Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
By Dennis A. Henigan
The American people can overcome the gun lobby, but only if we confront, and expose, three myths that have long dominated the gun debate and given the politicians a ready excuse for inaction.
First, we must not let the opponents of reform get away with the empty bromide that "guns don't kill people, people kill people." Does any rational person really believe that the Sandy Hook killer could have murdered twenty-seven people in minutes with a knife or a baseball bat? Guns enable people to kill, more effectively and efficiently than any other widely available weapon.
Second, we must challenge the idea that no law can prevent violent people from getting guns. This canard is refuted by the experience of every other western industrialized nation. Their violent crime rates are comparable to ours. But their homicide rates are exponentially lower because their strong gun laws make it harder for violent individuals to get guns.
Third, we must not accept the notion that our Constitution condemns us to the continued slaughter of our children. It is true that the Supreme Court has expanded gun rights in recent years; it is equally true that the Court has insisted that the right allows for reasonable restrictions. In his opinion in the Heller Second Amendment case, Justice Scalia listed restrictions on "dangerous and unusual weapons" among the kinds of gun laws that are still "presumptively lawful." Assault weapons that fire scores of rounds without reloading surely are "dangerous and unusual."
The tobacco control movement overcame some equally powerful mythology to fundamentally alter American attitudes toward tobacco products. The tobacco industry's effort to sow confusion and uncertainty about the link between smoking and disease eventually was exposed as a fraud. The entrenched view that smoking was simply a bad habit that individuals can choose to break was destroyed by evidence that the tobacco companies knew that nicotine was powerfully addictive and engineered their cigarettes to ensure that people got hooked and stayed hooked. The assumption that smoking harms only the smoker was contradicted by the overwhelming evidence of the danger of second-hand smoke.
Once these myths were exposed, attitudes changed, policies changed and we started saving countless lives. Since youth smoking peaked in the mid-1990s, smoking rates have fallen by about three-fourths among 8th graders, two-thirds among 10th graders and half among 12th graders. A sea change has occurred on the tobacco issue.
Similarly fundamental change can come to the gun issue as well. The myths about gun control, however, still have a hold on too many of our political leaders and their constituents. We will hear them repeated again and again in the coming weeks of intense debate. Every time we hear them, we must respond and we must persuade.
There is too much at stake to be silent.
More: Dennis A. Henigan: It Was Done on Tobacco. It Can Be Done on Guns
By Dennis A. Henigan
The American people can overcome the gun lobby, but only if we confront, and expose, three myths that have long dominated the gun debate and given the politicians a ready excuse for inaction.
First, we must not let the opponents of reform get away with the empty bromide that "guns don't kill people, people kill people." Does any rational person really believe that the Sandy Hook killer could have murdered twenty-seven people in minutes with a knife or a baseball bat? Guns enable people to kill, more effectively and efficiently than any other widely available weapon.
Second, we must challenge the idea that no law can prevent violent people from getting guns. This canard is refuted by the experience of every other western industrialized nation. Their violent crime rates are comparable to ours. But their homicide rates are exponentially lower because their strong gun laws make it harder for violent individuals to get guns.
Third, we must not accept the notion that our Constitution condemns us to the continued slaughter of our children. It is true that the Supreme Court has expanded gun rights in recent years; it is equally true that the Court has insisted that the right allows for reasonable restrictions. In his opinion in the Heller Second Amendment case, Justice Scalia listed restrictions on "dangerous and unusual weapons" among the kinds of gun laws that are still "presumptively lawful." Assault weapons that fire scores of rounds without reloading surely are "dangerous and unusual."
The tobacco control movement overcame some equally powerful mythology to fundamentally alter American attitudes toward tobacco products. The tobacco industry's effort to sow confusion and uncertainty about the link between smoking and disease eventually was exposed as a fraud. The entrenched view that smoking was simply a bad habit that individuals can choose to break was destroyed by evidence that the tobacco companies knew that nicotine was powerfully addictive and engineered their cigarettes to ensure that people got hooked and stayed hooked. The assumption that smoking harms only the smoker was contradicted by the overwhelming evidence of the danger of second-hand smoke.
