system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
I believe far too many US policies are based on emotion and not logic. CMV

I take a look at most of the controversial issues and see both sides appealing to poor-logic arguments that tug at heartstrings but have no substantial backing. 

Both sides of the abortion debate are probably the worst. Pictures of dead babies/fetuses vs "you can't control my vagina" signs. The argument basically boils down to "I believe life starts here, you believe life starts there."

Gun control is another one. Gun violence is declining, mass shootings are declining, and yet people are using the victims of a tragedy to push their agenda. Assault weapons are basically never used in crimes, yet all of the most recent legislation has been targeted in that direction. Yes, a bunch of kids got shot in Connecticut by some sick asshat. 20-something people should not revamp an entire countries policy. I'm against stricter gun control, but if you're using the notion of "less guns = less casualties," you'd want to restrict handguns, which are used in a vast majority of gun homicides.

Gay Marriage is another one. People are using model couples like NPH and his partner to propel their beliefs, but one couple shouldn't affect how anyone thinks on that topic. "How am I supposed to tell my children" is just another shitty appeal to emotion.

There are a lot more, those are just the hotspot ones.
gpt
Politics and policy are not the same thing, and you're talking about about political arguments, but not necessarily policy decisions.

That's not to say that policy decisions aren't impacted by emotional political arguments. They are. But there are scientific ways to analyze various policies or programs for effectiveness. If, for example, someone thinks a mandatory gun ownership program (like one passed in Nelson, GA recently) reduces violent crime rates, we can test that. This is why many policy changes are piloted - so data can be collected and efficacy tested in order to determine if the program should be expanded or eliminated.

But most of that stuff is not salient, and doesn't make the news.