This is the new anti-gun mantra.
“Sure, we know that our past gun bans have been shown to be completely ineffective, but if our new ridiculous, onerous, and unconstitutional plans save one life, it will be worth it.”
What will of course never get recorded or reported are all the lives lost because a person was unable to own a firearm or because the process was so onerous that they disincentivized many potential owners. How many of those people will die because they could not defend themselves, because they could not freely exercise a right which is supposed to be guaranteed?
Why just this past week we had multiple stories of good law abiding people using firearms to protect themselves and their families. IF they were unable to do so, they would just be unreported and unheralded crime statistics.
“If it saves just one life” is the weakest of arguments.
If they were truly interested in saving lives, they would undo the cafe mpg standards which have been statistically proven to cost thousands of lives each year due to the lightness of vehicles.
They are willing to fictionally save lives by giving up your rights but not to actually save lives by giving up a few mpg. That tells you all you need to know.
January 10, 2013 at 1:12 pm
When the White House and all government buildings are made gun-free zones, the SS disarmed, and firearms forbidden to personal bodyguards and gated communities, then we have talking points. Cf. Amendment 14, Section 1 re equal protection of the laws.
January 10, 2013 at 2:02 pm
Cars should be banned completely. They kill lots of people each year. And hammers. Ban hammers – the FBI says people get killed by them. And going in the water – people drown after all, so we need to begin with banning any sort of swimming pool.
Maybe we should ban life – it tends to be terminal. Oh, wait a minute, they hired Planned Parenthood to work on that.
January 10, 2013 at 3:03 pm
A number of women have died due to legal botched abortions. I don't suppose they'll apply the "if it saves one life" pitch to that!
January 10, 2013 at 3:30 pm
NPR aired an interview this morning with a woman who was at the Luby's massacre in Texas in '91. She had a gun in her car, as did many of the patrons. At the time, it was illegal to carry a gun outside of a vehicle in Texas. She is speaking out against gun control, very effectively, and it was nice to hear it on NPR (where you would least expect it!)
January 10, 2013 at 6:29 pm
Siobhan, do you know, is that available online, or will it be?
January 10, 2013 at 10:04 pm
"If it saves just one life…"
Then if we ban abortion, which would save just 1 million lives a year…
Yeah, I know, lost my head.