Once these myths were exposed, attitudes changed, policies changed and we started saving countless lives. Since youth smoking peaked in the mid-1990s, smoking rates have fallen by about three-fourths among 8th graders, two-thirds among 10th graders and half among 12th graders. A sea change has occurred on the tobacco issue.
Similarly fundamental change can come to the gun issue as well. The myths about gun control, however, still have a hold on too many of our political leaders and their constituents. We will hear them repeated again and again in the coming weeks of intense debate. Every time we hear them, we must respond and we must persuade.
There is too much at stake to be silent.
More: Dennis A. Henigan: It Was Done on Tobacco. It Can Be Done on Guns
I only got as far as the first paragraph, and yes someone did, I believe it was the exact same day as sandy hook, in china, with knives. And I think that individual killed a couple more. So yes it is believable because it happened.
Nobody banned cigarettesTime for citizens to "just say no to guns"
Turn them all in?????? Is that your suggestion????
Smokers just became pariahs......nobody wants them around
Wives will not allow cigarettes around their kids. Same will happen with guns
That's the way it works with smoking tooTime for citizens to "just say no to guns"
I agree if you don't want a gun, don't own one. If you want a gun, no reason you can't.
Only social pressure makes it unacceptable. With guns, fewer and fewer families keep one in the house. More children will shoot a gun in a video game than a real one wth their father
Nobody banned cigarettesTime for citizens to "just say no to guns"
Turn them all in?????? Is that your suggestion????
Smokers just became pariahs......nobody wants them around
Wives will not allow cigarettes around their kids. Same will happen with guns
Women are the biggest growth sector in gun ownership dipshit.....they understand that they are physically weaker than most men......and a gun gives them a chance to survive...
By Dennis A. Henigan
The American people can overcome the gun lobby, but only if we confront, and expose, three myths that have long dominated the gun debate and given the politicians a ready excuse for inaction.
First, we must not let the opponents of reform get away with the empty bromide that "guns don't kill people, people kill people." Does any rational person really believe that the Sandy Hook killer could have murdered twenty-seven people in minutes with a knife or a baseball bat? Guns enable people to kill, more effectively and efficiently than any other widely available weapon.
Second, we must challenge the idea that no law can prevent violent people from getting guns. This canard is refuted by the experience of every other western industrialized nation. Their violent crime rates are comparable to ours. But their homicide rates are exponentially lower because their strong gun laws make it harder for violent individuals to get guns.
Third, we must not accept the notion that our Constitution condemns us to the continued slaughter of our children. It is true that the Supreme Court has expanded gun rights in recent years; it is equally true that the Court has insisted that the right allows for reasonable restrictions. In his opinion in the Heller Second Amendment case, Justice Scalia listed restrictions on "dangerous and unusual weapons" among the kinds of gun laws that are still "presumptively lawful." Assault weapons that fire scores of rounds without reloading surely are "dangerous and unusual."
The tobacco control movement overcame some equally powerful mythology to fundamentally alter American attitudes toward tobacco products. The tobacco industry's effort to sow confusion and uncertainty about the link between smoking and disease eventually was exposed as a fraud. The entrenched view that smoking was simply a bad habit that individuals can choose to break was destroyed by evidence that the tobacco companies knew that nicotine was powerfully addictive and engineered their cigarettes to ensure that people got hooked and stayed hooked. The assumption that smoking harms only the smoker was contradicted by the overwhelming evidence of the danger of second-hand smoke.
Once these myths were exposed, attitudes changed, policies changed and we started saving countless lives. Since youth smoking peaked in the mid-1990s, smoking rates have fallen by about three-fourths among 8th graders, two-thirds among 10th graders and half among 12th graders. A sea change has occurred on the tobacco issue.
