1. Banning guns works, which is why New York, DC, and Chicago cops need guns.
This logic is ridiculous. In war zones we have been known to disarm the public but we allow our own troops to carry weapons. Do you think we should never disarm the general pop in a war zone either?
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.
Examine the poverty rate of these cities. That is more telling. Gary, IN has a murder rate of 79.4 per 100,000. I guess that lack of gun control isn't working there.
3. Statistics showing high murder rates justify gun control but statistics showing increasing murder rates after gun control are "just statistics."
What's the saying? Lies, damn lies, and statistics.
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.
Well, I'm not in favor of removing ALL weapons but I certainly think there are some which should be restricted and any reasonable person would agree (who wants privately owned nukes). That being said, when a deranged lunatic has gone on a shooting spree how often is he stopped by a private gun owner?
6. The more helpless you are the safer you are from criminals.
If you own a handgun I'm ok with it. A bazooka .... not so much.
8. A woman raped and strangled is morally superior to a woman with a smoking gun and a dead rapist at her feet.
Has anyone ever said this?
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).
Actually this is the advice that police give. Cooperate with the criminal (unless in a rape/murder scenario) or get away and call the police.
10. The New England Journal of Medicine is filled with expert advice about guns; just like Guns & Ammo has some excellent treatises on heart surgery.
Ok, elaborate on this one. I'm sure the New England Journal of Medicine probably has some great info on how best to deal with a bullet wound.
11. One should consult an automotive engineer for safer seatbelts, a civil engineer for a better bridge, a surgeon for internal medicine, a computer programmer for hard drive problems, and Sarah Brady for firearms expertise.
Yet we trust an actor to be a legislator.
12. The 2nd Amendment, ratified in 1787, refers to the National Guard, which was created 130 years later, in 1917.
Actually I believe it refers to state militias with single shot rifles. I don't see where it says a private citizen shall have the right to guns. But it does seem to indicate that the state of Rhode Island can own a nuke if it wants one.
13. The National Guard, federally funded, with bases on federal land, using federally-owned weapons, vehicles, buildings and uniforms, punishing trespassers under federal law, is a "state" militia.
Yeah, America has changed quite a bit. When founded it was much more like the current EU. Each state was basically its own nation. Wanna go back to that? In that world California and New York keep their economies and don't have to go to war when Texas wants to.
14. These phrases: "right of the people peaceably to assemble," "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," 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 arm" refers to the state.
Actually it reads, "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Those first 4 words are what seem to indicate that it refers to the state, not the public. If you want to hold that it applies to private individuals, then private individuals have the right to own nukes. I'm sure some oil sheiks would be very happy to hear that.
15. "The Constitution is strong and will never change." But we should ban and seize all guns thereby violating the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Amendments to that Constitution.
I do not favor "banning and seizing" all guns. I do believe that background checks and certain restrictions are necessary though.
16. Rifles and handguns aren't necessary to national defense! Of course, the army has hundreds of thousands of them.
Red Dawn was a movie.
17. Private citizens shouldn't have handguns, because they aren't "military weapons", but private citizens shouldn't have "assault rifles", because they are military weapons.
What?
18. In spite of waiting periods, background checks, finger printing, government forms, etc., guns today are too readily available, which is responsible for recent school shootings. In the 1940's, 1950's and1960's, anyone could buy guns at hardware stores, army surplus stores, gas stations, variety stores, Sears mail order, no waiting, no background check, no fingerprints, no government forms and there were no school shootings.
Times they are a changin'. With those changes comes a need for increased security. Look at how airport security has changed. In the old days the searches were minimal. Then some nutcases crashed a couple of planes into the WTC.
19. The NRA's attempt to run a "don't touch" campaign about kids handling guns is propaganda, but the anti-gun lobby's attempt to run a "don't touch" campaign is responsible social activity.
Both are worthwhile efforts to keep guns away from kids.
20. Guns are so complex that special training is necessary to use them properly, and so simple to use that they make murder easy.
For the most part guns are easy to use. But some basic instruction makes them safer to use. For example, make sure there isn't a round in the chamber when cleaning it.
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.
Refer to #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."
What?
23. Ordinary people in the presence of guns turn into slaughtering butchers but revert to normal when the weapon is removed.
What? You're really reaching with some of these. You make me want to say, "without guns there would an anarchy and mass genocide".
24. Guns cause violence, which is why there are so many mass killings at gun shows.
Guns prevent violence. Which is why there is never a violent crime committed with a gun.
25. A majority of the population supports gun control, just like a majority of the population supported owning slaves.
Do you honestly believe these are the same thing?
26. Any self-loading small arm can legitimately be considered to be a "weapon of mass destruction" or an "assault weapon."
Ok, enough of this ... gun control isn't about eliminating all weapons, it is about finding the balance between necessary and unnecessary. Most of us are in favor of private ownership of some weapons but are opposed to excesses (like nukes, grenade launchers, flash suppressors, collapsable stock, etc).
More than anything, I don't understand why the NRA resists simple background checks and waiting periods.
