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Struggling Against 'Common Sense': The Pluses and Minuses of Gun Control |
| Section: MODERN THOUGHT / GUN CONTROL: A CRIME OR CRIME STOPPER? |
| Author: Gary Kleck |
| Publication: The world & I online |
| Issue Date: 2/1/1997 |
| Size: 4,475 Words, 28,342 Characters |
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Unfortunately, "common sense" often refers to ideas to which we are so firmly committed that we will not reconsider them even in light of new information. We consider them to be so obviously true that a reevaluation would be a waste of time. Of course, it was once equally obvious that the earth was flat and that the sun moved around a fixed earth.
THE ARGUMENT FOR GUN CONTROL
The standard rationale in favor of gun control, when any coherent rationale at all is offered, goes something like this: Although gun control may not make people any less violent or reduce how often they come into conflict with one another, it could at least make it less likely that a given conflict becomes a fatal one. Aggressors denied a gun might well seek a substitute like a knife, but an attack with a knif...
. . .
...n control largely on criminals rather than on noncriminal gun owners. Unfortunately, they are also not particularly "sexy" or useful for grabbing a headline or getting featured on the television news. At this late date, however, it may be time to seriously consider proposals that have a chance of actually reducing violence rather than merely gaining votes or media coverage for their sponsors.
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