Similarly fundamental change can come to the gun issue as well. The myths about gun control, however, still have a hold on too many of our political leaders and their constituents. We will hear them repeated again and again in the coming weeks of intense debate. Every time we hear them, we must respond and we must persuade.
There is too much at stake to be silent.
More: Dennis A. Henigan: It Was Done on Tobacco. It Can Be Done on Guns
I only got as far as the first paragraph, and yes someone did, I believe it was the exact same day as sandy hook, in china, with knives. And I think that individual killed a couple more. So yes it is believable because it happened.
Nice, France....89 people murdered, over 400 injured, with a rental truck.
Allow?Nobody banned cigarettesTime for citizens to "just say no to guns"
Turn them all in?????? Is that your suggestion????
Smokers just became pariahs......nobody wants them around
Wives will not allow cigarettes around their kids. Same will happen with guns
And they push for legalization of smoking marijuana.Nobody banned cigarettesTime for citizens to "just say no to guns"
Turn them all in?????? Is that your suggestion????
Smokers just became pariahs......nobody wants them around
Wives will not allow cigarettes around their kids. Same will happen with guns
All because of a 2nd hand smoke lie.
.
Why are the number of hunting licenses declining while the population is increasing?
Hey...dumb shit...even democrats, as stupid as they are, understand that guns = survival in a violent criminal attack.....
In 2017 women and minorities are buying guns. Here's why
Among the seven states (plus the District of Columbia) that the New York Times categorizes as consistently voting for Democrats, there was a 20.6% increase in background checks from October to November. By contrast, there was only a 4.5% increase among the 19 states that the Times labeled as consistently Republican.
Excluding California, there was still a 13.1% increase in gun sales in the other heavily Democrat states and DC. This was still almost 3 times the increase in heavily Republican states.
-------
On the other hand, heavily black states also experienced larger post-election sales and the trend continued through February. Comparing background checks in October to the average monthly rate in November through February, the 25 states with the highest percentage of blacks had more than twice the relative increase in gun background check compared to October relative to the 25 states where blacks are relatively underrepresented. (The 25 most heavily black states averaged 18% black and the 25 least black states averaged just 3.3% black.) Monthly gun sales in November through February increased by 8.2% in the heavily black states but actually fell by 2.7% in the other ones.
These changes fit in with general national trends in gun use and ownership. The number of concealed handgun permits has soared from about 4.6 million in 2007 to 14.5 million in 2016. And over the last four years some data indicates that permit-holding has been increasing about 75% more quickly among minorities than among whites. The number of women with permits has increased twice as quickly as the number of men with permits.
-----
The two groups with the largest attitudinal shifts were blacks and women. Compared to two years before, nearly twice the percentage of blacks answered that gun ownership does more to protect them than harm them. It rose from 29 to 54 percent. For women, the increase was 11 percentage points.
Gallup polls have also shown remarkable changes over time. In 2000, only 35% of respondents thought that guns in the home made them safer. By the end of 2014, that answer was shared by 63% of people. Even 41% of Democrats answered that way.
Guns are not cigarettes.....they save lives......about 25,000 a year....and normal people understand this...
Nobody is allowing marijuana smoking in bars and restaurants or in the workplaceAnd they push for legalization of smoking marijuana.Nobody banned cigarettesTime for citizens to "just say no to guns"
Turn them all in?????? Is that your suggestion????
Smokers just became pariahs......nobody wants them around
Wives will not allow cigarettes around their kids. Same will happen with guns
All because of a 2nd hand smoke lie.
.
No 2nd hand smoke argument there.
Wonderful.His wife knowsGee how can that happen when you don't know if a person owns a gun or even if he is carrying a concealed weapon?Nobody banned cigarettesTime for citizens to "just say no to guns"
Turn them all in?????? Is that your suggestion????
