here's some more fun reading. This has been sent in e-mails so some may have read it.
It's Amazing What One Has to Believe to Believe in Gun Control
by Michael Z. Williamson
daggers@indy.net
It's amazing what one has to believe to believe in gun control:
That a punk wakes up one morning, and thinks, "Gee, instead of robbing, raping, sodomizing and
killing a young woman, why don't I turn my $400 gun in for $20 and a pizza and go work at
McDonalds?"
That the more helpless you are, the safer you are from criminals.
That you should give a mugger your wallet, because he doesn't really want to shoot you and he'll
let you go, but that you should give him your wallet, because he'll shoot you if you don't.
That Washington DC's low murder rate of 69 per 100,000 is due to gun control, and Indianapolis'
high murder rate of 9 per 100,000 is attributable to the lack of gun control.
That despite all the outrage about Corporate America's cavalier treatment of employees, Domino's
Pizza's demand that employees be unarmed is an altruistic effort to stop them from hurting
themselves, and not a
calculated financial bid to avoid having a lawsuit filed by a dead robber's family.
That one can sue a store for having a slick floor, falling ceilings, and sharp corners, but if they
refuse to let you bring a gun in and you get shot, they aren't liable for enforcing that rule with
others.
That there is no right of self defense, but the police are not legally obligated to respond to my cries
for help when disarmed, but you can sue them if they take too long to get to a traffic accident.
That assault rifles are far too powerful to hunt deer and elk, and too dangerous for private citizens
to own, but are too impotent for modern warfare, too weak to reliably kill soldiers, and have no
place in the concept of a citizen reserve.
That the preferred weapon of a drug dealer is a $25 .22 pocket pistol, and the preferred weapon of
a drug dealer is a $2000 machinegun.
That any cheap weapon is a "Saturday night special," and any expensive weapon is an "assault
weapon."
That "Cops" and other shows are edited to show the boring encounters with traffic stops and the
occasional drunken fool with a revolver in his pocket, and never show the millions of cases where
the cops are gunned down in droves by machinegun toting drug dealers.
That "NYPD Blue" and "Miami Vice" are documentaries.
That an intruder will be incapacitated by tear gas or oven spray, but if shot with a .44 Magnum will
get angry and kill you.
That firearms in the hands of private citizens are the gravest threat to world peace, and China,
Pakistan and Korea can be trusted with nuclear weapons.
That Charlton Heston as president of the NRA is a shill who should be ignored, but Michael Douglas
as a representative of Handgun Control, Inc. is an ambassador for peace who is entitled to an
audience at the UN arms control summit.
That ordinary people, in the presence of guns, turn into slaughtering butchers, and revert to normal
when the weapon is removed.
That someone who fails to clear his weapon, fails to point it in a safe direction, and pulls the trigger
without checking the chamber, and blows his foot off is an example of how even a "trained
professional" can be a "victim" of a diabolical gun, but people in the military, who clean weapons
millions of times a year without getting hurt, are "dumb grunts."
That the New England Journal of Medicine is filled with expert advice about guns, just like Guns and
Ammo has some excellent treatises on heart surgery.
That one should consult an automotive engineer for safer seatbelts, a civil engineer for a better
bridge, a surgeon for spinal paralysis, a computer programmer for Y2K problems, and Sarah Brady
for firearms expertise.
That the best thing our kids can do to bullies and drug dealers is "just say no," and fight back, and
the best thing we can do to bullies and drug dealers is to give them $50 and wait for them to go
away.
That it's outrageous that the Milwaukee police took 45 minutes to respond to reports of Jeffrey
Dahmer's last victim running around naked in the cold, then returned him to his attacker without
checking ID, but the best thing a citizen can do in an emergency is dial 911.
That the "right of the people peaceably to assemble," the "right of the people to be secure in their
homes," "enumerations herein of certain rights shall not be construed to disparage others retained
by the people," "The powers not delegated herein are reserved to the states respectively, and to
the people," refer to individuals, but "the right of the people to keep and bear arms" refers to the
states.
That the 2nd Amendment, ratified in 1787, allows the states to have a National Guard, created by
act of Congress in 1917.
That the National Guard, paid by the federal government, occupying property leased to the federal
government, using weapons owned by the federal government, punishing trespassers under federal
law, is a state agency.
That private citizens can't have handguns, because they serve no militia purpose, even though the
military has hundreds of thousands of them, and private citizens can't have assault rifles, because
they are military weapons.
That it is reasonable for California to have a minimum 2 year sentence for possessing but not
using an assault rifle, and reasonable for California to have a 6 month minimum sentence for
raping a female police officer. That it is reasonable to jail people for carrying but not using guns,
but outrageous to jail people for possessing marijuana.
That minimum sentences violate civil rights, unless it's for possessing a gun.
That door-to-door searches for drugs are a gross violation of civil rights and a sign of fascism, but
door-to-door searches for guns are a reasonable solution to the "gun problem."
That the first amendment absolutely allows child pornography and threats to kill cops, but doesn't
apply to manuals on gun repair.
That a woman in a microskirt, perfume, and a Wonderbra, without underwear, is a helpless victim,
but someone getting paid $6 an hour to deliver the cash from a fast food place to the bank at the
same time every night is, "asking for it." And you won't allow either of them to carry a gun.
That Illinois' law that allows any government official from Governor to dogcatcher to carry a gun is
reasonable, and the law that prohibits any private citizen, even one with 50 death threats on file
and a million dollar jewelry business, is reasonable. And it isn't a sign of police stateism.
