Today I saw this post on Facebook:
"Give up your car because others drive drunk? No.
Then why give up your gun because others commit crimes with them?"
I felt annoyed when I read this. The main reason is because this is what is known as a false equivalency, a kind of logical fallacy where one implies that two things are the same, when they really are not.
I don't give up my car, because I need my car to get around. I use it most every day, often several times a day. Most people who own guns for self-defense probably use them rarely, if ever. The purpose of a car is to provide transportation, whereas the purpose of a gun is to cause harm. Etc., etc.
However, I also felt annoyed because on some emotional level this false comparison rings true. The pain we feel when someone dies in a car accident is very much like the pain of losing someone in a gun accident or at the hands of a criminal with a gun. We think, "If only...." If only she had taken a different road. If only he hadn't tried to answer that text. If only the gun had been unloaded, or out of reach, or in the locked case.
After thinking about this comparison, I did some quick research. (How DID we ever get along without the internet?!?)
Tomorrow I will post some interesting statistics and some ideas on how comparing gun violence to motor vehicle fatalities might actually provide some useful strategies for reducing gun deaths.
One of my high school friends posted the comment about expecting you to give up your gun because someone else drives drunk? My gut reaction was don't the kids in Newtown deservie to have the people who buy guns have at least the same qualifications as the people who drive cars? I was taught to use a rifle by a Marine Gunny Sgt. in basic training, (this is my rifle, this is my gun.) The purpose of the rifle is to kill things. Lets not lose sight of that.
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