In the wake of the Dark Knight massacre in Aurora, Colorado, major media outlets and public figures have been making statements about guns and violence that do more to misinform than educate. Below are some of the most significant and common of these misleading assertions.
Fallacy # 1: Violence is a growing challenge
The Los Angeles Times published an article by Michael Memoli that begins by claiming that “President Obama vowed Wednesday night to ‘leave no stone unturned’ in seeking ways to curb the growing challenge of violence in American cities, including reasonable restrictions on gun ownership.”
The White House transcript shows that Obama didn’t say there was a growing challenge of violence in our cities, and rightfully so, because violence in the U.S. has been falling—not growing. For example, from 1990 to 2010 (latest FBI data), the nationwide murder rate dropped by 49% (see graph below). Furthermore, preliminary data for 2011 indicates that there were 1.9% fewer murders than in 2010, which saw the lowest murder rate in 45 years.
Fallacy # 2: Congress opposes banning military weapons
At a campaign event, President Obama stated that
steps to reduce violence have been met with opposition in Congress … particularly when it touches on the issues of guns. … [A] lot of gun owners would agree that AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals—that they belong on the battlefield of war, not on the streets of our cities.
On the contrary, the AK-47s used on the “battlefield of war” are already banned. As detailed in the book Military Technology, the AK-47s used by the military are fully automatic weapons—otherwise known as machine guns—which can continuously fire bullets as long as the trigger is pulled. Federal law has strictly regulated such guns since 1934, and as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives explains, a 1968 law expanded the definition of what constitutes a machine gun, and a 1986 law outright banned the transfer or possession of machine guns except for those grandfathered under previous law.
Read More at justfactsdaily.com. By James D. Agresti.
Photo credit: Gregory Wild-Smith (Creative Commons)
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Again the libs prove how dumb they are about guns,semi autos have been in the hands of gun owners since the early 1900s in pistol,shotgun and rifle form and a mag is’nt a very complacted invention or reguire some exotic materails to produce,all the restristions in the world are not going to stop both good and bad citizens from find ways around dumb laws ! Anyone remember the prohibition?How that work? I know of one of those one room schools out in the sticks that had a still operating all thur it.And have a friend who is now a county jugde who owns a ranch with a still they found back then with the holes cut in it. I guess if your trying to create a underground business this bunch will point the way!One only has to look to the peace loving Palestinan bomb and missle factortys to realize that those socalled laws wo’nt work.
Obama never fails to amaze me First off you are Anti Gun and said in college to people that you dont think anyone should have the right , to own a gun, read the constitution bama! @nd are soliders dont Use AK-47′s they use M-16′s. or they were but with your latest 600 billion cut to defence and the first one in 2010 that you signed of a cut of 427 billon , soon they will be using water guns i guess, this has got to stop this guy is purposely weakning this country for his marxis, islam beliefs he needs to be impeached and removed immediately, what he is doing at the border right now is Treasonous to say the least , and just to get votes! Wake Up AMERICA!!!!
95% of all gun related crimes are committed by blacks and the government, just look at the evening news
I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised, if we go a few years down the road and then find out that, the Dark Knight massacre in Aurora, Colorado was orchestrated by the gun grabbers in Washington, this of course will be AFTER they snatch our guns !