1. Banning guns works, which is why New York, DC, and
Chicago cops need guns.
2. Washington DC's low murder rate of 69 per 100,000
is due to strict gun control, and Indianapolis' high murder
rate of 9 per 100,000 is due to the lack of gun control.
3. Statistics showing high murder rates justify gun control,
but statistics showing increasing murder rates after gun
control are "just statistics."
4. The Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban, both of
which went into effect in 1994, are responsible for
the decrease in violent crime rates, which have been
declining since 1991.
5. We must get rid of guns because a deranged lunatic
may go on a shooting spree at any time and anyone who
would own a gun out of fear of such a lunatic is paranoid.
6. The more helpless you are the safer you are from criminals.
7. An intruder will be incapacitated by tear gas or oven spray,
but if shot with a .357 Magnum will get angry and kill you.
8. A woman raped and strangled is morally superior to a
woman with a smoking gun and a dead rapist at her feet.
9. When confronted by violent criminals, you should "put up no
defense --give them what they want, or run" (Handgun
Control Inc. Chairman Pete Shields, Guns Don't Die - People
Do, 1981, p. 125).
10. The New England Journal of Medicine is filled with expert advice
about guns; just like Guns and Ammo Magazine has some
excellent treatises on heart surgery.
11. 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
[or Sheena Duncan! , Adele Kirsten, Peter Storey, etc.] for
firearms expertise.
12. The 2nd Amendment, ratified in 1787, refers to the National Guard,
which was created by an act of Congress in 1917.
13. The National Guard, funded 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 militia.
14. These phrases," right of the people peaceably to
assemble," "right of the people to be secure in their
homes," "enumeration's herein of certain rights shall
not be construed to disparage others retained by the
people," and "The powers not delegated herein are
reserved to the states respectively, and to the
people," all refer to individuals, but "the right of
the people to keep and bear arms" refers to the state.
15. We don't need guns against an oppressive government, because
the Constitution has internal safeguards, but we should ban and
seize all guns, thereby violating the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Amendments
to that Constitution.
16. Rifles and handguns aren't necessary to national defense, which
is why the army has literally millions of them.
17. Private citizens shouldn't have handguns, because
they serve no military purpose, and private citizens
shouldn't have "assault rifles," because they are
military weapons.
18. The ready availability of guns today, with waiting
periods, background checks, fingerprinting, government
forms, etc., is responsible for recent school
shootings, compared to the lack of school shootings in
the 40's, 50's and 60's, which resulted from the
availability of guns at hardware stores, surplus
stores, gas stations, variety stores, mail order,
etc., etc.
19. The NRA'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.
20. Guns are so complex that special training is
necessary to use them properly, and so simple to use
that they make murder easy.
21. 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.
22. Women are just as intelligent and capable as men
but a woman with a gun is "an accident waiting to
happen" and gun makers' advertisements aimed at women
are "preying on their fears."
23. Ordinary people in the presence of guns turn into
slaughtering butchers but revert to normal when the
weapon is removed.
24. Guns cause violence, which is why there are so
many mass killings at rifle and pistol ranges and gun
shows.
25. A majority of the population supports gun control,
just like a majority of the population supported
owning slaves.
26. A self-loading small arm can legitimately be
considered to be a "weapon of mass destruction" or an
"assault weapon."
27. Most people can't be trusted, so we should have
laws against guns, which most people will abide by
because they can be trusted.
28. The right of online pornographers to exist cannot
be questioned because it is constitutionally protected
by the Bill of Rights, but the use of handguns for
self defense is not really protected by the Bill of Rights.
29. Free speech entitles one to own newspapers,
transmitters, computers, and typewriters, but
self-defense only justifies bare hands.
30. 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.
31. 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.
32. Police operate with backup within groups, which is
why they need larger capacity pistol magazines than do
"civilians" who must face criminals alone and
therefore need less ammunition.
33. We should ban "Saturday Night Specials" and other
inexpensive guns because it's not fair that poor
people have access to guns too.
34. Police officers, who qualify with their duty
weapons once or twice a year, have some special
Jedi-like mastery over handguns that private citizens
can never hope to obtain.
35. Private citizens don't need a gun for
self-protection because the police are there to
protect them even though the Supreme Court says the
police are not responsible for their protection.
36. Citizens don't need to carry a gun for personal
protection but police chiefs, who are desk-bound
administrators who work in a building filled with
cops, need a gun.
37. "Assault weapons" have no purpose other than to
kill large numbers of people, which is why the police
need them but "civilians" do not.
38. When Microsoft pressures its distributors to give
Microsoft preferential promotion, that's bad; but when
the Federal government pressures cities to buy guns
only from Smith & Wesson, that's good.
39. Trigger locks do not interfere with the ability to use a gun
for defensive purposes, which is why you see police
officers with one on their duty weapon.
40. When Handgun Control, Inc., says they want to "keep
guns out of the wrong hands," they don't mean you.