John Henry
10-17-2003, 08:56 PM
http://www.sierratimes.com/03/10/15/article_jfreeman.htm
Gun Control or Gun Safety: What's the Difference?
Analysis By Jennifer Freeman
Old tricks. New phrases. Same agenda.
In the beginning, gun-ban organizations were very forthright in their intentions to ban the private ownership of firearms by U.S. citizens. It did not take long for gun-banners to figure out that the overwhelming majority of Americans understand and support the Second Amendment as an individual right and are not likely to support an all out ban of firearms ownership by private citizens.
The gun-ban movement was then forced to take a new approach. An approach known as "gun control." We don't want to ban guns; we just think there should be some level of control. The gun-ban organizations changed their names and their lexicon in order to support the new "gun control" approach. The "gun control" approach gave us a variety of restrictions on firearms ownership, most notably the Brady Ban (commonly referred to as the "Assault Weapons Ban" - "assault weapons" being an erroneous term, of course).
Americans have now grown tired of "gun control" as evidenced in many local, state, and federal elections. As such, the gun-ban obsessives are taking on yet another approach. An approach that appears more innocuous but is, in fact, more dangerous than ever before.
The newest term is "gun safety." We don't want to "control" guns; we just think people who own them should be safe and responsible.
In addition to "gun safety" they have nearly eliminated the term "ban" in favor of soundbite friendly words like: Sensible, safe, and common-sense. These words are appealing to the average American and are not likely to generate any resistance.
By employing a variety of innocuous terms designed to mislead, confuse, and lull the average American into a false sense of security, the gun-ban movement stands to restrict our rights even further, despite the fact that our Second Amendment is now weaker than has been in the history of this nation.
Be aware of gun-ban catch-phrases and their true meaning. Some examples are below:
GUN-BAN TRICK PHRASE
TRANSLATED
I'm not anti-gun.
I believe the police and the military should have firearms. Civilians should not.
All gun owners should be properly trained and licensed.
Once the licensing scheme is in place, the government should stop issuing licenses as is the case in Washington, DC today.
I believe in common-sense gun control.
I support the ban of various, if not all, semi-automatic rifles. I support licensing and registration of firearm owners, waiting periods, purchasing restrictions (1 firearm per month), etc.
I support the rights of hunters.
I support the ban of all firearms excluding relics from the 1800's that can be used for hunting. A firearm license and hunting license would be required, of course, along with a full background investigation.
I want to close the gun-show loophole.
I want to prevent people from engaging in free trade as it pertains to firearms. The government should be informed of each and every firearm transaction. We will need that information later when firearms are confiscated.
I support a ten-day waiting period.
People who have been threatened or are in immediate danger of violence (riots, natural disasters, terrorist attacks) are of no consequence to me. Why don't they just learn karate?
Schools should be gun-free zones.
Children should be left completely unprotected while at school.
So what IS the difference between "gun safety" and "gun control"? Nothing.
Gun Control or Gun Safety: What's the Difference?
Analysis By Jennifer Freeman
Old tricks. New phrases. Same agenda.
In the beginning, gun-ban organizations were very forthright in their intentions to ban the private ownership of firearms by U.S. citizens. It did not take long for gun-banners to figure out that the overwhelming majority of Americans understand and support the Second Amendment as an individual right and are not likely to support an all out ban of firearms ownership by private citizens.
The gun-ban movement was then forced to take a new approach. An approach known as "gun control." We don't want to ban guns; we just think there should be some level of control. The gun-ban organizations changed their names and their lexicon in order to support the new "gun control" approach. The "gun control" approach gave us a variety of restrictions on firearms ownership, most notably the Brady Ban (commonly referred to as the "Assault Weapons Ban" - "assault weapons" being an erroneous term, of course).
Americans have now grown tired of "gun control" as evidenced in many local, state, and federal elections. As such, the gun-ban obsessives are taking on yet another approach. An approach that appears more innocuous but is, in fact, more dangerous than ever before.
The newest term is "gun safety." We don't want to "control" guns; we just think people who own them should be safe and responsible.
In addition to "gun safety" they have nearly eliminated the term "ban" in favor of soundbite friendly words like: Sensible, safe, and common-sense. These words are appealing to the average American and are not likely to generate any resistance.
By employing a variety of innocuous terms designed to mislead, confuse, and lull the average American into a false sense of security, the gun-ban movement stands to restrict our rights even further, despite the fact that our Second Amendment is now weaker than has been in the history of this nation.
Be aware of gun-ban catch-phrases and their true meaning. Some examples are below:
GUN-BAN TRICK PHRASE
TRANSLATED
I'm not anti-gun.
I believe the police and the military should have firearms. Civilians should not.
All gun owners should be properly trained and licensed.
Once the licensing scheme is in place, the government should stop issuing licenses as is the case in Washington, DC today.
I believe in common-sense gun control.
I support the ban of various, if not all, semi-automatic rifles. I support licensing and registration of firearm owners, waiting periods, purchasing restrictions (1 firearm per month), etc.
I support the rights of hunters.
I support the ban of all firearms excluding relics from the 1800's that can be used for hunting. A firearm license and hunting license would be required, of course, along with a full background investigation.
I want to close the gun-show loophole.
I want to prevent people from engaging in free trade as it pertains to firearms. The government should be informed of each and every firearm transaction. We will need that information later when firearms are confiscated.
I support a ten-day waiting period.
People who have been threatened or are in immediate danger of violence (riots, natural disasters, terrorist attacks) are of no consequence to me. Why don't they just learn karate?
Schools should be gun-free zones.
Children should be left completely unprotected while at school.
So what IS the difference between "gun safety" and "gun control"? Nothing.