TOW #13 - Sandy Hook Shooting

When news spread around the country that 26 innocent lives were taken by a heavily armed gunman at a Connecticut Elementary School, a wave of fear and anxiety crashed down on millions of Americans. However, this news hit a little too close to home for Shannon Watts, a 43-year-old stay at home mom living in the suburbs of Indianapolis, Indiana. Instead of sitting around and hoping the same thing wouldn't occur at her child's home, she decided to take action. She logged onto Facebook that same day, and her life would never be the same. She started the organization "Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America" and has also joined what is now called "Everytown for Gun Safety." Her organization, now backed by 3.5 million volunteers, has quickly become a dominant force in the nation's policy on gun control. After recent controversy over the shooting at San Bernardino, people have taken a stand against her organization by saying that nothing has change on gun control since Sandy Hook. Through the use of an argumentative tone, she established an appeal to the audience's logic, thus exemplifying that the controversy of gun control has made great strides over the last three years. To this accusation, Watts responded by running off a list of everything her organization has done to help the ongoing issue of gun control. "We've pressured major retailers and restaurant chains such as Target, Starbucks, Chipotle, Sonic, Chili's and Jack in the Box to establish gun sense policies and prohibit the open carry of guns in their locations." And if that wasn't enough to silence the doubters, she continues with the factual tone to further her argument. "Since Sandy Hook, six states have passed background check laws. In 2015, nine states have enacted legislation to protect victims of domestic violence by keeping guns out of the hands of their abusers." Through her argumentative and factual tone, she gives plenty of reason to the people who believed that gun control organizations had little impact on society. In reality, it's not something that can happen overnight, and for Watts to list of all of those accomplishments shows the major accomplishments of organizations all over the country. With this band of mothers working together towards a common goals, it's quite obvious that these moms will never be silent again.