Examining the data
One of the benefits of living in the future is the ease of which one can access primary sources. I was preparing to refute some Common Nonsense, and was looking at the causes of death for children, and I was able to generate this graph: (2007 is the latest data that the CDC provides.)
What is interesting, is that on the CDC site, you can click into the bars and further break down the data (these are raw numbers, not per 100,000). I knew that firearms were way down on the list. What I didn’t realize was how high some other things were on the list. And some of the data is oddly specific:
- 304 children drowned in swimming pools.
- 276 children drowned in natural water.
- 305 children died after “Accidental poisoning by and exposure to narcotics and psychodysleptics [hallucinogens], not elsewhere classified”
- 141 children were killed as an “Occupant of special ATV or other MV designed primarily for off-road use”
So there you go. Three specific things that are demonstrably more dangerous to children than firearms: Swimming pools, narcotics, and ATVs. I can only assume that since this is for the children, you will change the focus of your group immediately.
On propaganda
Sean has gotten me reading Brian Patrick’s “The Ten Commandments of Propaganda.”
Commandment One is Control the Flow of Information. Seems pretty simple, right? If you control what people see, you can control what they believe.
The modern “Gun Control” movement was based on this tactic. They controlled the mass media and they controlled the message. And the tactic was very effective for a long time. It reached it’s high water mark with the passage of the 1994 “assault weapons” ban. The Violence Policy Center is quite open about their use of the tactic:
Assault weapons—just like armor-piercing bullets, machine guns, and plastic firearms—are a new topic. The weapons’ menacing looks, coupled with the public’s confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons—anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun—can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons.
– Josh Sugarmann, Director, Violence Policy Center, “Assault Weapons and Accessories in America”
The problem that the gun control industry has is that they no longer control the flow of information. Any news release that they put out with skewed statistics is immediately dissected by an army of unpaid volunteers, every fallacious post quickly fisked, every tweet drowned by a flurry of counter tweets.
And so, they resort to the same old muscle memory. Control the flow of information. Joan Peterson (no link due to this blog’s policy, but you can read for yourself at commongunsense.com) “moderates” her comments, ignoring arguments that she cannot win. Baldr Odinson does the same.
It’s with this background that I read this post from Miguel at GunFreeZone. It seems that the CSGV noticed our counter protest and has decided that the best course of action was to distort what happened, and also “out” gunbloggers. Miguel’s link (and that’s his real name) will take you to the original CSGV page. Go take a look. I’ll wait.
There are two problems with this approach. First, none of us are ashamed of what we write, and anyone who reads our blogs will simply find a group of thoughtful, intelligent people with diverse backgrounds. Second, and this is key, is that they no longer control the flow of information. The primary sources are out there and available. And all CSGV did was highlight the size of the counter-protest.
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Half-Truth Henigan is at it again:
“Really it is a national disgrace that the only piece of gun-related legislation to come to a vote since Tucson was this legislation that would have enabled dangerous concealed carriers like Jared Loughner to carry their guns across state lines,” Henigan said.
- Jared Loughner didn’t have a concealed handgun permit (Arizona doesn’t require one.) Thus HR822 wouldn’t have applied here.
- The law does not enable “dangerous concealed carriers like Jared Loughner” to carry their guns across state lines. Jared Loughner was a murderous psychopath. Murderous psychopaths don’t obey laws, and are already carrying their guns across state lines. HR822 would enable responsible concealed carriers like you and me to carry our guns across state lines.
Microstamping update
NSSF has some updated info on microstamping in NY.
Microstamping moves forward in NY
North Carolina is my adopted home, but New York is where I grew up. Thus it is with great sadness that I note that the New York microstamping bill has passed out of committee. The NSSF has launched a media blitz in opposition.
I’ve got some friends in Albany, and the rumors that I am hearing is that a certain big city mayor is pressuring the Senate, trying to convince them it is a done deal. Remington and Kimber are both in New York, and both of them would be (pardon the pun) impacted by a bill that effectively bans semi-automatic handguns in New York by mandating an unproven, expensive, single source technology that can be easily defeated, one has to wonder if they would continue to manufacture in the Empire State. New York is hemorrhaging jobs as it is. It would be a shame to loose two manufacturing giants, and the associated jobs. The Democrat side of the aisle recognizes this, and is getting nervous.
Keep the pressure on, New Yorkers. Call your state senator. Right now. If this goes through in NY, they are coming for the rest of us next.
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Do your part!
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