studies, published in the world's most rigorous, peer-
reviewed journals, show that the risks of keeping a loaded gun in the home strongly outweigh the
potential benefits.

(3) In the real world, Scalia's scenario -- an armed assailant breaks into your home, and you
shoot or scare away the bad guy with your handy handgun -- happens pretty infrequently.
Statistically speaking, these rare success stories are dwarfed by tragedies. The reason is simple:
A gun kept loaded and readily available for protection may also be reached by a curious child, an
angry spouse or a depressed teen.

(4) More than 20 years ago, I conducted a study of firearm-related deaths in homes in Seattle
and surrounding King County, Washington. Over the study's seven-year interval, more than half
of all fatal shootings in the county took place in the home where the firearm involved was kept.
Just nine of those shootings were legally justifiable homicides or acts of self-defense; guns kept
in homes were also involved in 12 accidental deaths, 41 criminal homicides and a shocking 333
suicides. A subsequent study conducted in three U.S. cities found that guns kept in the home
were 12 times more likely to be involved in the death or injury of a member of the household
than in the killing or wounding of a bad guy in self-defense.

(5) Oh, one more thing: Scalia's ludicrous vision of a little old lady clutching a handgun in one
hand while dialing 911 with the other (try it sometime) doesn't fit the facts. According to the
Justice Department, far more guns are lost each year to burglary or theft than are used to defend
people or property. In Atlanta, a city where approximately a third of households contain guns, a
study of 197 home-invasion crimes revealed only three instances (1.5 percent) in which the
inhabitants resisted with a gun. Intruders got to the homeowner's gun twice as often as the
homeowner did.

(6) The court has spoken, but citizens and lawmakers should base future gun-control decisions --
both personal and political -- on something more substantive than Scalia's glib opinion.

-- Arthur Kellermann, a professor of emergency medicine and public health at Emory

University © 2018 The Washington Post Company

The article has been amended for classroom purposes

Analyze the RHETORICAL CONTEXT of the reading.

LOGOS: the logical appeal through facts, statistics, charts, graphs, etc.
Kellerman supported his claim with a Supreme Court verdict, a number of scientific
studies, real world examples, statistics, Kellerman 7-years study, a study conducted in three
U.S. cities, the justice dpt.

ETHOS: - the article has a full reference: known author, date, an American daily
newspaper with a large worldwide audience. – the statement “I leave the law to lawyers”
shows how unbiased and objective the author is. Also acknowledging that he’s not a know-
it-all, establishes more credibility.

PATHOS: Pathos appeal is revealed through:

- many IMAGES and REAL LIFE EXAMPLES (how unpractical it is to carry a

handgun in one hand and call the 911 in another hand)
- ADJECTIVES to show the weakness of the lady (little, old), curious child, depressed
teen, angry spouse, fatal shootings, etc.
- NOUNS: tragedy, homicide, shooting etc.

KAIROS: The author wrote the article SOON AFTER THE SUPREME COURT
VERDICT which means the verdict was still of great impact on Washingtonians.

The article has been amended for classroom purposes