Obama Just Had A Huge “Accidental” Effect On Violent Crime & Murder the headline at madworldnews.com proclaims. There’s nothing much you don’t already know in the article: the President’s crusade against gun rights created a backlash that increased the number of gun sales and concealed carriers. The article includes stats and a Facebook post and caption that I shared on my personal timeline. (Yes, she asked my permission, and I gladly gave it. Anything to promote gun rights and concealed carry.) But did her pro-gun piece sway others? Well . . .
I want to think so. I want to think that rational humans will read a well-researched article on gun ownership. I want to believe that people will look at the facts and consider common sense logic and conclude that guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens are effective at countering crime, both personally and for society. I want to believe that real information counters the bloody shirt-waving and the unicorn farts Utopian ideal that Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and the Campaign to Stop Gun Violence promote in their attempt to ban guns.
But wanting something doesn’t make it so. “Low information voters” – who often determine the results of our elections – are unwilling and/or incapable of considering facts. Period. They’re driven by emotion. The media’s constant focus on horrific firearms-related crime leaves them with a single thought: the cops and the government didn’t protect these folks. They can’t protect me or my family.
The next thought is simple enough: I need a gun. It’s a selfish thought, far from the liberals’ “it takes a village” philosophy. It has nothing to do with protecting liberty from a tyrannical government. But it’s a point-of-view that that promotes gun ownership and gun rights. So it’s not well-reasoned articles that move the needle on gun control. It’s screaming hysterical headlines, often accompanied by anti-gun agitprop. That’s not ideal but it’s effective. I can live with that. Can you?