As long as man's beliefs, or any part of them, are based on error, he is not completely free, for the chains of error bind his mind. — Bruce R. McConkie You are entitled to your own opinions, but you are not entitled to your own facts. — Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent. — Napoleon Bonaparte Error of opinion may be tolerated, where reason is left free to combat it. — Thomas Jefferson Tell a lie loud enough and long enough and the people will believe it. — Adolf Hitler Either you oppose a lie, or you become a liar. — Franklin Sanders A lie left unchallenged becomes the truth. — Tom Gresham
Hoplophobia Kills. Support your local radical gun rights extremist! —
Jeff Knox
Home of the Three-Peaks Shooters' Club (an NRA Junior Affiliate)
Hoplophobia (pronounced HOP-li-fobia), from the Greek hoplon, or weapon, is a phobia identified by firearms instructor Colonel Jeff Cooper in 1962. His intent was to satirically use a clinical term to bring public recognition of the abnormal, irrational, persistent and intense fear of something that poses little or no actual inherent danger -- firearms. Colonel Cooper stated:
"Hoplophobia is a mental disturbance characterized by irrational aversion to
weapons, as opposed to justified apprehension about those who may wield them."
"I coined the term 'hoplophobia' in 1962 in response to a perceived need for a word to describe a mental aberration consisting of an unreasoning terror of gadgetry, specifically, weapons. The most common manifestation of hoplophobia is the idea that instruments possess a will of their own, apart from that of their user. This is not a reasoned position, but when you point this out to a hoplophobe he is not impressed because his is an unreasonable position. To convince a man that he is not making sense is not to change his viewpoint but rather to make an enemy."
In Fireworks (copyright 1980), Chapter 3 is titled, Open Letter: To
a Legislative Hoplophobe. In it, Colonel Cooper defines hoplophobia and puts
a date to this definition of 1966. It reads as follows:
Hoplophobia. (1966) From the Greek hoplon (weapon) plus phóbos (terror).
An unreasoning, obsessive neurotic fear of weapons as such, usually
accompanied by an irrational feeling that weapons possess a will or
consciousness for evil, apart from the will of their user. Not equivalent to
normal apprehension in the presence of an armed enemy. Hoplon also means
instrument, tool or tackle, but it is the root of hoplite (man-at-arms,
gendarme) and thus principally signifies "weapon" in English derivations.
Hoplophobia is deemed to be a cultural side effect of those who engage in the primordial human belief systems that anthropologists refer to as "animism," or the belief that inanimate objects can hold spirits that can effect human actions. Some folks believe that firearms are just simply evil. There is no question that a firearm can be misused in such a way as to cause injury or death to innocent people. On the other hand, firearms are used by amateurs thousands of times each year to save innocent lives.
Cause of hoplophobia: Like all fears and phobias, hoplophobia is created by the unconscious mind as a protective mechanism against things or situations the sufferer doesn't adequately understand or comprehend. While most adults with hoplophobia realize that these fears are irrational, they often find that facing, or even thinking about facing, the feared situation brings on a panic attack or severe anxiety.
Symptoms of hoplophobia typically include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, dizziness, excessive sweating, nausea, dry mouth, feeling sick, heart palpitations, inability to speak or think clearly, overall feelings of dread, a fear of dying, becoming mad or losing control, a sensation of detachment from reality or a full blown anxiety attack.
A small minority of adults suffer from hoplophobia. Most sufferers are surprised to learn that they are far from alone in this surprisingly common, although often unspoken, phobia. The problem often significantly impacts the quality of life. It can keep people apart from loved ones and business associates. Some hoplophobes choose to spread their irrational fears among the general public and to impose extreme controls on those who do not manifest symptoms of hoplophobia.
Firearms, like many other powerful hand tools, are not for everyone. Some people are klutzes, and should stay away from tools in general. There are some that just never learned they should not run with scissors. There are a tiny few that should never have matches, for they can't control their urges, and pose a danger to anything flammable. But that should not preclude the rest of us from the utility of instant fire. If some people fear that they can't be trusted with a potentially dangerous device, that doesn't mean that others are similarly unworthy of trust and responsibility.
