Gun Control: Meme vs. Reality (Part 3)
This is the third and final post in a series.
-Read Part 1-
-Read Part 2-
Over the past few days, I've looked at over a hundred pro-gun control / anti-gun memes and protest signs.
Almost every single one presented an opinion as fact, contained a serious logical flaw of some kind, or outright lied.
Here are some of the worst offenders, along with my criticism:
![republicans-gun-mentally-ill.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaXgTqrtHifGuuqMxvnqPmwmL6VNRMsg6ucUdPdW5mDGj/republicans-gun-mentally-ill.jpg)
"Remember they voted to sell guns to the mentally ill"
No, that's not what happened. They voted against a law that would have restricted people with histories of mental illness from buying guns. Do you see the difference?
While it's true that most mass shooters have been mentally ill in some way, it does not follow that all people with a history of mental illness should have their right to bear arms taken away. Do you realize what kind of percentages we're talking about here? Approximately one in five Americans--or 18.5% of us--struggle with some form of mental health condition in a given year. These illnesses can range from mild depression to bipolar disorder to phobias. The vast majority of people with mental health conditions are not a threat to others, and the current federal background check required to purchase a gun already screens for those who are.
By supporting a law that restricts people with a history of mental health issues from the right to self defense, anti-gun activists are engaging in shameful ablism. But chances are, for many of them, it's more insidious than that. Once such a law is passed, what's to stop police and/or state medical professionals from declaring any gun owner or enthusiast who doesn't want to surrender their weapons as "mentally ill"? They could create a new designation for this new "illness", or perhaps use another one of the non-existent "illnesses" the psychiatric profession has made up in recent decades. Oppositional-defiant disorder, anyone?
![Screen-Shot-2015-10-10-at-10.58.49-AM.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmThbciyUwpc2iciZd2mgVy1HAN8y993J2AAwThNfoNhz8/Screen-Shot-2015-10-10-at-10.58.49-AM.png)
Yet another politically motivated message attempting connect per capita gun ownership with gun homicide rate. This time from the White House. Yay.
Guys, this is complete pseudo-science. There is no correlation whatsoever between gun ownership and murder rate, or between gun ownership and mass shootings. The number of privately held firearms in any given country, region, or even city, has no connection at all to how many people are killed with guns in that area.
Unfortunately, many politicians and establishment academics and media people have gone out of their way to make it appear otherwise. This is deliberate deception. The data shows one thing, and they twist it around and cook it to arrive at something that will support their chosen narrative. But why?
Well, perhaps it is because they don't want Americans to have guns for other reasons. I'm just throwing that out there. Make of it what you will.
![29750304_10213794237563569_2061177008_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUd8CpJWCvWkeTLGZchR8fWtgCMDCfm9NymfZN7ZDcD5g/29750304_10213794237563569_2061177008_n.jpg)
Wow. Just, wow.
This young lady's sign represents everything that is wrong with leftist anti-gun logic.
The man she is referring to didn't get shot 20 times by "good guys with guns". He got shot 20 times by cops. The same freaking people she (or at least her political fellows) would like to come and take everyone else's guns away. And obviously they weren't "good cops" (if you believe such an entity exists), because they shot an innocent man 20 times in the back for no reason.
I'm not going to get into the debate over whether police are needed in a civil society here, because that's not what this series is about. But suffice it to say that it is woefully stupid to support gun control on the one hand, while decrying police brutality on the other. Cops are one of the few demographics who would be allowed to keep their firearms under strict gun control, and furthermore, they are the ones who will get sent out to confiscate everyone else's guns, if it comes to that. You can be anti-gun or anti-police. You can't be both.
![29684031_1660837044007646_2225226531000764283_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmR55cy6KqvAxhfXScPm8h3SDAFeYfKDWsuPkwJaYbZKj3/29684031_1660837044007646_2225226531000764283_n.jpg)
You raise an interesting question, Senator Feinstein.
Fortunately, god in his infinite wisdom made it none of your business.
