Amendment II.
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.
There it is, sweet and to the point. Yet, somehow, this simple one sentence amendment to the Constitution has been treated as though it were written in some Star Trek made up language from some non-existent planet. Every time we have a shooting in this country, especially now that we have never ending coverage, the usual bans are called for on firearms. Hollywood will have a movie out later next month, and the hidden message will be that this time, we need to ban gun ownership by private citizens. Just a quick post to think things through.
Myth # 1: Violent crime rates will be improved if we eliminate handguns.
The facts do not support this in the slightest. Every honest statistic kept by every honest researcher shows that rates for every single violent crime decreases dramatically in direct proportion to the ease with which private citizens are afforded gun ownership. A brief look across America is the perfect laboratory for this social experiment. Those urban areas where gun control is the strictest co-incidentally have the highest violent crime rates.
Myth # 2: Gun Free Zones act to protect people from the mentally unbalanced.
All Gun Free Zones have achieved is allowing large groups of unarmed people to become easy targets for those who wish to engage in mass shootings. Aver the last several weeks, we have seen an attempted shooting of public political figures. Do you remember the first? The first did not get the same media coverage. The reason of course is that no one died. The assailant was quickly shot by an armed citizen. We have also seen a private citizen shoot a man with an automatic weapon in a shopping mall within the last year. Do you even remember where? As it turns out, Loughner himself was subdued by a private citizen who was armed and arrived from a block away from the shooting. What would have been the outcome if Sheriff Barney Fife of Pima County Arizona had the foresight to send one of his deputies to the event on Saturday?
Myth # 3: The Second Amendment refers only to forming State Malitias.
This is easy to refute. Look at the second half of the sentence, the part just past the comma. It says, “the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” I personally do not believe that this could be any more plain than it is.
Myth # 4: Having a hand gun places you in increased danger should a criminial invade your residence.
Beyond the fact that this is just plain silly, there is absolutely zero evidence anywhere to support this claim. When tasked to support this bizarre theory, proponents of gun control resort to the anecdotal methodology.
Special note on anecdotal methodology for debating. Stop it already. This is only pulled out when the argument is lost and the only thing left is emotional appeal. I find in annoying during Presidential debates, maddening during public policy debates, and evilly offensive when used to dismantle the Constitution.
Myth # 5: The lack of gun control makes it too easy for criminals to get guns.
Criminals in foreign countries where gun ownership is prohibited have no problems getting guns. The thugs always seem to be exempt from the laws which regulate the average citizen. The United States is unique in that we have put all citizens on an equal footing with potential thugs. Gun control laws have been shown only those people disposed to comply with the laws. those people who would seek to be criminals, would not obey gun control laws while breaking others. The argument is fantasy which discounts entirely human behavior.
