We’ve believed for years that there’s some official playbook that gun control advocates use when pushing their agenda, but now for the first time it looks like a copy of that playbook has leaked out. The CCRKBA found the document, entitled “Preventing Gun Violence Through Effective Messaging” (download for yourself by clicking the title), and made it available late Thursday. I won’t bore you with the whole thing, but I did want to point out one specific section in the summary section that seems to be the blueprint for all civilian disarmament campaigns . . .
Key Messaging Principles:
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ALWAYS FOCUS ON EMOTIONAL AND VALUE-DRIVENARGUMENTS ABOUT GUN VIOLENCE, NOT THE POLITICALFOOD FIGHT IN WASHINGTON OR WONKY STATISTICS.
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TELL STORIES WITH IMAGES AND FEELINGS.
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CLAIM MORAL AUTHORITY AND THE MANTLE OF FREEDOM.
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EMPHASIZE THAT EXTRAORDINARILY DANGEROUS, MILITARY-STYLE WEAPONS ARE NOW WITHIN EASY REACH ACROSS AMERICA.
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EMPHASIZE THAT AMERICA HAS WEAK GUN LAWS AND DON’T ASSUME THAT PEOPLE KNOW THAT.
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CHALLENGE THE NRA ON YOUR TERMS, NOT THEIRS.
Yes, it was really written in all caps. And yes, that’s really how they think they can win: by avoiding a fact based conversation and instead injecting their own emotional argument and hoping that you don’t fight back. They want you to believe that America has weak gun laws. They want you to believe as they do in terms of certain features making an “assault weapon” especially scary. They know they don’t have any data to back up their claims, so they rely instead on emotion.
Gun control advocates are losing the war, and they know it. Which is why they’re turning to slick advertising campaigns to convert people to their beliefs instead of relying on facts. And now we know all their tricks.