40 reasons to oppose gun control - 04/19/01
40 Reasons to Oppose Gun Control <P>1. Banning guns works, which is why New York, DC, and Chicago cops need <BR>guns. <P>2. Washington DC's low murder rate of 69 per 100,000 is due to strict <BR>gun control, and Indianapolis' high murder rate of 9 per 100,000 is due <BR>to the lack of <BR>gun control. <P>3. Statistics showing high murder rates justify gun control but <BR>statistics showing increasing murder rates after gun control are "just <BR>statistics." <P>4. The Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban, both of which went into <BR>effect in 1994, are responsible for the decrease in violent crime rates, <BR>which have <BR>been declining since 1991. <P>5. We must get rid of guns because a deranged lunatic may go on a <BR>shooting spree at any time and anyone who would own a gun out of fear of <BR>such a lunatic <BR>is paranoid. <P>6. The more helpless you are the safer you are from criminals. <P>7. An intruder will be incapacitated by tear gas or oven spray, but if <BR>shot with a .357 Magnum will get angry and kill you. <P>8. A woman raped and strangled is morally superior to a woman with a <BR>smoking gun and a dead rapist at her feet. <P>9. When confronted by violent criminals, you should "put up no defense <BR>--give them what they want, or run" (Handgun Control Inc. Chairman Pete <BR>Shields, <BR>Guns Don't Die - People Do, 1981, p. 125). <P>10. The New England Journal of Medicine is filled with expert advice <BR>about guns; just like Guns and Ammo has some excellent treatises on <BR>heart surgery. <P>11. One should consult an automotive engineer for safer seatbelts, a <BR>civil engineer for a better bridge, a surgeon for spinal paralysis, a <BR>computer programmer <BR>for Y2K problems, and Sarah Brady for firearms expertise. <P>12. The 2nd Amendment, ratified in 1787, refers to the National Guard, <BR>which was created by an act of Congress in 1917. <P>13. The National Guard, funded by the federal government, occupying <BR>property leased to the federal government, using weapons owned by the <BR>federal <BR>government, punishing trespassers under federal law, is a state militia. <P>14. These phrases,"right of the people peaceably to assemble," "right of <BR>the people to be secure in their homes," "enumeration's herein of <BR>certain rights shall <BR>not be construed to disparage others retained by the people," and "The <BR>powers not delegated herein are reserved to the states respectively, and <BR>to the <BR>people," all refer to individuals, but "the right of the people to keep <BR>and bear arms" refers to the state. <P>15. We don't need guns against an oppressive government, because the <BR>Constitution has internal safeguards, but we should ban and seize all <BR>guns, thereby <BR>violating the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Amendments to that Constitution. <P>16. Rifles and handguns aren't necessary to national defense, which is <BR>why the army has millions of them. <P>17. Private citizens shouldn't have handguns, because they serve no <BR>military purpose, and private citizens shouldn't have "assault rifles," <BR>because they are <BR>military weapons. <P>18. The ready availability of guns today, with waiting periods, <BR>background checks, fingerprinting, government forms, etc., is <BR>responsible for recent school <BR>shootings, compared to the lack of school shootings in the 40's, 50's <BR>and 60's, which resulted from the availability of guns at hardware <BR>stores, surplus stores, <BR>gas stations, variety stores, mail order, etc., etc. <P>19. The NRA's attempt to run a "don't touch" campaign about kids <BR>handling guns is propaganda, and the anti-gun lobby's attempt to run a <BR>"don't touch" <BR>campaign is responsible social activity. <P>20. Guns are so complex that special training is necessary to use them <BR>properly, and so simple to use that they make murder easy. <P>21. A handgun, with up to 4 controls, is far too complex for the typical <BR>adult to learn to use, as opposed to an automobile that only has 20. <P>22. Women are just as intelligent and capable as men but a woman with a <BR>gun is "an accident waiting to happen" and gun makers' advertisements <BR>aimed at <BR>women are "preying on their fears." <P>23. Ordinary people in the presence of guns turn into slaughtering <BR>butchers but revert to normal when the weapon is removed. <P>24. Guns cause violence, which is why there are so many mass killings at <BR>gun shows. <P>25. A majority of the population supports gun control, just like a <BR>majority of the population supported owning slaves. <P>26. A self-loading small arm can legitimately be considered to be a <BR>"weapon of mass destruction" or an "assault weapon." <P>27. Most people can't be trusted, so we should have laws against guns, <BR>which most people will abide by because they can be trusted. <P>28. The right of online pornographers to exist cannot be questioned <BR>because it is constitutionally protected by the Bill of Rights, but the <BR>use of handguns for <BR>self defense is not really protected by the Bill of Rights. <P>29. Free speech entitles one to own newspapers, transmitters, computers, <BR>and typewriters, but self-defense only justifies bare hands. <P>30. The ACLU is good because it uncompromisingly defends certain parts <BR>of the Constitution, and the NRA is bad, because it defends other parts <BR>of the <BR>Constitution. <P>31. Charlton Heston as president of the NRA is a shill who should be <BR>ignored, but Michael Douglas as a representative of Handgun Control, <BR>Inc. is an <BR>ambassador for peace who is entitled to an audience at the UN arms <BR>control summit. <P>32. Police operate with backup within groups, which is why they need <BR>larger capacity pistol magazines than do "civilians" who must face <BR>criminals alone and <BR>therefore need less ammunition. <P>33. We should ban "Saturday Night Specials" and other inexpensive guns <BR>because it's not fair that poor people have access to guns too. <P>34. Police officers, who qualify with their duty weapons once or twice a <BR>year, have some special Jedi-like mastery over handguns that private <BR>citizens can <BR>never hope to obtain. <P>35. Private citizens don't need a gun for self-protection because the <BR>police are there to protect them even though the Supreme Court says the <BR>police are not <BR>responsible for their protection. <P>36. Citizens don't need to carry a gun for personal protection but <BR>police chiefs, who are desk-bound administrators who work in a building <BR>filled with cops, <BR>need a gun. <P>37. "Assault weapons" have no purpose other than to kill large numbers <BR>of people, which is why the police need them but "civilians" do not. <P>38. When Microsoft pressures its distributors to give Microsoft <BR>preferential promotion, that's bad; but when the Federal government <BR>pressures cities to buy <BR>guns only from Smith & Wesson, that's good. <P>39. Trigger locks do not interfere with the ability to use a gun for <BR>defensive purposes, which is why you see police officers with one on <BR>their duty weapon. <P>40. When Handgun Control, Inc., says they want to "keep guns out of the <BR>wrong hands," they don't mean you. <BR>