Abstract
This thesis examined framing of the gun-control debate in order to locate the function of frames in message delivery. The study sought to uncover the invisible dynamics of centrist frames in persuading those audiences with little experience with the gun-control debate. Analysis of Kris Koenig’s Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire revealed that the creation of a larger frame, propped up by smaller more nuanced frames is useful in generating persuasive messages that appear “critical” or centrist. A centrist rhetorical strategy is capable of swaying viewers to one side of an argument or another by focusing audience perception on the notion that the text is unbiased. A discussion on the implications of the current study and directions of future research are included.