6 Things Gun Lovers and Haters Can Agree On
Apologies if this has been posted before, but with the new campaign season getting off to an abominably early start, I thought I'd share this just in case:
I was 7 when I shot a gun for the first time, and probably 17 before I realized guns were a big deal in national politics. Some of that comes from growing up in Texas. Guns aren't controversial in this part of the South: I once bought a pistol and three old Soviet rifles from a dude in a parking lot for $300. Even our hippies conceal-carry handguns in the waistbands of their hemp pants. But on a national level, the gun debate rages on.
And for some reason we've handed off the responsibility for this debate to the loudest, angriest people in America. On one side are pissed-off but well-meaning folks who know less than nothing about the objects they plan to regulate. And on the other side is Ted Nugent.
http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-things-gun-lovers-haters-can-agree-on/
= new reply since forum marked as read
A few facts are wrong but for the most part, interesting.
Regarding his point #4 - that pure fun is an under-reported reason for owning a gun, I agree wholeheartedly. Then he goes off the rails when he gets into defensive gun use - cowardly describing Dr. Gary Kleck as a "breathtakingly shitty criminologist" sans any real evidence supporting his smear:
1) He essentially represented Kleck as standing alone with regard to the proposition of high numbers of defensive gun use, when in fact numerous surveys (over a dozen) support his findings; including that of pro-restriction "scholar" Philip Cook:
https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/165476.pdf
2) He's also unaware, or covers up the fact that Kleck won the highest award that the American Society of Criminology bestows for his book Point Blank -- largely dedicated to defensive gun use.
3) He cites a lightweight hack like David Hemenway as "evidence" to "debunk" Kleck's work.
Then there's this little gem:
But don't pretend that gun is a guarantee of safety -- gun owners are actually at greater risk of homicide and suicide than the general population.
"But don't pretend that gun is a guarantee of safety......"
Very few do. Strawman -- and a flimsy one at that.
"......gun owners are actually at greater risk of homicide and suicide than the general population."
Trotting out the oft-times eviscerated Kellerman "study". Good job fella.
No wonder one of our illustrious members expressed pride in being the first to rec this thread.
If the field was vital and on sure ground, those and other studies would have been replicated at least beyond the age of VRTs. Maybe they fear another Bellisiles breach burst.
