Firearms Ignorance Knows No Bounds

Gun Talk readers are no strangers to firearms ignorance, especially when coming from the mouths of liberal politicians.

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As a case in point, Townhall reported that Pres. Biden recently commented on his ban on pistol braces and proclaimed that putting a brace on a pistol makes it more dangerous because it increases the caliber the firearm shoots. If true, why didn’t I buy a brace to convert my .22 pistol into “a weapon of war?”

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To add even more lies, the Washington Examiner reported the Senate’s top Democratic leaders lied about braces before the 50-49 vote that confirmed a controversial Biden administration’s ban on the devices designed to help handicapped people shoot.

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Biden also is on record a year ago saying a 9mm bullet "blows the lung out of the body." And last September he said “Do you realize the bullet out of an AR-15 travels five times as rapidly as a bullet shot out of any other gun, five times?”

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Add too that Biden says people are not allowed to own “machine guns” and cannons. Definitely not true.  He continually repeats the claim that gun manufacturers are the only industry in America that can't be sued. False again.

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Biden gets taken to task repeatedly for his less-than-factual pronouncements on firearms and the Second Amendment, but the lies just continue.

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The Second Amendment Foundation reported that Biden has lied about firearms 304 times at more than 65 public events. Check this link to see the lies.

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Biden also claimed in 2022 that guns are the leading cause of death among children, accounting for more loss of life than cancer or car accidents. For accuracy, even NBC reported that motor vehicles remained the leading cause of death among 1 to 17-year olds. As usual, data manipulation commonly skews actual figures by including those age 21 or even older.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says nearly 1,300 children die and 5,790 are treated for gunshot wounds each year. CDC also reported that in 2020, there were some 2,400 motor-vehicle deaths in that age range.

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Unfortunately, the lamestream media and liberals hide the overwhelming cause of young death. The Guttmacher Institute is a research and policy group that attempts to improve sexual health and expand reproductive rights worldwide. Guttmacher reported that in 2020 there were 930,160 abortions in the USA. Wonder why that fact gets buried (no pun intended)?

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And on that topic, Americanwire reported recently that Vice President Kamala Harris marked the one-year anniversary since the end of Roe v. Wade by conjuring up a nonexistent “constitutional right” to abortion that the Supreme Court stole. This is a completely dishonest statement from a member of a party that no longer even bothers with pretending to tell the truth.

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Spotlighting more questionable information, Fox2 in Detroit reported that Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib thinks mandating gun locks to be sold with a firearm will help prevent accidental shootings involving children and she's introduced it as a bill in Washington.

Tlaib says 4.6 million children in the U.S. live in homes with a loaded and unlocked firearm. Reportedly, Tlaib pulled that 4.6 million figure from a 2015 online survey conducted by antigun academics, so a questionable statistic.

To add spice to this, a Michigan gun store owner and attorney questioned the proposed legislation’s effectiveness because the state already requires gun locks be provided. Manufacturers such as Ruger include the locks with a new purchase. And locks are free through law enforcement at Project Childsafe.

I have cable or trigger locks for my handguns and did use them when kids were in the house. However, even at home, a holstered sidearm on my hip always was and is unquestionably “safe” and out of reach for inquiring hands.

As we see repeatedly with any “gun control” legislation, how do our alleged “lawmakers” mandate consumer compliance? Probably the same way criminals obey gun laws after being told to do so. If firearms owners choose not to use the locks, even if required, we still will have “accidental” deaths.

As a prime example, the Congressional Research Service guesses there are between 10 to 40 million pistol braces in civilian hands. At the low end (10 million braces), that would mean only about 1 percent of pistol brace owners have submitted the required paperwork to be in good legal standing by May 31. Apparently, not all firearms owners are eager to comply with that “executive” order.

Unfortunately the lamestream media disregards facts too as shown by National Public Radio (NPR) reporting on AR-15s. Using public funds for its operation, NPR said the AR15 and ammunition used to fire in it is "designed" to "blow targets apart" and "its bullets travel with such velocity that they can decapitate an adult."

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And anyone who follows the news sees all the “gun violence” regularly inflicted on America. Funny how defensive use of firearms sometimes may appear only locally and on “pro-firearms” sites and sources.

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Could that be because legitimate use of firearms does not fit the liberal antigun agenda, obviously supported by most of the news media?

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Politicians and “academics” rail about misinformation, but speak too often without facts. So how do we, as pro-gun folks, counter this? Sadly we are the proverbial voice in the wilderness.

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We can call out misrepresentation only in limited ways and with even more limited success. Our audience is tiny compared to the oceans of Americans who get their “facts” from liberal sources aided by the lamestream media.

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I am not politically correct and do not hesitate to tell others that so-called firearms “facts” may be wrong and then I try to supply correct information. As an adult educator, I do wish we had better ways to “reach ‘em and teach ‘em.”

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A Wyoming friend and Gun Talk reader asked me about how to educate people on firearms issues and give them facts. One good way to add truth and relevant facts comes from the Second Amendment Foundation with a lengthy “Gun Facts and Myths” publication that offers issues and answers.

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The link is GunFacts.pdf (saf.org) and well worth the time to review it. The “myths” alone occupy nine pages and the “facts” abound in nearly 175 pages.

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Additionally, following Gun Talk can help, but saddle up for an increasingly rough ride in today’s woke and liberal climate where repeated lies and myths about firearms sadly become “facts.” Add also that accountability quickly is disappearing from America as lies, deception and myths bury that vanishing concept.

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To Stay safe, be prepared and fight ignorance, we firearms owners must be armed with facts and keep daylight surrounding the truth. ~ Mike

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Mike Sampson
Mike now calls Northwestern Arkansas home, but has lived and worked in several states and internationally. He has been an independent contractor and consultant since 2006 specializing in risk management, emergency management and training. In addition to work as a law-enforcement planner and technical writer with the Boise, Idaho, Police Department, he has experience in journalism, crop and animal agriculture, dryland farming for 20 years in western Kansas, plant and animal diseases, pandemic influenza, agroterrorism, bioterrorism, food safety and healthcare marketing.

He has a journalism degree from the University of Missouri and has newspaper and agency writing and editing experience. At Washington State University in Pullman, he earned a master’s degree emphasizing adult education and communications.

While living in Lander, WY, Mike provided photographic coverage of the One-Shot Antelope Hunt for three years, and got to meet and accompany folks such as Chuck Yeager, Carroll Shelby, Buzz Aldrin, Dale Robertson and Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf on their hunts. He also worked as an outfitter’s guide.

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