Response to Kristof's "Do We Have the Courage to Stop This?"

Nicholas D. Kristof, a Harvard graduate, and author of the short text “Do We Have the Courage to Stop This?” Has a strong opinion on why gun laws and regulations should be enforced greatly. One of Kristof's main claims is that he believes that if it is harder for civilians to obtain a gun that it would also reduce the amount of people being killed. Kristof uses evidence which not only agrees with his claim but that is also very credible. For example he uses statistics when he writes, “In Australia in 1996, a mass killing of 35 people galvanized the nation’s conservative prime minister to ban certain rapid-fire long guns…The law did not end gun ownership in Australia. It reduced the number of firearms in private hands by one-fifth, The murder rate with firearms has dropped by more than 40 percent…” Australia having banned rapid-fire long guns saved the lives of many people living in their country and made it a safer place to live. Kristof's text is not only strong because he uses ethos as a strategy and uses plenty of credible evidence but also because he looks at both sides of the argument. He anticipates what others will say about this issue and rebuttals their argument.