If you are a conservative who is against gun control laws, then these are 4 arguments you should NOT use when trying to argue your case. They will backfire and make you look like a stupid idiot.
1) Criminals will still have guns and murder people even if guns are illegal
This is a terrible argument, because it can be used against any laws of any kind.
If that is too abstract for you, think about this: it can be used against laws that you like.
For example, liberals can use this argument to say this:
“We should not have voter ID laws, because people who are determined to vote illegally will just get fake identification anyway. Therefore, having voter ID laws will not make any difference.”
Or, they will say this:
“We should not have any border fence at our national border, because criminals who want to get across the border will still find a way to cross the border if they really want to. Therefore, having a border fence will make no difference.”
Or, they will say this:
“We should make abortions available in every doctor’s office on demand, because people who really want to get abortions will find a way to get an abortion anyway, regardless of what the law is or how difficult it is. Therefore, making it difficult to get an abortion makes no difference.”
Hopefully you can see the problem with this dangerous line of reasoning.
2) I need a gun to protect myself and my family
Never, ever talk about need. This is a trap that liberals want you to fall in to. They will simply come back and start bickering about whether you need a specific type of gun, or why you would need one type of ammunition rather than another type of ammunition, and the entire argument goes down hill after that.
What you should be saying, as a conservative, is that “need” makes absolutely no difference when we are talking about rights. You have a right to a gun, whether you need it or not. End of story. Claiming that you “need” a gun is just walking right into the devil’s playground.
3) If citizens don’t have guns, how can they rise up against tyranny?
If the government is really out to get you, your assault rifle isn’t going to help defend you against a drone strike.
This argument just makes you seem like you are out of touch with reality. Stick to what you know is real. Stick to the constitution, or what the government really has done or is doing. Once you spread your wings and fly into hypothetical future-land, you start to sound as koo-koo as those libertarians whom you keep trying to distance yourself from.
4) Hitler tried to take away people’s guns, too!
This is simply wrong. When Hitler came to power, the gun laws in place were the 1919 Regulations on Weapons Ownership, which declared that “all firearms, as well as all kinds of firearms ammunition, are to be surrendered immediately.” The regulation was in response to the Treaty of Versailles, and the German Weimar government passed the legislation (not the Nazis).
After coming to power, Hitler actually loosened these laws (which seem like they would be Gun Enthusiast’s worst nightmare), to make Germany’s gun regulations much more lenient: according to the 1938 German Weapons Act, citizens were required to have a permit to carry a firearm and a separate permit to acquire a firearm. The law restricted ownership of firearms to “…persons whose trustworthiness is not in question and who can show a need for a (gun) permit.” However, these gun restriction laws applied only to handguns, not to long guns or ammunition. According to Prof. Bernard Harcourt of the University of Chicago, “The 1938 revisions completely deregulated the acquisition and transfer of rifles and shotguns, as well as ammunition.” (more info here: PolicyMic.com)
Remember how obsessed liberals are with getting facts right. You don’t want to get dragged into that historical morass. Your argument really shouldn’t be based on whether or not someone else did or did not do something in the past. Your argument should be based on your morals, your rights as a citizen, and what you know to be facts about guns and crime. Leave history to the historians.
The worst thing you can do, if you truly believe in a cause, is to rely on stupid and misinformed arguments when trying to defend your cause. In the end, you’re really harming yourself.
If you are against gun control legislation, I can respect that. But use logical arguments. Use argument that make sense, and that are rooted in fact. The above four arguments might be nice, easy sound-bites to deliver at the dinner table or on twitter, but they are deeply, deeply stupid.
When you use these arguments, you embarrass the entire gun-enthusiast movement.
