But you have to wonder what fuels all of this anti-gun agenda and what is to profit from doing so? They know gun control doesn't reduce crime or murder, they know they can't get rid of guns completely, so what is the motivation?
This is an excellent talking point and one that I myself have pondered. Disregarding any rational reason to favor gun control - i.e. those who may or may not have a deliberate agenda - what compels the "average" citizen to support the idea? I'm fairly well convinced that it's a combination of fear and some delusional ambition to "help" or "improve" the world. They must believe that firearms are a major cause of societal problems, and that legislation designed to prohibit the distribution of firearms amongst the populace is actually effective to both ends.
I've noted that a great many "regular" people who despise guns and gun owners and so forth actually have little to no experience with firearms. They tend to be suburbanites who have never been on the receiving end of real threats or violence and and take an excessively optimistic view of human nature. Most have never fired or even handled a gun, and some have only viewed them from afar. It goes without saying that the only shootings they've seen have been in movies. Consequently, they incorrectly view weapons as moral implements on their own. If a person had no need or desire to kill or maim, what use would they have for a firearm? Clearly, then, a firearm must be viewed as an enabler for violence.
I understand this world, because I'm
from it. I was born into an affluent family and sheltered from birth. My mother was (and still is) vehemently anti-gun, while my father is actually a collector. Needless to say, their marriage wasn't particularly successful (oh, there were other reasons, to be sure).
Two things helped me avoid the trap:
- My father always challenged me to think objectively and carefully analyze facts and information before forming opinions.
- I spent three years (as a university student) living in a borderline ghetto, and watched the depths to which society can sink first hand. My apartment was robbed on more than one occasion, a close friend was attacked for little more than a couple dollars, and there were three confirmed drug dealers living in my building. There were brawls in the parking lot on a fairly regular basis. The highlight was during my final year there (and the one that finally pushed to leave) when I had to hold two guys out of the apartment at knife point because they refused to believe that their dealer (who apparently owed them money) didn't live in my apartment. I didn't tell my parents about it because I didn't want them to worry - and because, in a morbid sort of way, I appreciated the experience and the level of independence I achieved as a result. Nevertheless, this shattered my distorted suburban perception of reality - unfortunately, cynicism is the price of wisdom.
Cities and states with the most restrictive gun controls have the highest rates of different crimes.
Careful with this one - remember the old relationship between correlation and causation. I've seen far too many gun advocates use statements like these to imply that an "armed" populace (or at least one that isn't living under tight firearms restrictions) is an effective deterrent to crime. While this may be, it's quite likely that crime-ridden areas with tight firearms restrictions were crime-ridden areas
before these regulations were in place, which is
why said regulations are in place (in other words, that approach could be turned against us). To work that to our advantage, we are better off suggesting that this demonstrates the ineffectiveness of gun control, rather than promoting the "deterrent" approach.
I seldom trumpet the self-defense mantra when stating my case to any anti. Remember that they are viewing the issue through an emotionally-tinted lens, and you risk coming off as a vigilante when you taut the idea of armed self-defense. I prefer to express RKBA in the context of a free society defined by individual rights
and responsibilities.
