I was on a radio show this week when I first saw Everytown’s latest anti-gun campaign: “Debunking Gun Myths at the Dinner Table.” The show’s host, Mark Walters, of Armed American Radio, is a longtime friend who enjoys discussing new anti-gun propaganda with his guests live on the air in multiple cities.
Neither of us had seen Everytown’s latest pre-Thanksgiving propaganda campaign and we were struck by what we were reading. Everytown’s latest bit of propaganda was really bad—but not in a way that could negatively impact our gun rights. It was just really poorly written and one of the craziest things we had ever seen.
You’ve got to understand that this is fairly unusual for Everytown, given their unlimited financial resources, which founder Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire and former New York City mayor, keeps pumping into Everytown and his collection of anti-gun groups.
The more we read, the broader our smiles became. The Everytown post submitted a “myth” and then followed up with what they called a “fact,” but none of it made any sense. The published source for most of this foolishness was “Everytown Research,” which explains a lot.
The first myth/fact combo was by far the strangest:
Myth: Criminals will always find a way to get their hands on a gun.
Fact: Laws like background checks stop gun sales to criminals every day. Since 1994, these laws have blocked more than 5 million gun sales to people who could not legally own guns.
Everytown’s “myth” is definitely not a myth. It’s 100% true. Hardcore criminals always find ways to get their hands on a gun. However, they don’t walk into a gun shop, submit their ID and then hope to pass a background check. Criminals have another time-proven method of obtaining firearms. They steal them, or they buy them from other criminals who have stolen them. Serious bad guys have never worried about gun laws.
Myth: Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.
Fact: People with guns kill people, and more efficiently than people without guns. The US gun death rate is 13 times that of other high-income countries.
Everytown’s “myth” is definitely not a myth. If you place a handgun on your kitchen table and leave it alone, it’s unlikely to kill anyone, despite what Everytown claims. As to the group’s death statistics, their source, GunPolicy.org, no longer exists. If you go to the site, you’ll receive only the following message: “GunPolicy.org is currently being revived by Global Action on Gun Violence. The site will be available again soon. Thank you for your patience.”
Even stranger, Global Action on Gun Violence is registered as an agent for the Governments of Mexico and the Bahamas.
So much for Everytown’s actual data.
Myth: Strong gun laws don’t work. Look at Chicago.
Fact: Chicago proves why we must push for strong federal gun laws. Many of the crime guns recovered in Chicago and in other cities in states with strong gun violence prevention laws are trafficked from states with weaker gun laws.
Everytown’s “myth” is definitely not a myth. If Everytown is correct and local and state gun laws don’t work, why do we even need them? Perhaps Everytown should lead the fight to get rid of all local and state gun laws.
Myth: The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.
Fact: If more guns everywhere made us safer, America would be the safest country on earth. Instead, we have a gun homicide rate 26 times that of other high-income countries.
This Everytown “myth” is definitely not a myth. As to Everytown’s claim that the American homicide rate is 26 times higher than other “high income” countries, their alleged data source, GunPolicy.org, no longer exists. Also, what does the group consider a “high income” country?
Myth: Arming teachers will keep our kids safer in schools.
Fact: Arming teachers ignores research that shows the presence of a gun increases the risks posed to children and teachers. School safety experts and law enforcement oppose arming teachers.
Everytown’s “myth” here is a fact. As an example, Florida’s Parkland Committee, which was established to investigate the 2018 mass-murder of 17 people and wounding of 18 more at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, recommended arming teachers who volunteer to undergo background checks and training. The commission supported expanding Florida’s School Guardian program to include these teachers. This proposal was strongly supported by the commission’s chair, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who wanted a force of trained teachers to be able to stop mass murderers who get past other safeguards. The Committee strongly supported well-trained, well-armed teachers protecting the lives of their students in our schools.
Myth: Gun makers don’t sell weapons of war to civilians.
Fact: Many gun makers sell AR-15s and other assault weapons that are nearly identical to the firearms used by soldiers in battle to the general public. These firearms have been used in the country’s deadliest mass shootings.
Everytown’s “myth” is definitely not a myth. My personal ARs are certainly not “nearly identical” to what our soldiers carry into battle. They’re all much better.
The Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project wouldn’t be possible without you. Click here to make a tax deductible donation to support pro-gun stories like this.
This story is part of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project and is published here with their permission.
If anyone is unlucky enough to have one of these clowns at their Thanksgiving just ignore them. Engagement is pointless. Simply break contact and move away.
All the lip service that’s spent on this mythical need to “reach across” and have “brave conversations” is from blue-haired psychos who just want an opportunity to berate you.
Nobody is changing their mind about anything.
Shire-man,
Building on your comment:
If emotion drove someone into their position, facts and reasoning will almost never succeed in enlightening them and leading them to change their position.
I also concur that a disturbingly large number of people are nasty and indeed want a reason to berate you.
“…Half-Assed…”
Nah, Everytown put the whole ass in.
“Fact: If more guns everywhere made us safer, America would be the safest country on earth. Instead, we have a gun homicide rate 26 times that of other high-income countries.”
This one of their stupid answers intended to make sense to stupid people.
Almost every country in the world has a ‘gun homicide rate’ even countries that ban guns. But what exactly is the ‘homicide’ they are talking about? A lot of ignorant people see the term ‘homicide’ and instantly think ‘murder’, when the term ‘homicide’ by its self like Everytown uses it does not mean ‘murder’ at all, for it to mean something it needs to be qualified as to type. Its like just saying ‘water happens at some rate’, is it rain water or tap water or flood water or river water, etc.., it needs to be qualified as to the type. Is it ‘justifiable homicide’ (AKA ‘valid legal self defense’), its it ‘murder homicide’, its is ‘manslaughter homicide’. Everytown plays tricks with their numbers, as does every anti-gun org, they include this very broad term ‘homicide’ but when you get a look at their actual data sources you find they included ‘justifiable homicide’ (AKA ‘valid legal self defense’). So yes, overall, those people who did ‘justifiable homicide’ were indeed safer as a result.
And even for ‘gun homicide murder’ rate – gun ownership still does not correlate with ‘gun homicide murder’ rate – and when we look at it on a rate basis (Everytown is using a rate basis in their stupid statement, and a world wide view here so its just as fair, and is correct, to compare it to other countries in rate per inhabitants) per 100,000 inhabitants on a world wide scale we find the United States rate is lower than any other country.
Clarification for: “And even for ‘gun homicide murder’ rate – gun ownership still does not correlate with ‘gun homicide murder’ rate – and when we look at it on a rate basis (Everytown is using a rate basis in their stupid statement, and a world wide view here so its just as fair, and is correct, to compare it to other countries in rate per inhabitants) per 100,000 inhabitants on a world wide scale we find the United States rate is lower than any other country.”
Note: My above post is incomplete. The stupid SNW ghost post thing will not let me post the rest of the information and links to the information.
Exclude the ten most violent zip codes (which are all inner-city areas) from the statistics as outliers and the US is one of the safest countries in the world. There are many people around the world who wish their government didn’t infringe on their right to carry self-defensive tools. Criminals don’t care about laws, and if for some reason they can’t get their hands on one tool they’ll use another. Look at the carnage regularly inflicted in China with sharp instruments and BMWs.
Top,
That the “crime problem” is almost an exclusively inner (blue) city problem is the most obvious fact that is, strangely, never discussed honestly by most politicians or the MSM. Venture over out of straight Zip Code breakdowns to demographic breakdowns, and watch the fun REALLY start.