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Setting the Rules for the Debate |
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Gregory Morris, 10/26/09 11:33:19 am |
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Even in supposedly neutral, or at least less-biased sources, the discussion of "gun laws" has become severely tainted with the anti-gun talking-points. Wikipedia's discussion of state gun laws betrays this fact. Even the NRA's own documents discusses the laws within the Brady Campaign's framework.
The NRA's reference chart begins with what seems like a reasonable list of what the state requires in terms of licensing and permits:
Permit to purchase rifles and shotguns? No
Registration of rifles and shotguns? No
Licensing of owners of rifles and shotguns? No
Permit to carry rifles and shotguns? No
Permit to purchase handgun? No
Registration of handguns? No
Licensing of owners of handguns? No
Permit to carry handguns? Yes
Judging from this list, it would seem that Florida has "lax" gun laws, right?
Can you imagine asking if all shotgun owners should be registered even 50 years ago? You would be laughed at. Now, since the question gets asked, it gives people who don't know any better the opportunity to say, "sure, that sounds reasonable."
When did the nation decide that a permit to purchase a shotgun was even something to consider? Maybe 3 or 4 states even have such extreme and draconian laws. Asking about registering shotgun owners is like asking if every state has strict controls on lobster poaching, just because Florida and Maine do. I accuse Montana of having lax anti-lobster-poaching laws!
It is easy to answer, "a shotgun permit system will be expensive and won't help law enforcement." Unfortunately, when engaging in public debate, it isn't the person with the best answer that wins. It is the one who lays out the ground rules for the debate. By even allowing "shotgun registration" to be a legitimate discussion point, we have given up ground.
The Brady Campaign and Mayor Bloomberg will relentlessly try new angles, since their eventual goal is outlawing private ownership of all firearms. Each time they can promote another "reasonable gun law", even if it utterly fails to pass, they have added another term to the media's vernacular. As the list grows longer and longer, the list of gun laws that don't exist becomes more and more striking. Therefore, they will continue to invent non-issues, and pile them on to the load of nonsense they already push. Simply defeating them one issue at a time isn't enough. |
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| | [Comments are closed after a month.] |
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