Social change: "Audience Brainstorming"

Possible Audiences: 

• People who buy guns
• Law enforcement (Police, etc.)
• National Government (the legislative and executive branches)
• Parents
• State Governments
• People who have lost loved ones to gun violence
• All races/genders

Three best audiences: 

• People who have lost loved ones to gun violence: The reason why people who have lost loved ones to gun violence would be a good audience is because they can relate to what my argument is, and they probably have the same thoughts as I do on the issue against guns in this country. By appealing to this audience a pro would be that they probably have more of a probability to agree with me because they have personally been affected by gun violence. Another pro would be that they would be more accepting to my solution to the issue than most other American's because they have been personally affected by guns. A con would be that I would have to be very careful with what I say, and how I word my claims so that I don't offend anyone who has personally lost someone to guns. 

• Law enforcement: Law enforcement would be a good audience to address because they may be more accepting of my argument, especially because of the fact that making guns illegal for anyone besides law enforcement should decrease the number of shootings yearly significantly. Police officers especially would benefit from this because there would no longer be the significant threat of being shot and killed on the job, which would give police officers more assurance when it comes to safety. A con of addressing law enforcement as an audience would be that I have to be very specific in my claims and provide sufficient evidence to how mental screening for all police and military people will benefit the country. Many law enforcement individuals may not like the fact that everyone would have to be mentally screened in order to be able to obtain a gun. 

• National Government: The reason why the National Government would be a good audience for my argument is because the they have the power to pass national laws that everyone must abide to. This would be a good way to actually get some form of legislation passed rather than having to address the people in order for them to take action and bring the issue to the government. If I directly address the government especially congress, then my argument would be a lot easier to actually influence some kind of change. The con to this is that I would have to create a very strong argument backed by a lot of sufficient evidence while using a lot of vocabulary to fit the high education of members of congress. I would also have to come up with a very distinct solution that is actually possible, and makes sense.

The Best: 

• The best audience would probably be the National Government because people who have lost loved ones to gun violence are already very likely to accept my argument. Also law enforcement follows the laws that the government creates, so the National Government would be a better audience in that it would be more effective. However I have to create a solution that is very possible and not far fetched from what can actually work well in significantly decreasing the number of guns in the country, and increasing the amount of mental health screenings.