Democrats and their agenda got a well-deserved spanking last November as did gun control addicts. That’s not a shock: I don’t ever recall seeing the party’s platform more divorced from its traditional base.
The Democrats’ key weaknesses were crime, violence, and Second Amendment rights. Of course, reducing public safety by coddling criminals and urban terrorists while defunding police at the same time as you are pushing gun control to cripple citizens’ abilities to defend themselves is not exactly a winning message. One could make things worse by fomenting hysteria about nonexistent epidemics of gun violence, so that’s exactly what they did.
Politico reports Giffords, House Majority Forward, and pollster Global Strategy Group are working on a new messaging strategy. They’re using one of gun control’s favorite tools: The Big Lie.
Explained by Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf and used to great advantage by Big Brother in George Orwell’s 1984, the Big Lie is simple in theory and can be remarkably effective: If you’re going to lie, make it a big lie; repeat it often enough to overwhelm any opposition: Over time, the public will accept it as truth.
In February 2019, the Marist Institute for Public Opinion conducted a poll of 880 American adults. The Marist Poll was sponsored by National Public Radio (NPR) and the PBS Newshour and was intended to gauge public support for various gun control measures. It was released on the first anniversary of the Parkland mass shooting.
The 25-question survey produced the intended results, showing broad-based support for background checks, various bans, and some measures that aren’t even legal. The chart below shows the specific questions and results for each (for the complete data, click here).
The survey’s final question received almost no notice at all, but it revealed a critical bit of information.
The question was: “From what you have read or heard, do you think, compared to 25 years ago, the per capita gun murder rate in the U.S. is higher, lower, or about the same?”
59% of participants said the rate was higher; 23% said it was about the same; only 11% said it was lower.
This is kind of a trick question: Since the question was asked in 2019, the 25-year period would have covered 1994 to 2018.
The CDC’s homicide rate figures can’t be used; they include all three offenses in National Incident-Based Reporting System’s (NIBRS) 09 code and “gun murder” covers only Code 09A, murder and non-negligent homicide.*
The data closest to accurate is found in the FBI’s annual Crime in the U.S. reports. These reports are sourced from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting system (UCR), which has been in use since 1929 and operated by the FBI since 1930.
Using the firearm murder figures and population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, the per capita U.S. gun murder rate plunged 42% from 1994 to 2018.
82% of the Americans polled believed something completely at odds with reality. It will surprise exactly nobody to learn neither the mainstream media nor the gun control zealots mentioned this. Lies of omission work as well as lies of commission.
The Big Lie is pervasive in gun control messaging. Unfortunately, the unity among Democrats and the collaboration of the mainstream media make it extremely difficult to challenge the claims. The number of squishy RINOs doesn’t help.
Our biggest problem is making sure we have the message. Every pro-2A group has its unique strengths, but our Balkanization is becoming a huge obstacle. Perhaps it’s time for a summit meeting to determine areas of agreement that all groups can use going forward.
We have nearly 13 months until the mid-term elections. We can beat them.
About Bill Cawthon
Bill Cawthon first became a gun owner 55 years ago. He has been an active advocate for Americans’ civil liberties for more than a decade. He is the information director for the Second Amendment Society of Texas.
The real misrepresentation in the survey stems from the question asked of all the policies: “In order to reduce gun violence …” (leading question that shows the poll’s bias) “… do you think each of the following changes to gun policy will make a difference or not make a difference?” The pollsters do not ask straight up if a policy will reduce what they call “gun violence.” If I thought every policy would increase “gun violence” I would have to answer yes because it is still making a difference. In the past I have asked people taking a poll for… Read more »
1984 was written as a warning, but is being used as a “how-to” manual.
The democrat party has their work cut out for them because: Voting equipment company Dominion Voting Systems, a target of valid criticism from President Donald Trump and his supporters since the 2020 election, has been bought by a firm run by a former Republican elections official, the new company announced Thursday. The newly formed company, Liberty Vote, also vowed to follow the executive order Donald Trump signed last spring seeking sweeping changes to election policies that multiple judges have put on hold for violating the Constitution. KNOWiNK, a St. Louis-based provider of electronic poll books that allow election officials to confirm voter information, announced the deal and the name… Read more »
Not that it makes a bit of difference, but facts do matter when advocating for civilian gun rights: The “Big Lie” was the brainchild of Nazi propaganda minister Goebbels, not Hitler (although he most surely approved). Today, we cannot let the big lie, “guns are the leading cause of death for children” remain uncontested. Any venture into FBI Uniform Crime Stats, National Safety Council, National Center for Health Statistics or National Vital Statistics System, should put the kibosh on this libel.
For a single source: “The World Almanac and Book of Facts”, printed yearly and available everywhere.
the bs the demonrats have been doing sounds like it came from “1984”
“Banning the sale of semi-automatic assault guns such as the AK-47 and AR-15.”
How many things are wrong with that line?
Semi-automatic AK-47? It’s select fire.
Assault guns? What’s that? The AK-47 is an “Assault Rifle.” The AR-15 is not.
The AK-47 was banned before it was invented.
This “survey” was never designed to be a survey.
Was that a “Marist” poll or a “Marxist” poll.
“Per capita murder rate” is redundant, and the survey only adds up to 93%.
Did 7% say “I don’t know”?
The Anti-2nd Amendment Marxists who now control the MODERN Democratic Party don’t know anything but lies, so what else can you expect from them?
Friends Don’t Let Friends Vote DEMOCRATIC
Low IQ people buy into the false paradigm of democrats vs republicans. AIPAC (jews) own both parties. Poor boomers will never understand the concept of controlled opposition. Can you figure out who owns the gun control lobby, cause I gave you the answer rofl