![29666597_10213793751311413_1580083814_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdv9LBA5grRytJMNyriKvekf7CFeueyoZuxjw6AE6Kb2z/29666597_10213793751311413_1580083814_n.jpg)
Some people think that a bunch of citizens armed with rifles can't effectively fight a major state military.
These same people have apparently never heard of the Viet Cong, the IRA, or ISIS.
Americans own more guns than all other developed nations and their militaries put together. If you think that doesn't scare the britches off of any foreign government that would like to invade us, you're crazy. And if you think it doesn't give the power-hungry politicians in our own country pause when developing their schemes for control, you're not thinking very hard about it.
![29666210_10213793752271437_1330496970_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmYo91xUuQgTykrqzGmdMGsad3PQiiycjZXQTWnfUTjwWs/29666210_10213793752271437_1330496970_n.jpg)
You know what the difference between birth control and gun control is?
It's that gun control is forced on people, while birth control (at least so far in the U.S.) is voluntary.
It's not at all far-fetched to think that gun control--a system of force against peaceful people--might result in an attempt to take away all the guns. It happens gradually, by degrees. First they tell you you can't buy an AR without a permit. Then they tell you your magazine can't hold more than ten rounds. (If this were a map at the mall, there'd be a red sticker that said "YOU ARE HERE.")
But the homicide rate hasn't gone down, so we need more gun control.
So then it's five round magazine limits. Then one. Then a ban on rifles and shotguns. Then a ban on calibers larger than 9mm. But crime is still happening; they didn't go far enough! Now they're going door to door in a mandatory "buy-back" scheme. See how that works?
I'll tell you what, though. If gun control progresses to mandatory surrender of firearms, there's a high probability that a few gun-grabbers will lose their penises.
![Transparent-scroll-line-.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXAYKKXPtt2KUmGgTFRWiZ3JCaJLhR8jsdnS1Z4wAjQYb/Transparent-scroll-line-.png)
If you are now seized by an unshakeable urge to read more stuff I have written, try these:
Gun Control: Meme vs. Reality (Part 2)
Gun Control: Meme vs. Reality (Part 1)
How to Apologize in 5 Steps
DIMENSION WANDERER EXTRAORDINAIRE - A Totally Fabricated Bio
![Transparent-scroll-line-.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmXAYKKXPtt2KUmGgTFRWiZ3JCaJLhR8jsdnS1Z4wAjQYb/Transparent-scroll-line-.png)
Hi, I'm Starr!
I believe all human interactions should be consensual
![27583361_10213307884045035_103049414_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQykhMJtARM7jyPZue5xbcWGMqHmZB7GkJzKvvEbLpAE3/27583361_10213307884045035_103049414_n.jpg)
You're correct on your response to Feinstein that it's none of her business, but her points are so bad I just felt the need to expand.
Ummm, yeah you can. The caliber is sufficient for hunting many animals. If it "can't" be used to even kill an animal then why would you ban something so harmless? Perhaps Feinstein doesn't understand the definition of can/can't. Also, many of my personal friends (primarily ex military) prefer to use what she's referring to as an "assault rifle" because it has the feel they're accustomed to (not because it does any more damage than my 30-06).
First off, it's a bill of rights not a bill of needs. I don't need to do a lot of things. Not even sure how that's an argument at all. I don't need a marshmallow for defense should those be illegal? If the implication is that these weapons are insufficient for defense, then I would refer to the same logic above, they must be harmless if they aren't even sufficient for protection. If the implication is that they're too effective for defense... I would question why we care how effective I am at protecting my family.
I really like your response for this one! Heck, even if I want to use it as a paperweight or if I want to remove the firing pin and use it as a wall decoration that's my own business. I don't see any evidence that Dianne needs her 1st amendment right to free speech with the garbage she's spewing but I recognize that I can't take that right away from her and would never try!
Anti-gun politicians and medialites routinely pull out the worst arguments in favor of gun control, and most of them are based on a misunderstanding of what guns are, how they work, and what different types of guns and gun accessories are for. Perhaps if anyone is to be forced to undergo firearms training and education, it should be congress.