Weekly Address: Sandy Hook Victim’s Mother Calls for Commonsense Gun Responsibility Reforms

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Francine Wheeler / The White House

Francine Wheeler and her husband David lost their six-year-old son Ben to twenty-year-old gunman Adam Lanza, who shot his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. Earlier that day, Lanza killed his mother; he then went to the elementary school, where he murdered twenty children and six adults, and later himself, using a semi-automatic rifle and pistols. On April 13, 2013, four months after the killings, Francine Wheeler replaced President Obama during this weekly address to the nation to call on voters to pressure Congress to enact gun-control legislation.

The White House

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Analyzing the Writer’s Technique

After watching Weekly Address: Sandy Hook Victim’s Mother Calls for Commonsense Gun Responsibility Reforms, consider the questions below. Then submit your responses.

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Question 20.50

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Possible Answer: Francine Wheeler claims that because of the loss of life from gun violence, Americans should act and vote to reform gun safety laws. Her thesis is explicit: “We have to convince the Senate to come together and pass commonsense gun responsibility reforms that will make our communities safer and prevent more tragedies like the one we never thought would happen to us.” This is a claim of policy because it suggests that citizens’ involvement with gun safety reforms is part of the solution to the problem of tragic violence.

Question 20.51

2o3SJaA0Ha6RfaxnJHzZVogZcQlG384qMT6i5s5h+4056pc44a3aEL7c8p8Alu+leyXNWe3mLDgA3haRrcmVQZg1ox4jLrjLkTO/RUmPCpoc17OdJB7Q65hSzw3FrPrqYyjPPPYYUTbShbEIV4aQ998gyE1tWK3Ft/1hYM1gLBVrzsh0ob7gSMM3ydvLu31C
Possible Answer: The weekly address appeals to the audience’s values of family and community. Throughout her speech, Francine Wheeler provides details about her lost son Ben: his age, his devotion to his brother, his energy on the soccer field, and his musical ability. These details make the audience feel sympathy for the Wheelers’ loss and anger that this little boy’s life was taken so violently. These emotions might lead viewers to take action in reforming gun laws. Wheeler also appeals to the audience’s sense of community by repeating “our” to refer to “our loved ones,” “our children,” and “our educators” to make the audience feel empathy and work together toward a solution against violence.
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Thinking Critically about Argument

Question 20.52

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Possible answer: The tone is very solemn and passionate. Visually, the solemn tone is created by the professional, dark-colored attire the Wheelers wear and the dim lighting in the book-lined study in the White House. Francine Wheeler also uses slow, measured speech and a calm voice. The breaking in her voice contributes to a passionate tone when she describes memories of her son and addresses the audience with a slow and deliberate “please” to convince them to help reform gun responsibility laws. This tone is appropriate because she is discussing the tragedy of her son’s murder and the loss of other American lives, and the audience would not listen to her if she was flippant about these topics.

Question 20.53

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Possible answer: Wheeler does not rely on sources to make her argument. She relies primarily on personal experience and emotional appeals. Her personal experience in losing her son is powerful evidence; however, no matter how tragic her family’s experience is, it alone may not be sufficient evidence to support her proposal. Although she repeats that “thousands” of Americans have lost their lives to gun violence, she does not reference any specific research or statistics. She also does not address any specific opposing viewpoints, such as those that support gun ownership as part of their Constitutional right to bear arms or those who argue that the problem lies with the shooters, not the weapons themselves. Addressing and refuting such opposing viewpoints would have made her argument stronger.