3 Common Arguments Against Gun Control That Have Serious Logic Problems

[SecularMotion]

President Barack Obama began 2016 with an assertive move: announcing new executive actions to curb gun access, some of which match changes Congress rejected by a close vote in 2013. Determined to address a scourge of gun violence that the legislative branch has not mustered the will to tackle, the president called out Republicans and the gun lobby for rejecting utterly modest and reasonable reforms that will make it more difficult for criminals to acquire guns.

Everybody seems focused on parsing the tears Obama shed when recalling the slaughter of schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut, a little more than three years ago. Some praised the president for wearing his emotions on his sleeve during the speech. Others dismissed the presidential weeping as “crocodile tears.” Fox News anchor Andrea Tantaros had the temerity to question their very authenticity. “It’s not really believable,” she said. “Check the podium for a raw onion.”

But the most notable characteristic of Obama’s speech was not the emotion he displayed while reminding Americans of the gun-related tragedies of recent years. His words are more impressive for the devastatingly on-point take-down of the position staked out by gun-rights activists. The enduring value of his presentation is the persuasive justification for the gun reforms he is pursuing that paints opponents as beyond the pale of reasonability.

The lesson began with a reminder about the nature of constitutional rights. While the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other gun-rights groups hail the Second Amendment as a constitutional beacon guaranteeing Americans the right to own weapons, including firearms, no gun lobby will countenance any new moves to limit or regulate guns. Why? Because even a move as seemingly innocuous as certifying that someone may legally buy a gun is a harbinger for dark days ahead. Background checks today, they say, mass gun forfeiture tomorrow. Taking a conceptual cue from James Madison’s “Memorial and Remonstrance” (a 1785 missive opposing a proposal for a tax to support a Christian school), where the founding father warned that “it is proper to take alarm at the first experiment with our liberties,” Republicans decry Obama’s moves as the first step of a “gun-grabbing agenda.” The idea of universal background checks for gun buyers may sound mild and reasonable, but it’s the first step on a slippery slope that ends in the government raiding your home and taking away all your guns.

http://bigthink.com/praxis/obamas-speech-on-gun-control-was-a-master-class-in-how-to-be-reasonable