Currency: I know this article isn't in the last 2 years like you wanted it to be, but I found that it had some very good information and was useful so the date didn't deter me any. It was published in 2010 and some of the information used within the article is from a few years earlier, but is still recent.
Relevance: Yet again as I did more research I was able to narrow down my topic choice even more so that I could have a good thesis statement for my paper. This article, along with others helped me to decided that I was going to make the argument that elderly people with mental illness should not be allowed to own a gun. Seems how the article gave me the idea for my specific topic the information is going to be relevant. Another reason it is relevant is because I have a great grandmother who is getting up there in years. Right now she doesn't have any mental health issues but you never know when something will happen. I will be able to somewhat relate to this article and apply it to my paper.
Authority: The author Dale Russakoff is a writer for the New York Times. He writes a blog for them that is based on the elderly community which makes him pretty knowledgeable on the topic of elderly people owning guns. Like I said, he writes for the New York Times witch is a credible source as well, but they do tend to be a little bias and lean towards the liberal side.
Accuracy: Russakoff used real life stories to try and explain his topic to his audience. Not only did he use real stories but he also quoted people who had experience with dealing with elderly people who need assistance. But like I said above, because he writes for the New York Times there is most likely going to be a liberal slant to the article.
Purpose: The purpose of the article is to inform the audience that there are people out there who have to deal with these situations and if you look in the right places you can find help. I would have to say that it is an opinion based article but only to a point; there is also a lot of true facts that are included. The way he uses the facts makes it an opinion based article.
Summary: One thing that stands out of this article is the first hand stories that are used to illustrate the main topic. The first story is about an old women who refuses to give up her handgun and how her son tries to deal with the situation. Another situation that is referenced is a shooting of a Dr. by an 83 year old man in a VA hospital. The last story that they use is about another old lady who wont give up her handgun because it reminds her of her husband, but the family is concerned with her safety and the safety of others so the give her a choice, get ride of it or move to a place where you can't have it. All of these stories describe the situation at hand; how do caretakers disarm the mentally unstable elderly? The article address that it is hard to get the law involved because even though it is illegal to purchase a gun when you are mentally ill, most of these people bought their gun when they were younger. Law enforcement can't really help but there are some organizations that will help families in this situation.
Response: Like i said earlier, I have a great grandmother who is getting old. The article said that the guns the elderly own are a symbol of independence just as driving is. A few months back my family had a situation where we tried to not let my great grandmother drive because she was having issues with her vision, but like in the stories we had a few problems. She viewed driving as her freedom and wouldn't let us drive for her unless it was my dad. So in a lesser way I understand where these families are coming from. On a different note, I found it really surprising that white males who are older are more likely to commit suicide and usually with a gun. So not only are the elderly a danger to society when they have a mental illness but they are also a danger to themselves. In the one situation where the old lady wanted to keep her handgun because it reminded her of her husband, I would suggest that the family just take all the ammunition so that it becomes just an object and not a serious weapon. I don't think that her family needed to completely take away her gun that clearly reminded her of her husband. There were better solutions.
Russakoff, Dale. "Guns in Frail Hands." New York Times. New York Times Company, 14 July 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. <http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/guns-in-frail-hands/>.
Relevance: Yet again as I did more research I was able to narrow down my topic choice even more so that I could have a good thesis statement for my paper. This article, along with others helped me to decided that I was going to make the argument that elderly people with mental illness should not be allowed to own a gun. Seems how the article gave me the idea for my specific topic the information is going to be relevant. Another reason it is relevant is because I have a great grandmother who is getting up there in years. Right now she doesn't have any mental health issues but you never know when something will happen. I will be able to somewhat relate to this article and apply it to my paper.
Authority: The author Dale Russakoff is a writer for the New York Times. He writes a blog for them that is based on the elderly community which makes him pretty knowledgeable on the topic of elderly people owning guns. Like I said, he writes for the New York Times witch is a credible source as well, but they do tend to be a little bias and lean towards the liberal side.
Accuracy: Russakoff used real life stories to try and explain his topic to his audience. Not only did he use real stories but he also quoted people who had experience with dealing with elderly people who need assistance. But like I said above, because he writes for the New York Times there is most likely going to be a liberal slant to the article.
Purpose: The purpose of the article is to inform the audience that there are people out there who have to deal with these situations and if you look in the right places you can find help. I would have to say that it is an opinion based article but only to a point; there is also a lot of true facts that are included. The way he uses the facts makes it an opinion based article.
Summary: One thing that stands out of this article is the first hand stories that are used to illustrate the main topic. The first story is about an old women who refuses to give up her handgun and how her son tries to deal with the situation. Another situation that is referenced is a shooting of a Dr. by an 83 year old man in a VA hospital. The last story that they use is about another old lady who wont give up her handgun because it reminds her of her husband, but the family is concerned with her safety and the safety of others so the give her a choice, get ride of it or move to a place where you can't have it. All of these stories describe the situation at hand; how do caretakers disarm the mentally unstable elderly? The article address that it is hard to get the law involved because even though it is illegal to purchase a gun when you are mentally ill, most of these people bought their gun when they were younger. Law enforcement can't really help but there are some organizations that will help families in this situation.
Response: Like i said earlier, I have a great grandmother who is getting old. The article said that the guns the elderly own are a symbol of independence just as driving is. A few months back my family had a situation where we tried to not let my great grandmother drive because she was having issues with her vision, but like in the stories we had a few problems. She viewed driving as her freedom and wouldn't let us drive for her unless it was my dad. So in a lesser way I understand where these families are coming from. On a different note, I found it really surprising that white males who are older are more likely to commit suicide and usually with a gun. So not only are the elderly a danger to society when they have a mental illness but they are also a danger to themselves. In the one situation where the old lady wanted to keep her handgun because it reminded her of her husband, I would suggest that the family just take all the ammunition so that it becomes just an object and not a serious weapon. I don't think that her family needed to completely take away her gun that clearly reminded her of her husband. There were better solutions.
Russakoff, Dale. "Guns in Frail Hands." New York Times. New York Times Company, 14 July 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. <http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/guns-in-frail-hands/>.
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