{"id":4698,"date":"2018-03-12T06:06:13","date_gmt":"2018-03-12T06:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/2018\/03\/12\/four-notes-on-the-gun-debate-for-the-reasonable-2\/"},"modified":"2018-03-12T06:06:13","modified_gmt":"2018-03-12T06:06:13","slug":"four-notes-on-the-gun-debate-for-the-reasonable-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/2018\/03\/12\/four-notes-on-the-gun-debate-for-the-reasonable-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Notes on the Gun Debate for the Reasonable"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post has a prerequisite: a modicum of rationality and a little bit of good will. The irrational and ill-willed  should head for their 'safe spaces' now lest they be 'triggered.'<\/span><\/p>\n

1) Is anybody against gun control?  Not that I am aware of.  Everybody wants there to be some laws regulating the manufacture, sale, importation, transportation, use, etc., of guns.  So why do liberals routinely characterize conservatives as against gun control?  Because they are mendacious.  It is for  the same reason that they label conservatives as anti-government and anti-immigrant.  Conservatives stand for limited<\/em> government, whence it follows that that are for<\/em> government.  This is a simple inference that even a liberal should be able to process.  So why do  liberals call conservatives anti-government?  Because they are mendacious: they are not  interested in civil debate, but in winning at all costs by any means.  With respect to both government and gun control, the question is not whether<\/em> but how much and what kind.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly with immigration. Conservatives do not oppose immigration; they oppose illegal<\/em> immigration. <\/span><\/p>\n

2) Terminology matters.  'Magazine' is the correct term for what is popularly called a clip.  Don't refer to a round as a bullet.  The bullet is the projectile.  Don't call a suppressor a 'silencer.' Is your name Hillary<\/a>? Avoid emotive phraseology if you are interested in serious discussion.  'Assault weapon' has no clear meaning and is emotive to boot.  Do you mean semi-automatic long gun?  Then say that.  Don't confuse 'semi-automatic' with 'fully automatic.'  The 'AR' in 'AR-15' is not short for 'assault rifle.' Bone up on the terminology if you want to be taken seriously.<\/span><\/p>\n

A stupid article<\/a> in the Washington Post calls what I have just written 'gunsplaining.' To be 'gunsplained' is to be "harangued with the pedantry of the more-credible-than-thou firearms owner, admonished that your inferior knowledge of guns and their nomenclature puts an asterisk next to your opinion on gun control."<\/span><\/p>\n

What nonsense! Only a fool dismisses essential distinctions as pedantry. And if one is not willing to learn the elementary terminology of a debate, then one should  not presume to enter the debate.  One who does not understand such terms as abortifacient<\/em>, embryo<\/em>, gamete<\/em>, and viable<\/em> should not enter the abortion debate, for example.<\/span><\/p>\n

3)  Gun lobbies benefit gun manufacturers.  No doubt.  But they also defend the Second Amendment rights of citizens, all citizens.  Be fair.  Don't adduce the first fact while ignoring the second. And don't call the NRA a special interest group.  A group that defends free speech defends a right of all citizens, including those who do not invoke the right.  Every citizen has an actual or potential interest in self-defense and the means thereto.   It's a general interest.   A liberal who has no interest in self-defense and the means thereto is simply a liberal who has yet to be mugged or raped or had her home invaded.  Such a liberal's interest is yet potential. <\/span>When Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016, many foolish liberals thought that a fascist was about to enter the White House. Many of these liberals suddenly began taking the Second Amendment seriously. <\/span><\/p>\n

4) Question for liberals: what is your plan in case of a home invasion?  Call 9-1-1?  What is your plan in case of a fire?  Call the Fire Department?  Not a bad thought.  But before they arrive it would help to have a home fire extinguisher at the ready.  Ergo, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

Can you follow this reasoning? If not, you need help. Please seek it for your own good.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post has a prerequisite: a modicum of rationality and a little bit of good will. The irrational and ill-willed  should head for their 'safe spaces' now lest they be 'triggered.' 1) Is anybody against gun control?  Not that I am aware of.  Everybody wants there to be some laws regulating the manufacture, sale, importation, transportation, … Continue reading “Four Notes on the Gun Debate for the Reasonable”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[112],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alcohol-tobacco-and-firearms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4698\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}