Gun Control Myths Debunked
This is in response to a recent social media post made by Michael Moore titled, “My Proposal to Repeal the Second Amendment.”
I’d like to premise this by saying that I am not necessarily a gun enthusiast. I am a professional firearms instructor with years of experience and have trained hundreds of persons ranging from private citizens, military, law enforcement and private security. Guns are an integral part of American Society. Firearms are the bedrock of our democracy. Without them, we would have never been able to declare our independence from Great Britain in 1776. The United States Constitution was penned to keep the government in check. We the People are in control…not Mr. Moore, not you, not me, only the collective is in control. The Elites hate this. The left hates this. The libs hate this. They know that we collectively possess nearly one billion privately-owned firearms in the United States. There will not be a repeat of Nazi Germany. They know they cannot come after our guns. Instead, they create the illusion of fear. They promote bigger government. I say they should move to North Korea where the government couldn’t be any bigger.
We the People must literally “stick to our guns” to keep our government in check. If the We the People feel government has become too big, we must overthrow them, and we will do it with our guns. This is what our Founding Fathers intended. I was fortunate enough to attend school before the implementation of “Common Core,” which is nothing more than an Elitist creation of school curriculums specifically designed to create sheep. They do not want you to go to college beyond two years. They do not want you to be learned. They cannot afford you to become smarter than they are. They know less education equals more control. Have you checked the student loan deficit lately? $1,537,544,229,854.68 as of today. The issue of gun control extends far beyond possession of firearms.
Michael Moore is a hypocrite. He is a millionaire whom detests capitalism. He is a fraud. Just look at these articles for instance: The Hypocrisy of Michael Moore & Michael Moore is Lying about Second Amendment & Michael Moore Flubs Facts
To Moore’s first point: “As over 90% of gun violence is committed by men…”
According to the NORG General Social Survey, since 1980, female gun ownership in the United States has stayed around a steady 11%. In other words, about 90% of the nation’s privately-owned guns are owned and/or possessed by males. Given these statistics, Moore’s argument to further restrict gun ownership specifically to males is invalid for the following reason: If males own 89% of the guns, it only is logical to assume that 89% of gun crimes would be perpetrated by males, and because females own 11% of the guns, it is only logical to assume that 11% of gun crimes would be perpetrated by females.
At first blush, this seems legitimate, but, it actually makes his argument even worse. Mathematically, if 90% of the 89% are committing gun crimes, that means 81% of males are committing the crimes. On the other hand, if 10% of the 11% are committing crimes, that means 1% of females are committing gun crimes. But that’s 81% of the 90% and 1% of the 11%. So, let’s figure the actual rates now: About 7 out of 10 (0.81/0.90) males and 9 out of 10 (.01/.011) females commit violent gun crime. So, in fact, as a practical matter of rate, MORE FEMALES PERPETRATE GUN CRIMES THAN MALES.
Regarding Moore’s assertion, “This law has greatly reduced most spousal/domestic gun murders in Canada.” According to Al Smithies, Research Director, CSSA, “95% of all incidents of wife assault and 99% of all sexual assaults are committed with weapons other than firearms, primarily physical force.” Furthermore, only 0.000003% of Canadian females were killed by firearm in a domestic incident in 1994, and that is somehow demonstrative of the success of more restrictive laws in Canada?
To Moore’s second point: “All automatic and semi-automatic guns are banned.”
Let’s get this straight. Full-auto weapons are as good as banned here in the United States for private citizens. Even with a Federal Firearms License, the ATF has closed many loopholes for obtaining a fully automatic weapon; it is extremely difficult and costly to [legally] obtain a fully-automatic weapon.
If we were to ban all semi-automatic weapons, criminals would still get their hands on them, and law-abiding citizens would be the only affected persons.
To Moore’s third point: “No gun or clip can hold more than 6 bullets.” Most clips are not capable of holding more than six rounds already. To force manufacturers to create magazines that only hold six rounds or less would encroach on their right to make a profit. Never mind, I forgot Michael, the government would still be able to purchase 30-round magazines. Makes sense. Not. There are also countless videos demonstrating that magazines can be changed out quickly and even bolt-action firearms can be rapidly fired with practice. Limiting the number of rounds to six would have no effect on mass shootings because law-abiding citizens don’t perpetrate mass shootings.
To Moore’s fourth point: “To activate a gun for it to be used, the trigger must recognize the fingerprint of its registered owner.”
