Four Ugly Lies Gun Fetishists Want Us to Believe

 by: Elisabeth Parker




A typical day in America usually means reports of horrific gun violence in the news: Accidental shootings, on-purpose shootings, child shootings, school shootings, random shootings, drive by shootings, and all kinds of other shootings. Yet the media often presents these tragic gun deaths — and life-changing injuries and traumas — as random “accidents” that we can’t avoid. We take steps to prevent car crashes, head injuries, getting sick, drowning,  and getting swept away by tornadoes… But we do nothing about guns.


This group of gun violence survivors from Everytown for Gun Safety. want to change that. In a dramatic and deeply moving video, they repeat lies from the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America while showing us their injuries and lost children. Lawmakers and voters would require hearts of stone to ignore their outrage and demand for sensible gun safety laws:


We will not surrender. We will not appease. These words were said by the gun lobby. But they don’t speak for us. It’s time for our words to be heard.
We have a responsibility to keep criminals, people with serious mental illness, and our children from ever getting their hands on a gun. We need to work together to create common sense laws that protect rights and protect people. It’s going to take every survivor, every mom, every mayor, every town to build a safer America.


These aren’t our words.




Pro-gun lie #1. Guns make us safer.

“The presence of a firearm makes us safer. It’s just that simple.”
–Wayne La Pierre, NRA, Feb. 10, 2011

Guns do not make us safer. An estimated 30,000 Americans die every year because of guns. In fact, the American College of Physicians calls for treating guns as a public health threat as well as a criminal issue.

Pro-gun lie #2. We need guns in schools and other public places to protect ourselves.

“There’s no victory until we get guns in our schools and elsewhere to protect ourselves.”
Larry Pratt, Gun Owners of America, Dec. 16, 2013.
In 2013 alone, there were 24 school shootings and 17 deaths. That’s an average of one shooting every two weeks! Meanwhile, at least one other school shooting in Connecticut was prevented thanks to gun safety measures that were put into place after the Newtown massacre. In early April, a disturbed 18-year-old Torrington, Conn. resident named Natalie Carpenter, who had an obsession with the Columbine shootings was taken into custody after threatening two schools.

Pro-gun lie #3. Gun safety laws won’t help.

“We can’t waste precious time debating legislation that won’t work.”
Wayne La Pierre, Dec. 21 2012

AATTP’s resident gun enthusiast and expert Richard Rowe debunks this toxic myth quite handily:

• “Only about 60% of gun sales are through gun retailers currently required to run background checks; the other 60% are private sales. And dangerous felons are TRYING to get guns; 39% of state firearms applications are denied because of a felony conviction. And those are just the ones who bother applying.”
• “The 2009 Brady Bill alone has led to the denial of over 150,000 gun buyer applications; that’s 150,000 fewer high-risk individuals with guns.”

Pro-gun lie #4. Guns are fun for kids.

“Make kids see, yeah, having a gun is just as much fun as you thought it was when you were shooting your buddy with a water pistol yesterday.”
Larry Pratt Gun Owners of America, July 8, 2013

Guns are not fun for kids who get shot, or who accidentally shoot someone. The ones who survive have to live with that for the rest of their lives. A January report by ABC’s Diane Sawyer  presents some grim statistics: 1.7 million children under the age of 18 live in homes with loaded, unlocked guns. 31% of households in the U.S. have guns in the home and at least one child. 98 children died from accidental shootings in 2010. In 85 percent of these cases, the shooter was also a child. All of those deaths could have been prevented by a simple cable gun safety lock that costs between $5.00 and $10.00. What’s even scarier is that these are just the accidental shootings. Also, the New York Times writes that many more of these shootings occur and do not get reported.


“Make kids see, yeah, having a gun is just as much fun as you thought it was when you were shooting your buddy with a water pistol yesterday.”
Larry Pratt Gun Owners of America, July 8, 2013


Here’s the video from Everytown for Gun Safety’s “Not Our Words” ad so you can see for yourself.