IdeaLog

How to talk about gun violence and health care

Posted on July 24, 2024

As we recently explained here, there are three key rules of persuasion: (1) Always begin in agreement; (2) Use values to frame the debate; and (3) Show listeners how they benefit. Here’s how to apply those rules to three issues.

Gun violence

Begin in agreement, for example: The most fundamental job of our city/county/state is to protect people from violent crime.
Use values, for example: Security, safety, protection, justice.
Show how they benefit, for example: A simple, commonsense change in the law would make you and your community safer.

Persuadable Americans know almost nothing about gun laws and have little idea how easy it is for dangerous people to obtain firearms. They overwhelmingly support background checks and other modest gun laws, and always have.

Say… The most fundamental purpose of government is to keep our communities safe from violence. But every day, dozens of Americans are murdered, hundreds of others are shot, and about one thousand are robbed or assaulted with a gun. It’s not just a horror and shame when little children are murdered in school, gun violence threatens you and your loved ones every single day.

Then link the problem to whatever solution you’re debating. For example, for requiring background checks for all gun sales, say:

Say… Our communities can’t be safe if we allow guns to be sold to felons or the dangerously mentally ill. That’s why current law requires that no gun can be sold by a licensed gun dealer without a criminal background check. But millions of guns are sold by unlicensed sellers at gun shows and through Internet sites with no background check. We need a simple commonsense change in the law in order to cover all gun sales.

You don’t have to argue too hard for this. Americans already agree with us. Pro-gun advocates know that they lose the argument on the merits, so their tactic is to sidetrack the discussion, talking about the Second Amendment, the technical definition of certain guns, their misperception of what a law does, their bizarre ideas about how other countries’ laws work, or proposing an entirely different policy that they claim will solve the problem. So, when you argue with pro-gun people, you must concentrate on steering the conversation back to the specific proposal at hand. Here are a couple of examples:

Pro-gun argument: The solution is to arm schoolteachers.

Say… You are arguing for the mythical “good guy with a gun.” Remember, there were 19 armed police officers in the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas who failed to save the lives of the students and teachers. Both Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and Columbine High School had armed deputy sheriffs on duty when their massacres happened. Virginia Tech had an entire police force, including a SWAT team. There were many armed police officers at the Las Vegas massacre. And President Reagan was surrounded by armed police and Secret Service agents when he was shot. Arming somebody does not stop the shooting. Let’s get back to the real debate over the gun violence legislation that’s on the table.

Pro-gun argument: We should do something about mental health/make parents take responsibility/ban violent video games instead.

Say… We should make our communities safer. If you’ve got a good proposal, that’s fine. But this is not an either-or debate; one policy does not exclude another. Can we get back to the legislation on the table: why should we sell these guns to any adult, without any background check, no questions asked?

Health care

Begin in agreement, for example: For decades, our healthcare system has been overpriced and unfair.
Use values, for example: Health, health security, safety, protection, quality of life.
Show how they benefit, for example: When uninsured people get routine health care at hospital emergency rooms, that high cost is added onto our insurance premiums. So, getting them covered saves money for all of us.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare, has been a huge success. Persuadable voters clearly do not want a change in policy where they would lose their health insurance coverage or any coverage guarantee, pay more in premiums or deductibles, or see a cut in government funding for their healthcare programs.

The key to defending existing healthcare programs is to focus on what Americans will or may lose.

Say… For decades, our healthcare system has been overpriced and unfair. Our goal must be to get you—and everyone else—the health care you need, when you need it, at a price you can afford. The [MAGA proposal] would hand our healthcare system back to the big insurance companies, allowing them to deny coverage for essential medical care, jack up premiums for women and older Americans, and make insurance completely unaffordable for anyone with a wide range of preexisting conditions. For the security and health of your family and mine, we cannot allow it.

Personalize the debate. Say that millions of Americans will lose health insurance, but don’t reference Medicaid. Focus on aspects of any right-wing policy that would directly or indirectly affect families that get health insurance through an employer. Emphasize over and over that each and every one of their families will likely be harmed if such a proposal is enacted.

When the conversation turns to the uninsured, avoid language about poverty because it evokes negative ideas about welfare. Use the terms hardworking, families, children, and people with disabilities because these suggest the recipients need and deserve basic medical coverage. And as we have explained elsewhere, it’s more effective to say don’t deny them health security instead of give them health security.

Use similar tactics for proactive progressive legislation designed to strengthen the healthcare system. For example:

Say… For decades, our healthcare system has been overpriced and unfair. Our goal must be to get you—and everyone else—the health care you need, when you need it, at a price you can afford. One crucial step is to minimize uncompensated care. That’s when uninsured people get healthcare in the most expensive way, at hospital emergency rooms, and then that cost is added onto our insurance premiums. Getting them covered saves you money.

Or when progressives address prescription drugs, for example:

Say… Prescription drug prices are skyrocketing. To protect our health, all of our families need access to medicines that are affordable. No one should ever have to choose between buying medicine or paying their rent. A new proposal in our state legislature would [create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board to ensure that drug costs aren’t unfairly high]. The bill helps all of us, and for someone you know, it may actually be a matter of life and death.

You are welcome to cite facts and figures, and there are a lot of them on this topic. But average Americans are already convinced of the need, you just have to connect their preexisting beliefs about health care and prescription drug prices to specific legislation that requires their support.