Wednesday, October 4, 2017

"Common Sense Gun Control" is Heffalumps

Really?  It's nonsense, and really quite shockingly low caliber nonsense.  When you hear someone say these words and (quite reasonably) ask what the proposed restriction is and what it will accomplish, all you hear is nonsense.

There's quite a simple reason for this, and I wrote about it 9 years ago.  I'd only been blogging a week or two, but I'm digging it out because the topic is evergreen.

Common Sense Gun Controls are Heffalumps

This started out as Quote of the Day, from Bruce (with my original comment):
From the Progressive Dictionary:
Common-sense (adj.): a term used to describe laws that allow rich, white people to enjoy the exercise of their Constitutional rights, while systematically denying the same to low-income people of color.
They think that they can talk people out of it.

Socialism a failure?  Gun control a failure?  Schools failing?  Do it againharder.  We'll talk the rubesout of it.  After allwe're nicer and smarterright?  What could possibly go wrong?

That was the original post. I thought it would be quick and fun, just toss a few corroborating links and get your snark on. After going way overboard on links, I found the fun evaporated. As I read the links, I could feel my mellow (did I mention that I'm on vacation? thanks for asking!) being harshed. It became a link rant.

Of course the "progressives" are going to keep trying the same thing a different way. We have a clash of world views here. Heller is part of it, but so is Iraq, the relationship of the citizen to the government, the whole thing. When you disagree on basic premises, it's really hard to find common ground. You're messing with their faith.

So Heller's only a start. Heller isn't the beginning of the end for gun control, at best it's the end of the beginning.

Bah. My mellow was so harshed, that I had to turn to the Relevant Literature for help in dealing with liberal "Common Sense" arguments. Ta da! Instantly, all became clear, my mood lightened, a spring returned to my step, and a gleam to my eye. The problem is that we try to argue with facts (I'm looking AT YOU, Kevin).  They argue with Heffalumps.
One day, when Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet were all talking together, Christopher Robin finished the mouthful he was eating and said carelessly:

"I saw a Heffalump today, Piglet."

"What was it doing?" asked Piglet.

"Just lumping along," said Christopher Robin.

"I don't think it saw me."

"I saw one once," said Piglet. "At least, I think I did," he said. "Only perhaps it wasn't."

"So did I," said Pooh, wondering what a Heffalump was like.

"You don't often see them," said Christopher Robin carelessly.

"Not now," said Piglet.

"Not at this time of year," said Pooh.

Then they all talked about something else, until it was time for Pooh and Piglet to go home together.
Think I'm joking? The Heller dissents can only be classified as Heffalumps. Do Heffalumps self-refute?

--------- End of original post -------

So remember, "Common Sense Gun Control" is drivel. People who talk about it are talking about Heffalumps.   I'd like a higher caliber drivel, please.

1 comment:

SiGraybeard said...

Common sense gun control is defined as "agreeing with me" to the one dropping that phrase.

One of my commenters yesterday dropped a link to an article on FiveThirtyEight (of all places!) that actually makes sense. The author points out that we get all worked up over mass shootings but they share virtually nothing with most so-called "gun violence", except for a gun being used. The author, Maggie Koerth-Baker, actually talks about the majority of gun deaths being suicides, and even broaches the demographic issues that none of her anti-gun teammates will address. Combine that with John Lott's data that 2% of the counties in the US, literally a small handful or zip codes, account for 51% of the murders and maybe they'll get somewhere by addressing the hand holding the gun, not the gun itself.

None of her fixes involve doing anything to guns or normal gun owners. It goes without saying that she's way out of the mainstream on this, with Feinstein dropping a bill to outlaw bumpfire stocks. They'll probably fire her and make sure she never works again.