Identify the type of fallacy in the following passages, if there is one. Passage

Question

Identify the type of fallacy in the following passages, if there is one.

Passage 1:

Speaker 1: "Sharon’s father thinks the idea of a space-based laser missile defense is entirely feasible, and he should know. He’s a physicist who specializes in laser technology, and he has a degree in computer science."

Speaker 2: "Yeah, well, he may be right, but he also works for the defense industry. There’s a pot of gold in it for him if people believe that. He’s probably not the most reliable source."

Passage 2:

"The problem isn’t really with banning assault weapons. Heck, I personally think it’s stupid to want to own an assault weapon. The problem is that once the government realizes that an assault weapons ban is not resulting in fewer gunshot victims, it will turn to semi-automatic weapons and require registration of them. But of course, that won’t reduce the number of victims either. We might finally get to a point where there are no more gunshot victims, but it’ll only be after all guns have been banned and the ones out there now have all turned to rust."

Explanation / Answer

Passage 1: The fallacy here is Ad Hominem. This is because the statement put forward by Speaker 1 is rebutted by Speaker 2 by attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument, or rather than attacking the argument itself.

Passage 2: This is an example of the either or fallacy. This is because the speaker proposes that either all guns are banned/existing ones decay or there people will die of gun related crimes.

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