That the 80 religious kooks in Waco were a threat to American security, but snipers killing them as
they left the building, machinegunning children, hiding the video evidence, possibly torching the
building on purpose, and having no case to present in federal court is good law enforcement. And it
isn't a sign of police stateism.
That free speech entitles one to own newspapers, transmitters, computers, and typewriters, but self
defense only justifies bare hands.
That with the above, a 90 lb woman attacked by a 300 lb rapist and his 300 lb buddy, has the
"right" to kill them in self defense, provided she uses her bare hands.
That there's nothing in the Constitution that specifically prohibits banning certain guns, but there is
something in the Constitution that specifically prohibits banning certain sex acts.
That gun safety courses in school only encourage kids to commit violence, but sex education in
school doesn't encourage kids to have sex.
That the ready availability of guns today, with only a few government forms, waiting periods,
checks, infringements, ID, and fingerprinting, is responsible for all the school shootings, compared
to the lack of school shootings in the 1950's and 1960's, which was caused by the awkward
availability of guns at any hardware store, gas station, and by mail order.
That we must get rid of guns because a deranged lunatic may go on a shooting spree at any time,
and anyone who owns a gun out of fear of such a lunatic is paranoid.
That there is too much explicit violence featuring guns on TV, and that cities can sue gun
manufacturers because people aren't aware of the dangers involved with guns.
That the gun lobby's attempt to run a "don't touch" campaign about kids handling guns is
propaganda, and the anti-gun lobby's attempt to run a "don't touch" campaign is responsible social
activity.
That the crime rate in America is decreasing because of gun control, and the increase in crime
requires more gun control.
That 100 years after its founding, the NRA got into the politics of guns from purely selfish motives,
and 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, the black civil rights movement was founded
from purely noble motives.
That statistics showing high murder rates justify gun control, and statistics that show increasing
murder rates after gun control are "just statistics."
That we don't need guns against an oppressive government, because the Constitution has internal
safeguards, and we should ban and seize all guns, therefore violating the 2nd, 4th, and 5th
Amendments of that Constitution, thereby becoming an oppressive government.
That guns are an ineffective means of self defense for rational adults, but in the hands of an
ignorant criminal become a threat to the fabric of society.
That guns are so complex to use that special training is necessary to use them properly, and so
simple to use that they make murder easy.
That guns contribute to high death rates and should be banned, but tobacco and alcohol are okay.
That guns cause crime, which is why there are so many mass slayings at gun shows.
That guns aren't necessary to national defense, which is why the army only has 3 million of them.
That banning guns works, which is why New York, DC, and Chicago cops need guns.
That the Constitution protects us, so we don't need guns, and can confiscate them, thereby
violating the 5th amendment of that constitution.
That women are just as intelligent and capable as men, and a woman with a gun is "an accident
waiting to happen."
That women are just as intelligent and capable as men, and gunmaker's advertisements aimed at
women are "preying on their fears."
That a handgun, with up to 4 controls, is far too complex for the typical adult to learn to use, as
opposed to an automobile that only has 20.
That handguns are useful only for murder, which is why the police and military define them as
defensive weapons.
That neighbors who carry guns against the occasional lunatic are paranoid, because of the perfectly
justifiable fear that every single one of them is waiting to turn into a lunatic.
That a majority of the population supports gun control, just like a majority of the population used
to support owning slaves.
That one should ignore as idiots politicians who confuse Wicca with Satanism and exaggerate the
gay community as a threat to society, but listen sagely to politicians who can refer to a self-loading
small arm as a "weapon of mass destruction" and an "assault weapon."
That there is no absolute right to a weapon, documented historically because the British
government used to prohibit Catholics from owning guns. And that wasn't a sign of religious bigotry.
That rifles with pistol grips are assault weapons, just like vehicles with racing stripes are sports cars.
That you don't need a gun against invaders, because the government will know in plenty of time to
issue you whatever weapons you need.
That Massachussetts is safer with bans on guns, which is why Teddy Kennedy has machinegun
toting guards.
That most people can't be trusted, so we should have laws against guns, which most people will
abide by, because they can be trusted.
That a woman raped and strangled with her panties is morally superior to a woman with a smoking
gun and a dead rapist at her feet.
That guns should be banned because of the danger involved, and live reporting from the
battlefield, which can keep the enemy informed of troop deployments, getting thousands of troops
killed and perhaps losing a war, is a protected act that CANNOT be compromised on.
That the right of online child pornographers to exist cannot be questioned because it is a
constitutionally protected extension of the Bill of Rights, and the claim that handguns are for self
defense is merely an excuse, and not really protected by the Bill of Rights.
That the ACLU is good because it uncompromisingly defends certain parts of the Constitution, and
the NRA is bad, because it defends other parts of the Constitution.
That a house with a gun is three times as likely to have a murder, just like a house with insulin is
three times as likely to have a diabetic.
That police operate in groups with backup, which is why they need larger capacity magazines than
civilians, who must face criminals alone, and therefore need less ammunition.
That we should ban "Saturday Night Specials" and other inexpensive guns because it's not fair that
poor people have access to guns too.
That guns have no legitimate use, but alcohol does, which is why we issue cops beer instead of
guns.
That police and soldiers are the dregs of society who were unfit to get any real job, which perfectly
qualifies them with the high moral standards and keen intellects to handle these complicated tools
and be our guardians.
Copyright 1999, 2000 by Michael Z. Williamson.
Permission is granted to copy in part or in toto for non-profit purposes, provided due |
