(from gunpoliticsny.com)
One of the recurring themes of the American gun control movement has been the need to conceal their eventual goal of making firearms illegal for everyone but the police, the military and the bodyguards who protect the political and economic elite.
A recent article at Politico.com, Dems urged to retool their gun message, reports on a meeting last week in which gun control leaders were reminded once again to hide their real aims behind bland, inoffensive, and comforting language. I’ve been watching the gun debate for a quarter century and this theme comes up over and over. Apparently, too many Controllers just can’t stick with the approved talking points.
You can view an excellent 80-page PDF example of those talking points from 2014 called Preventing Gun Violence Through Effective Messaging. Prepared for the gun control lobby by a PR consulting group that includes a member of the firm mentioned in the Politico article, it describes many ways to twist the truth and parse words in order to obscure the goals of the Controllers. If you prefer to read a shorter article describing this document, I suggest: A Handbook for Manipulation and Deceit, Rationalizations Included.
The problem is that Controllers can’t help themselves when emotions run high. Their real feelings have been spewing out onto the internet for the last few years. My guess is that the biggest reason is frustration. They thought their goal was in sight when a very anti-gun President was elected in 2008, then re-elected in 2012.
Sadly for them, virtually no progress was made at the Federal level during those years. When the Sandy Hook mass murder didn’t result in a national crackdown on gun owners, despite a full court press by the President and the media, many Controllers lost control.
Since then the web has been rife with manifestos like these:
It’s Time to Ban Guns, Yes All of Them – The New Republic
Let’s Ban Guns Altogether – L. A. Times
How to Ban All Guns, a Step by Step, Long Term Process – The Daily Kos
Ban All Guns from Civilian Use – Facebook Page
This list could go on and on, but rather than make it longer, I invite you to Google “Ban all guns” and see how many hits you get!
My point is that it’s too late for the gun control lobby to hide their true aims. Their advisors may think they can put the genie back in the bottle, but the truth is out there in cyberspace forever.
They can endlessly chant their magic phrases like a mantra: “Gun safety!” “Gun violence prevention!” “Common sense gun laws!” “Don’t want to take your guns away!” But it won’t work. Too many of us now know they’re lying, and always will.
—Dr. Michael S. Brown is a pragmatic Libertarian environmentalist who has been studying the gun debate for three decades and considers it a fascinating way to learn about human nature and politics.