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Pro-Gun Propaganda Debunked

Posted on 13th June 2014

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I found this article very interesting.

The whole issue of guns is very political in the USA, with the pro-gun lobby issuing lots of propaganda, in the form of statistics and other "statements of facts". It is nice to see someone challenging this propaganda.

In summary, the article says:

  • Myth #1: They're coming for your guns.

    It is clearly not practical to confiscate the 310 million privately owned guns in the USA.

  • Myth #2: Guns don't kill people - people kill people.

    There is a clear correlation between the number of people with guns, and the amount of gun murders. This strongly suggests a cause and effect relationship.

  • Myth #3: An armed society is a polite society.

    The facts show otherwise. Gun owners seem to be less polite and more aggressive.

  • Myth #4: More good guys with guns can stop rampaging bad guys.

    Again, the facts show otherwise. There have been no cases in the last 30 years where an armed civilian has stopped a mass shooting.

  • Myth #5: Keeping a gun at home makes you safer.

    Wrong again! Having a gun at home is strongly correlated with more risk.

  • Myth #6: Carrying a gun for self-defence makes you safer.

    Surprise: not true! Carrying a gun radically increases your chances of being shot or even killed.

  • Myth #7: Guns make women safer.

    Also not true! The chances of a woman being killed are much much higher if her parter (or ex-partner) owns a gun.

  • Myth #8: "Vicious, violent video games" deserve more blame than guns.

    So how do you explain why Japan is so much safer (in relation to gun homicides) than the USA: 1000 times safer?

  • Myth #9: More and more Americans are becoming gun owners.

    The actual trend is for more guns to be owned by fewer people. Why do these people need so many guns (an average of 7.9 per private gun owner)?

  • Myth #10: We don't need more gun laws - we just need to enforce the ones we have.

    The fact is that many gun regulations have loopholes, as a result of NRA lobbying (e.g. online gun sales do not require a background check).