Reply #86: More CSGV lies...

[OpSomBlood]

7. The Second Amendment was adopted to ensure the right of states to maintain their own militia to protect themselves against foreign and federal encroachment. It does not guarantee the individual a right to own firearms for self-defense. The National Guard, created in 1903, is the contemporary equivalent of the organized state militia. The citizens in the National Guard are provided with arms when called to duty and are not required to privately own firearms
for service.

These guys are doing my job for me. They claim that the National Guard (which was created 122 years after the Bill of Rights) is the militia that defends the states from federal tyranny.

Who buys the weapons for the National Guard? The federal government. Who has discretion to dispatch the National Guard to foreign conflicts? The federal government.

Hmm, it seems to me that the National Guard is really a part of the standing army, not a militia formed of "all able-bodied men."

8. As the Bill of Rights was being drafted, the founders deliberately wrote the Second Amendment so that it binds firearm possession to the military needs of the state. Therefore, the gun lobby distorts the words of the founding fathers when it ignores the importance of state militia in the Second Amendment.

"And that the said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the Press, or the rights of Conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms" - Samuel Adams

"A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined." - George Washington

"The great object is that every man be armed...Everyone who is able may have a gun." - Patrick Henry

"Little more can reasonably be aimed at, with respect to the people at large, than to have them properly armed and equipped." - Alexander Hamilton

"One loves to possess arms, tho they hope never to have occasion for them." - Thomas Jefferson

"Arms in the hands of citizens be used at individual discretion… in private self-defense." - John Adams

9. Annually, about 30,000 people die of firearm injuries. In 2000, guns claimed 28,663 lives in the United States, the majority from suicides. Firearm deaths, 2000, by cause:
Suicide — 16,586
Homicide — 10,801
Unintentional Shootings — 1,276

Not a lie, but these are big, scary numbers. But again, these guys do my work for me with this:

There are roughly 200 million firearms in America, 65 million of them handguns—more than one for each adult.

So let me get this straight...in any given year (assuming one gun is involved in each death), about 0.015% of the guns in America are used to kill another person. Is my math wrong here?

10. Research also shows that the use of a firearm to resist a violent assault actually increases the victim’s risk of injury and death.

Ah, the pacifist "don't fight back, it'll only piss him off" mentality. Run that by a rape victim and see how far it flies.

11. The primary function of handguns is to kill human beings. Some public officials and activists advocate for a ban on handguns because the danger of handgun ownership greatly outweighs any benefit. They are used in more suicides and homicides than any other firearm. Unlike rifles or shotguns, they serve no practical sporting purpose. Moreover, the handgun can be concealed easily, making it the weapon of choice for criminals.

The primary function of a handgun is to strike a primer to propel a projectile. To grant a piece of plastic and metal sentient powers is to insult intelligence. It takes a human being to command a handgun to kill human beings. Semi-auto pistols have been completely legal in the U.S. for almost 100 years! Why are we outraged now?

They are used in more suicides...hmm, I guess banning them will instantaneously make people not want to kill themselves anymore. I guess extremely popular tactical shooting competitions don't qualify as "practical sporting." And never consider the fact that the small size of handguns makes them ideal for home defense.