Smokers just became pariahs......nobody wants them around
Wives will not allow cigarettes around their kids. Same will happen with guns
You better just treat everyone you ever see as a pariah
Lack of pussy can be quite a motivator to get rid of your guns
Why are the number of hunting licenses declining while the population is increasing?
Hey...dumb shit...even democrats, as stupid as they are, understand that guns = survival in a violent criminal attack.....
In 2017 women and minorities are buying guns. Here's why
Among the seven states (plus the District of Columbia) that the New York Times categorizes as consistently voting for Democrats, there was a 20.6% increase in background checks from October to November. By contrast, there was only a 4.5% increase among the 19 states that the Times labeled as consistently Republican.
Excluding California, there was still a 13.1% increase in gun sales in the other heavily Democrat states and DC. This was still almost 3 times the increase in heavily Republican states.
-------
On the other hand, heavily black states also experienced larger post-election sales and the trend continued through February. Comparing background checks in October to the average monthly rate in November through February, the 25 states with the highest percentage of blacks had more than twice the relative increase in gun background check compared to October relative to the 25 states where blacks are relatively underrepresented. (The 25 most heavily black states averaged 18% black and the 25 least black states averaged just 3.3% black.) Monthly gun sales in November through February increased by 8.2% in the heavily black states but actually fell by 2.7% in the other ones.
These changes fit in with general national trends in gun use and ownership. The number of concealed handgun permits has soared from about 4.6 million in 2007 to 14.5 million in 2016. And over the last four years some data indicates that permit-holding has been increasing about 75% more quickly among minorities than among whites. The number of women with permits has increased twice as quickly as the number of men with permits.
-----
The two groups with the largest attitudinal shifts were blacks and women. Compared to two years before, nearly twice the percentage of blacks answered that gun ownership does more to protect them than harm them. It rose from 29 to 54 percent. For women, the increase was 11 percentage points.
Gallup polls have also shown remarkable changes over time. In 2000, only 35% of respondents thought that guns in the home made them safer. By the end of 2014, that answer was shared by 63% of people. Even 41% of Democrats answered that way.
Guns are not cigarettes.....they save lives......about 25,000 a year....and normal people understand this...
The gun culture is eroding....just like cigarette smoking
Driving and coming to work high is worse than sitting in a bar smoking a cigarette.Nobody is allowing marijuana smoking in bars and restaurants or in the workplaceAnd they push for legalization of smoking marijuana.Nobody banned cigarettesTime for citizens to "just say no to guns"
Turn them all in?????? Is that your suggestion????
Smokers just became pariahs......nobody wants them around
Wives will not allow cigarettes around their kids. Same will happen with guns
All because of a 2nd hand smoke lie.
.
No 2nd hand smoke argument there.
And the percentage of female smokers is increasingWhy are the number of hunting licenses declining while the population is increasing?
Hey...dumb shit...even democrats, as stupid as they are, understand that guns = survival in a violent criminal attack.....
In 2017 women and minorities are buying guns. Here's why
Among the seven states (plus the District of Columbia) that the New York Times categorizes as consistently voting for Democrats, there was a 20.6% increase in background checks from October to November. By contrast, there was only a 4.5% increase among the 19 states that the Times labeled as consistently Republican.
Excluding California, there was still a 13.1% increase in gun sales in the other heavily Democrat states and DC. This was still almost 3 times the increase in heavily Republican states.
-------
On the other hand, heavily black states also experienced larger post-election sales and the trend continued through February. Comparing background checks in October to the average monthly rate in November through February, the 25 states with the highest percentage of blacks had more than twice the relative increase in gun background check compared to October relative to the 25 states where blacks are relatively underrepresented. (The 25 most heavily black states averaged 18% black and the 25 least black states averaged just 3.3% black.) Monthly gun sales in November through February increased by 8.2% in the heavily black states but actually fell by 2.7% in the other ones.
