December 14, 2012

Regulations won't stop gun crimes?

Immediately following the Newtown shootings, a lot of stupid pro-gun arguments surfaced. Here's a discussion of perhaps the stupidest argument offered by gun nuts for opposing gun control:

How many times do I have to say this? "People will always find a way to buy guns" is an invalid argument against gun laws, which exist to reduce access, not eliminate it.It's such a stupid argument--like, "People will always assault other people, so why have laws against it?"

A good answer to that fallacy is to ask, "Why don't you get rid of the locks on your doors and windows then? Burglars can still find a way to get in."

My personal pet peeve is the tired "Why don't we ban (cars, knives, spoons, etc.) because THOSE kill people too." That's kind of like saying that we should stop trying to cure cancer because people will still die of heart disease.

If said gun nut is conservative, try: "People will always have sex, why ban abortion?"
Yeah, let's (try to) ban abortion, homosexuality, pornography, birth control, sex education, etc. But not guns, because people will always find a way to kill each other. Do you understand how stupid you sound, gun nuts?

As with guns, some auto deaths are caused by people who break laws or behave irresponsibly. But we don’t shrug and say, “Cars don’t kill people, drunks do.” Instead, we have required seat belts, air bags, child seats and crash safety standards. We have introduced limited licenses for young drivers and tried to curb the use of mobile phones while driving. All this has reduced America’s traffic fatality rate per mile driven by nearly 90 percent since the 1950s. Some of you are alive today because of those auto safety regulations. And if we don’t treat guns in the same serious way, some of you and some of your children will die because of our failure.

--Nicholas Kristof, NY Times


People will always find ways to hurt each other, so we shouldn't have laws prohibiting anything. Is that really your argument, gun nuts?

For example, people will always find ways to kill each other. So why try to limit guns, bombs, flame-throwers, tanks, etc.? Heck, why try to limit murder? It's gonna happen anyway, so what's the point of passing laws against it? Laws only take power from individuals and communities and give it to government bureaucrats.

If terrorists want to kill somebody, they'll find a way. A plane, a bomb, a chemical or biological weapon. Therefore, let's do nothing.

This is the "thinking" of stupid gun nuts.

For more on gun control, see Newtown Shootings Show America's Pathology and Time to Talk About Guns.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Driving a car is not a right guaranteed by the Constitution. The right to keep and bear arms UNINFRINGED, IS guaranteed by the Constitution.

Rob said...

I guess you're one of the conservative idiots who can't read or understand the words in the Second Amendment. The right to bear arms "uninfringed" exists within the context of a "well regulated militia." Repeat: well regulated.

For more on the subject, see http://www.bluecorncomics.com/2ndamend.htm.