Liberty is an inherently offensive lifestyle. Living in a free society guarantees that each one of us will see our most cherished principles and beliefs questioned and in some cases mocked. That psychic discomfort is the price we pay for basic civic peace. It's worth it. It's a pragmatic principle. Defend everyone else's rights, because if you don't there is no one to defend yours. -- MaxedOutMama

I don't just want gun rights... I want individual liberty, a culture of self-reliance....I want the whole bloody thing. -- Kim du Toit

The most glaring example of the cognitive dissonance on the left is the concept that human beings are inherently good, yet at the same time cannot be trusted with any kind of weapon, unless the magic fairy dust of government authority gets sprinkled upon them.-- Moshe Ben-David

The cult of the left believes that it is engaged in a great apocalyptic battle with corporations and industrialists for the ownership of the unthinking masses. Its acolytes see themselves as the individuals who have been "liberated" to think for themselves. They make choices. You however are just a member of the unthinking masses. You are not really a person, but only respond to the agendas of your corporate overlords. If you eat too much, it's because corporations make you eat. If you kill, it's because corporations encourage you to buy guns. You are not an individual. You are a social problem. -- Sultan Knish

All politics in this country now is just dress rehearsal for civil war. -- Billy Beck

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

JoinTogether Really is Shameless

In this bit of propaganda, JoinTogether promotes having the Consumer Safety Commission regulate "gun safety" because:
more than 20,000 Americans under age 20 (are) killed or injured each year by guns
Once again, what are the facts?

According to the Centers for Disease Control WISQARS tool, in 2000 there were 6,706 unintentional non-fatal gunshot injuries for people 19 years of age and younger, and 193 accidental gunshot fatalities for the same demographic.

That's 6,899 accidental deaths and injuries for "children" under the age of 20. If you drop the age of the "children" to 18, the numbers are 5,232 and 174 respectively, for a total of 5,406. The rest of the deaths and injuries are intentional - and "gun safety" won't affect those unless (as I'm sure they mean it) "gun safety" means "guns that won't fire."

The blurb also states:
The report found that up to one-third of unintentional shootings could be prevented by changing gun designs, or adding features such as devices that keep guns from firing when dropped or indicate when the gun is loaded.
Riiiight. One-third (2,922 approximately) could be prevented if all NEW guns had the features they suggest? What about all the OLD guns out there? This is simplistic in the extreme.

But then, that's the strategy, isn't it? Take the statistics, warp them to suit, and make simplistic attention-grabbing arguments. Then claim everyone who calls you on it as a heartless gun-lover who wants to see babies die.

This is the kind of crap that made me an activist.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.