Tactics Used By Gun Opponents

I've lost the author and date of this article, but it is from the early 1990s:

Handgun Control Inc. is one of the leading proponents of gun control. Their Quick Guide to Arguing with the Gun Zealots cites tactics to use in public debate; as is to be expected, it relies on fear and misinformation, since the facts are on the opposite side.

From the guide: "Strategic points to remember for public speaking:"

• "Today's criminals and gangbangers outgun our cops."

  And where do they get their guns? Not through normal retail channels, but through informal swaps, thievery and the black market. Criminals and gangbangers will also outgun innocent citizens if HCI has its way.

• "Our children are being threatened, murdered and cut down in the street."

• "There is no sporting purpose for a semi-automatic firearm."

  This is patently untrue. Semi-automatics are widely used in hunting and marksmanship.

• "The 2nd Amendment does not protect the right to own military or semi-automatic arms."

  If the Second Amendment doesn't protect military weapons ("a well-regulated militia ..."), then what does it protect? If it doesn't protect anything, why is it there?

• "With tens of millions of people owning guns, the potential for lawlessness and gun massacres increases ten fold each year."

  Non sequitur. Gun ownership by law-abiding citizens for sporting and defensive use does not have any bearing on criminal gun use, except as a deterrent to crimes of personal violence.

• "The current crime wave can touch any community, and social strata."

  Crimes of personal violence are most frequent in areas with the strictest gun control. Communities and social strata with extensive gun ownership and little gun control will be affected less by "the current crime wave."

• "Handguns have no purposes other than killing people."

  Well, they do (marksmanship and wounding people among others), but killing a violent attacker is a legitimate use of handguns. Does HCI believe that rape victims should simply endure their torture, or that people should watch idly as their family members are murdered?

• "Households with guns are 43 times more likely to have their guns used against a family member than those households without guns."

  A number based on sloppy research. 37 of those 43 killings are suicides and most of the rest take place in violent families. The faulty study that produced those numbers did not take into account defensive uses of firearms that did not result in death.

• "Self defense is no legitimate reason for owning a gun (see Above Point)."

  Of course the above point is misinformation, so this one falls down too. Researcher Gary Kleck produced conclusive evidence that firearms are used successfully and frequently in defense against crime. Further, defense against individual crime is not the only defensive purpose of firearms; defense and deterrent against tyranny is a vastly more important use.

• "The vast majority of crime guns are bought legally."

  That depends of course on how much gun control there is. In cities like New York no crime guns are bought legally, yet criminal gun use is still rampant. Most "crime guns" are bought and sold informally, as opposed to normal retail channels, whether the sale is legal or not.

• "Most Gun dealers sell thousands of guns illegally to gangs and criminals every day."

  Huh? No evidence, just a bold claim.

The guide describes "other pressing points:"

• "Military Assault weapons. The confusion by the general public between semi-automatic weapons can work in our favor. Constantly dropping the words - submachine gun, fully automatic, machine gun, military weapon, high tech killing machine are good debater's tricks to instill a sense of dread over these weapons. Ultimately people will learn to dread these weapons just like chemical warfare weapons and toxic waste dumps."

  Here they promote misleading the public! There is no substantive difference between an "assault" semi-automatic weapon and any other semi-automatic weapon. Fully automatic weapons, while heavily restricted, are legal in the U.S. Legal full auto weapons owners are never involved in crime, period.

• "Semi Automatic Weapons. Remember that there is no place for any kind of semi auto weapon in a safe society regardless of how it looks, since many so called sport rifles can be easily converted to a military configuration. Thus all semi automatic weapons are capable of being called 'assault weapons'. Never let up on this fact."

  Here they admit the previous point, that sport rifles and "assault" rifles are essentially similar. Why a small-caliber semi-automatic rifle is so much more deadly than a shotgun, I haven't a clue.

• "Endangerment of Children. It is difficult for the Gun groups to counter arguments which call attention to the endangerment of children. Making the opposition look callous creates an image of brutality and indifference to the audience. Keep this point in the fore front of any public argument."

  Rely on emotion not facts, they say. Because the facts are against them. A child whose parents have firearms and know how to use them is a child safer against personal violence.

• "Enough is enough. Americans are sick and tired of the violence that is infecting our society. Press forth this point and other points of a related nature. It is time for action, to take back our streets from crime. If we don't take action now, this crime wave will engulf America. Again be sure to press the point that the Gun Lobby opposes action to counter this crime wave."

  Again I will press the point that firearms are frequently and successfully used in defense against crime, and that criminals generally ignore gun control laws. Let's take back our streets by defending them.

• "Assault Weapons - the Choice of criminals. Assault weapons are the weapons of choice for gangs, mentally deficient individuals, and criminals across the board. The Gun Lobby argues that anyone at any time should have the right to buy and own these weapons of mass destruction."

  Out-and-out lie. The BATF's own statistics show that of the ten guns most used in crime, only #9 is an "assault" weapon. Shotguns and revolvers are more common. Call any local police department for confirmation.

• "Too Many Guns in the U.S. There are over 200 million guns in America today. One for every man, woman and child in the United States. Push the fact that each one of these killing machines poses a grave threat to our population."

  Aside from their numbers being a little off, this argument sweeps aside all legitimate uses of guns, sporting and defensive. Over half of all U.S. households own at least one gun. If guns are "killing machines" then why isn't the population being decimated by half? The vast majority of those 200 million guns will never be used in crime, while a significant portion of them will be used in defense against crime.

• "Assault Ammunition = Military Firepower = Death. The ammunition for military arms are more powerful and more devastating than normal ammunition. This type of ammo if not banned, should have the delivery systems (aka assault weapons) banned at least."

  Death = bad when it is murder, Death = good when it is defense. If you are being attacked by a large assailant, you should be able to take him down in one shot, whether you are small, a woman, elderly or whatever.