>The sheer number of guns in America makes the
rate of gun violence greater per capita than any other country.<
The implied "cause and effect" here is false. Number of guns does not correlate with
crime or criminality. The Stalinists at Handgun Control, Inc. would dearly like you
to believe this, because their entire ideology hinges on the verity of this precept.
Since they cannot prove it, bit since it sounds plausible, they just repeat it *over and
over again*, like Hitler did when he blamed the miserable German economy on
Jews. I'm here to remind people that the Big Lie, American-style, is still a lie.
ALEX, I DON'T WANT TO SHOUT, BUT AM USING CAPITAL LETTERS TO DIFFERENTIATE MY WORDS FROM YOURS. I AM UNCLEAR HOW YOU COULD CALL THE GUN STATISTICS A BIG LIE. WE HAVE MORE GUNS PER CAPITA THAN ANY OTHER CIVILIZED COUNTRY, AND BY FAR THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF GUN-RELATED DEATHS PER CAPITA. SO WHERE EXACTLY IS THE LIE? DO YOU BELIEVE IT IS SIMPLY A STRANGE COINCIDENCE? IF SO, WHY DOES IT HAPPEN YEAR AFTER YEAR? WHY DO COUNTRIES LIKE SWITZERLAND WHICH ARE HEAVILY ARMED ALSO HAVE A RELATIVELY HIGH GUN DEATH INCIDENCE PER CAPITA, BUT COUNTRIES LIKE WALES AND JAPAN, WHERE ALMOST NO GUNS ARE IN PRIVATE HANDS, COME IN AT THE VERY BOTTOM?
>Most guns used by criminals
are stolen in residential burglaries.<
Most guns in America are lawfully owned by ordinary citizens! Would it sound
more impressive if your random hood got his illegal gun from a police dept. or a
National Guard depot?
What's the ratio of "guns used in a crime" over "total citizen-owned guns"? I'll bet
it's lower than "cars involved in injury accidents" over "all privately-owned cars". I
submit that it's a meaningless ratio whose only purpose is to make guns somehow
Look Bad. Who wins in this campaign to demonize the privately-held firearm?
THE POINT OF MY STATEMENT IS THAT PRO-GUN PEOPLE ARGUE THAT THEY MUST HAVE ARMS TO DEFEND THEMSELVES AGAINST CRIMINALS. BUT MOST OF THE CRIMINALS GET THEIR GUNS FROM THE GOOD CITIZENS WHO HAVE GUNS. SO IT IS AN ILLOGICAL, CIRCULAR ARGUMENT, A CHICKEN AND EGG STORY.
>If all the guns in America were
somehow removed in one day, statistically everyone would be a whole lot safer.<
Ah, the crux of this canted logic. 1) Removing all guns from America is arguavbly
more difficult than the much fairer act of "removing all illegally-held guns". Why the
emphasis on total disarmament; why not merely disarm the criminals? Again, who
stands to gain by this sweeping policy?
THIS STATEMENT RELATES TO YOUR PREVIOUS ONES, AND TO MY RESPONSE. THE PEOPLE WITH THE ILLEGALLY HELD GUNS STEAL THEM, FOR THE MOST PART, FROM LEGAL OWNERS. SO YOU CANNOT REALLY SOLVE THE PROBLEM THAT WAY.
2) America would be safer from random acts of gun violence. For a week or
maybe a year. But the basic concept of our Bill of Rights is that ultimate power
resides with the citizen. Removing all guns telegraphs the idea that our personal
rights and privileges have been swept aside in the pursuit of the Greater Good. We
would trade an evanescent personal security for a completeloss of our defense
against Big Government in its irresistible slide toward the "communitarian ethic".
Which I consider a thin veil for neo-Communism.
Guns are not our greatest national threat. Creeping oppression is. Remember - who
stands to gain by stripping the Bill of Rights?
TO ME, THIS ARGUMENT IS NOT LOGICAL, EITHER. OTHER COUNTRIES WHICH STARTED EXPERIENCING CREEPING HANDGUN VIOLENCE, LIKE JAPAN AND ENGLAND, HAVE ENACTED NEW LAWS STRIPPING CITIZENS OF THE RIGHT TO HOLD THEM. PARADOXICALLY, THEY DID NOT LOSE OTHER RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES. I AM CURIOUS AS TO WHY SOME AMERICANS ARE SO AFRAID THEY ARE ON A SLIPPERY SLOPE OF ERODING FREEDOMS IF WE CAN'T ALL BLOW EACH OTHER AWAY EVERY DAY. ACTUALLY, I FEEL LESS FREE IN A SOCIETY WITH A GUN CULTURE, AND ALL THOSE DEAD CHILDREN AT SCHOOL, AND OTHER VICTIMS OF GUN VIOLENCE, LOST THE ULTIMATE FREEDOM--THE RIGHT OF LIFE. |