This is laughable coming from a guy who probably doesn’t even know the difference between single-action and double-action firearms. There is no practical way to implement this sort of technology (which is still only in its infancy) across the board for all firearms. What are we to do with the 1,000,000,000,000 firearms already manufactured without them? Does this imbecile have any plan for that? Nope, didn’t think so, so, let’s move on.
If the majority of gun crimes are committed using stolen firearms, maybe we should teach people how to better secure their firearms instead? That seems much more practical. Also, even with the best security measures in place, criminals will still find a way to infiltrate and circumvent. Bank vaults don’t stop them from robbing banks.
To Moore’s fifth point: “One’s guns must be stored at a licensed gun club or government-regulated gun storage facility.”
This idea effectively removes the power of the People and places it back in the hands of our government; our Founding Fathers created the Constitution to avoid this. Maybe Mr. Moore should pick up a pre-Common Core history book and do some research.
To his point that having a gun in your home only decreases your chance of surviving a home invasion. Simply research, “armed citizen” and you’ll find his point to be a blatant lie. If 0.04% of persons killed during home invasions are killed with their own gun, that means 996 out of 1,000 (99.96%) people are NOT killed with their own gun during a home invasion. Having a gun “wrestled” from you by an attacker is in fact a real issue and that is why proper training is important.
To Moore’s sixth point: “To own and operate a gun one must obtain a license (like one does to operate a car). To get a license you have to complete a gun training and safety course and pass a thorough background check.”
In order to legally carry a handgun, in nearly every state, some training is required by the government already. No training is required to obtain most long guns. Let me dismantle Moore’s feeble argument quickly: A seemingly law-abiding citizen just killed hundreds of people in Vegas. To accomplish that, some training was necessary. So, using Moore’s ideology, if we force people to become professionals, when they “snap” they’ll be sure to kill lots of people because they’re a good shot because of all this training they were required to go through as a pre-requisite to obtaining the firearm in the first place.
Training needs to be centered around the needs of the individual, not a blanket requirement. Common needs are: recreation, hunting, personal protection, concealed carry, and competition. For example, the training a person wanting to effectively use a firearm for personal protection purposes will vary greatly from the training a competitive shooter receives.
Does Michael not know that we have something called a “background check” that one must “pass” in order to legally obtain ANY firearm from a licensed dealer? Sure, there are loopholes, but, no system is perfect.
To Moore’s seventh point: “As nearly half of all gun deaths are suicides, mental health care must become a top national health priority and must be properly funded.”
Let’s break that stat down into fact: According to Bradycampaign.org, Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence (an ANTI-gun campaign), in 2013, 56% of all suicides for males involved a firearm, while for females it was 31%. The most common method of suicide for females was poisoning (37%), and did NOT involve the use a firearm. This tells me, a logical person, that suicidal persons will find a way [to commit suicide] even when there’s not one readily available. Moore goes onto state, “…easy access is denied during a suicidal moment…” Countless studies show that suicides are rarely caused by any single moment of contemplation, rather a culmination of many moments that have built up over a period of time. To further support that point, nearly all gun ranges experience suicides. Even if guns were only made available at certain times for certain reasons, suicidal personas will continue using them as a means [to commit suicide]. Shall we ban bridges next?
To Moore’s final point: “Current restrictions placed on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), due to successful lobbying by the NRA…”
The CDC is a government-controlled commercial entity backed by many special-interest groups. The National Rifle Association is not and has not prevented any studies. I say Moore should take his millions and put his money where his mouth is and conduct his own damn studies to support his atrocious thesis! He even admits, it’s us a people, not just the guns. Guns don’t go boom without a person making them boom.
I took the time and effort to document sources where necessary, Moore did not. Moore is (unfortunately) a celebrity, I am not. Moore should have been much more careful at how he worded his manifesto knowing many thousands, if not millions of people would read it. The simple reason that the majority of what he stated is bull shit, is because it is leftist propaganda in support of big government.
Proposing the repeal of our Second Amendment rights? Is this guy serious? There are already so many hoops maw-abiding citizens must jump through in order to legally obtain firearms. This “common sense gun control” is more like “common bull shit.” Criminals are the ones who perpetrate violent acts with guns, not the law-abiding citizens. I urge you to conduct your own independent research. Guns are not the issue, they never have been. The left wants bigger government and they know they can’t get it if the people remain more powerful than they. Our guns are what entitles us to a political voice. Special interest groups back each politician. These are entities that contribute to generously to their campaigns, and when elected, they remain faithful to those interests. Again, this extends way beyond the issue of gun control. Truth is, many of the things Moore would like to have implemented will never happen. I say, let them try. Guns are not the real issue.
Do not be a sheep.