These changes fit in with general national trends in gun use and ownership. The number of concealed handgun permits has soared from about 4.6 million in 2007 to 14.5 million in 2016. And over the last four years some data indicates that permit-holding has been increasing about 75% more quickly among minorities than among whites. The number of women with permits has increased twice as quickly as the number of men with permits.
-----
The two groups with the largest attitudinal shifts were blacks and women. Compared to two years before, nearly twice the percentage of blacks answered that gun ownership does more to protect them than harm them. It rose from 29 to 54 percent. For women, the increase was 11 percentage points.
Gallup polls have also shown remarkable changes over time. In 2000, only 35% of respondents thought that guns in the home made them safer. By the end of 2014, that answer was shared by 63% of people. Even 41% of Democrats answered that way.
Guns are not cigarettes.....they save lives......about 25,000 a year....and normal people understand this...
The gun culture is eroding....just like cigarette smoking
No...the hunting culture is declining.....the female and minority gun culture is growing...and the other gun owners aren't answering phone surveys that ask about guns.....
Nobody banned cigarettesTime for citizens to "just say no to guns"
Turn them all in?????? Is that your suggestion????
Smokers just became pariahs......nobody wants them around
Wives will not allow cigarettes around their kids. Same will happen with guns
By Dennis A. Henigan
The American people can overcome the gun lobby, but only if we confront, and expose, three myths that have long dominated the gun debate and given the politicians a ready excuse for inaction.
First, we must not let the opponents of reform get away with the empty bromide that "guns don't kill people, people kill people." Does any rational person really believe that the Sandy Hook killer could have murdered twenty-seven people in minutes with a knife or a baseball bat? Guns enable people to kill, more effectively and efficiently than any other widely available weapon.
Second, we must challenge the idea that no law can prevent violent people from getting guns. This canard is refuted by the experience of every other western industrialized nation. Their violent crime rates are comparable to ours. But their homicide rates are exponentially lower because their strong gun laws make it harder for violent individuals to get guns.
Third, we must not accept the notion that our Constitution condemns us to the continued slaughter of our children. It is true that the Supreme Court has expanded gun rights in recent years; it is equally true that the Court has insisted that the right allows for reasonable restrictions. In his opinion in the Heller Second Amendment case, Justice Scalia listed restrictions on "dangerous and unusual weapons" among the kinds of gun laws that are still "presumptively lawful." Assault weapons that fire scores of rounds without reloading surely are "dangerous and unusual."
The tobacco control movement overcame some equally powerful mythology to fundamentally alter American attitudes toward tobacco products. The tobacco industry's effort to sow confusion and uncertainty about the link between smoking and disease eventually was exposed as a fraud. The entrenched view that smoking was simply a bad habit that individuals can choose to break was destroyed by evidence that the tobacco companies knew that nicotine was powerfully addictive and engineered their cigarettes to ensure that people got hooked and stayed hooked. The assumption that smoking harms only the smoker was contradicted by the overwhelming evidence of the danger of second-hand smoke.
Once these myths were exposed, attitudes changed, policies changed and we started saving countless lives. Since youth smoking peaked in the mid-1990s, smoking rates have fallen by about three-fourths among 8th graders, two-thirds among 10th graders and half among 12th graders. A sea change has occurred on the tobacco issue.
Similarly fundamental change can come to the gun issue as well. The myths about gun control, however, still have a hold on too many of our political leaders and their constituents. We will hear them repeated again and again in the coming weeks of intense debate. Every time we hear them, we must respond and we must persuade.
There is too much at stake to be silent.
More: Dennis A. Henigan: It Was Done on Tobacco. It Can Be Done on Guns
Nobody banned cigarettesTime for citizens to "just say no to guns"
Turn them all in?????? Is that your suggestion????
Smokers just became pariahs......nobody wants them around
Wives will not allow cigarettes around their kids. Same will happen with guns
There you have it, folks......leftard logic at it's finest.....
