Some people respond to information about gun deaths with the short reply that information has no place in the American conversation about guns, because gun ownership is a “right.” It doesn’t matter what guns actually do, the true odds of shooting a bad guy, how many innocent people die, what Norwegians with guns might have managed when Breivik came, how dangerous a gun is to its owner, or anything else. The facts are completely irrelevant, because all that matters is that it is a right to own guns. Period.
If you want to know what’s wrong with this way of thinking, then keep reading. If you are convinced by the above line of reasoning, then don’t read this. You won’t like it.
First, people, in the form of governments, grant rights. And they take those rights away. They do this when it seems reasonable to do so.
…people who unquestioningly believe in something because of its status as a right are dangerous. They are dangerous, because they base decisions on authority instead of their own ability to reason about right and wrong. This makes them susceptible to manipulation by others and makes them a threat to themselves and the people around them. – Thomas Hills, Ph.D. for Psychology Today, On Gun Rights in America
Thomas Hills, Ph.D.: Anyone Who Believes in the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is Dangerous
