Phl/458, Week 4, Evaulating Truth and Validty

Evaluating Truth and Validity Exercises

Shannon R. Heindl

PHL/458

January 26, 2015

Ms. Marlene Blake

Evaluating Truth and Validity

Exercises 12.2 (t), (g) and (x)

Argument 12.2(g): Drug dealing should not be a crime because it does not directly

harm others or force them to harm themselves.

This statement is a false declaration. Drug dealing should be a crime as it does not report, nor pay taxes like the average U.S. citizen. It does harm others, as once addicted; a person will do just about anything to get their hands on the drug of their choice. Finally, it does hurt oneself as the type of drug being put into the body is an unknown chemical that the body is not used too, for this reason it does harm them.

The correct statement is: Drug dealing is a crime as it directly harms others and forces them to harm themselves.

According to National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (n.d.), "FACT: The connection between alcohol, drugs and crime is clear. And, so is the connection between alcohol and drug addiction and crime. We need to break the chain that links drug addiction and crime.” (para. 14).

Argument 12.2(t): It’s ridiculous to think that there will be fewer deaths if we ban handguns. Handguns don’t kill people; people kill people.

I have heard this statement so many times back home as the men (and some women) are avid hunters and belong to the NRA (National Rifle Association). But the question remains with regard to the above statement, is this true? Would lives' be saved if we banned handguns or any guns no matter what?

Agresti, Smith (2015), stated in their survey as follows:

Based on survey data from the U.S. Department of Justice, roughly 5,340,000 violent crimes were committed in the United States during 2008. These include simple/aggravated assaults, robberies, sexual assaults, rapes, and murders.[13] [14] [15] Of these, about 436,000 or 8% were committed by offenders visibly armed with a gun.[16] (Crime and Self-Defense, p. 2).

It would seem the more appropriate statement would be handguns are not responsible for killing people; people are responsible for killing people.

If the statistics above are in fact true which there is no reason at this time to doubt the U.S. Department of Justice’s Statistics, Agresti, Smith (2015), of the 8% of armed offenders, then those offenders are the responsible