Gun debate: reason versus emotion?

by Tom Knighton

The idea that owning and carrying a gun is necessary means that the illusion of a safe society is false, and that’s something many folks just can’t live with.

Guns are used for personal protection an estimated 2.5 million times per year. That number has yet to impress gun control advocates who argue that personal protection is what the police are for (regardless of Castle Rock vs. Gonzales).

The argument has been one of data versus emotions. [LIberal's minds are] made up, primarily based on emotion. Guns were bad, despite evidence to the contrary.

So what does it matter? Recent Court decisions have expanded gun rights to some extent and clearly stated that the right to keep and bear arms is an individual right versus a collective one. We’re winning, right?

Not so much. If you take a look at those Court decisions, they offer up a great deal to be critical of. In Heller vs District of Columbia, the Court said that some control measures were fine. All that decision did was prevent an outright ban like DC had before the decision. However, New York City’s laws are well clear of that. You’re allowed to carry a gun - if you can get an extremely hard to obtain license. No total ban there.

The battle to protect our Second Amendment rights is far from over, so we must remain vigilent. We must also continue the debate or else find ourselves suddenly shut out of the conversation.

http://www.unitedliberty.org/articles/8353-gun-debate-reason-versus-emotion

From the comments:

Now I simply approach it from their emotional side. Personalizing the issue seems to work better, albeit more slowly. For instance, I point out that California’s “lock up your guns” law resulted in the death of three children in one family by a man armed with a pitchfork. The father feared the government more than fearing a break-in by a crazed felon.

One anti-rights person summed it up by telling me “It must be awful to be so afraid that you think you need a gun.”

I asked him if he locks his doors at night. He did. “So you think about crime every night when you lock the doors?” No, he said. “Liar. You lock the doors to keep out the goblins would would rob you, rape your wife or kill you. When I lock the doors, I know why. I also make sure my pistol is accessible and the shotgun is loaded. And I sleep better knowing that I’m prepared, just in case they get inside.”

The truth is in why he/they lock their doors. The difference is they avoid thinking about the ugly implications if those locks don’t work.
-ConlawBloganon