A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity. — Sigmund Freud (General Introduction to Psychoanalysis)
Treatment of hoplophobia: Take a firearms safety course from an NRA-certified instructor including time on the range. The more ammunition discharged, the more effective and lasting the treatment. An afternoon at the range, with a little professional guidance, can be a very enjoyable experience.
A 2004 Zogby Values Poll, surveying 1,200 voters nationwide on issues that included firearms and hunting issues examined differences in thinking between people living in the states that voted for George Bush in 2000/2004 (Red states) and Al Gore/John Kerry (Blue states). Voters were asked: "Do you agree or disagree that American firearm manufacturers who sell a legal product that is not defective should be allowed to be sued if a criminal uses their products in a crime?" Voters in both Red and Blue states strongly oppose such lawsuits—74% of the former and 72% of the latter. In fact, a majority in every demographic group opposed the lawsuits.
A 2004 Zogby Values Poll, surveying 1,200 voters nationwide on issues that included firearms and hunting issues examined differences in thinking between people living in the states that voted for George Bush in 2000 (Red states) and Al Gore (Blue states).
The survey asked: "Which of the following two statements regarding gun control comes closer to your own opinion? Statement A: There needs to be new and tougher gun control legislation to help in the fight against gun crime; Statement B: There are enough laws on the books. What is needed is better enforcement of current laws regarding gun control." By a better than two-to-one margin—66% to 31%—voters nationwide agreed with Statement B. Only self-identified liberals called for more laws, by a 53% to 44% margin. Moderates solidly favored better enforcement, 62% to 34%. Voters were also asked: "Do you agree the NRA is right to fight gun control on both the federal and state levels?" NRA`s support stood at 64%, with a party affiliation breakdown showed Democrats siding with NRA 54% to 42% and Republicans 73% to 22%.
A 2005 Zogby Poll on Terrorism and Guns: Since the 9/11 tragedy, anti-gun forces have tried to use the threat of terrorism to disarm law-abiding sportsmen and gun owners. Asked whether they agreed or disagreed that banning guns would reduce the threat from terrorists, poll respondents disagreed by a margin of 75 percent. Only one in five supported the notion, and five percent were not sure. Zogby polled 1,009 likely voters chosen at random nationwide with a margin error of plus/minus 3.2 percent.
Before the AMA (American Medical Assn) insets itself into the daily lives of "fellow citizens" who peaceably own firearms, it should look to its own house to deal with the minority of licensed medical practitioners who have everything to do with hundreds of thousands of patients killed and maimed yearly by "medical misadventure."
The ranks of 60 million firearms owners produce about 1,000 accidental deaths each year (CDC numbers). That amounts to 0.0000167 accidental deaths per gun owner. We are an incredibly safe group. And we have zero to do with criminal misuse of firearms.
Doctors, on the other hand, account for 120,000 accidental patient deaths per year. That figure is oft quoted in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Remember that the numbers for gun-owner accidents are often self-inflicted. Virtually all doctor-induced accidental deaths happen to someone other than physicians.
The media is eerily silent on this issue, as is the president of the AMA. The loss of life through any accident is as tragic by any cause.
Perhaps the AMA would put this issue on the front burner and the president of the AMA would devote an hour-long speech to the epidemic of "death by doctor" if those offending physicians had simply shot those 120,000 patients, instead of killing them with incompetence.
Of course, none of this is meant to slight the vast majority of doctors who daily save lives. But doctors should be aware that peaceable firearms owners daily protect lives -- 2.5 million a year -- exercising their Second Amendment rights.
It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed, a program costing the government more than $500 million dollars. And now the results are in:
Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent
Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent
Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent! (yes, 44 percent)
In the state of Victoria, homicides with firearms are up 300 percent
Figures over the previous 25 years show a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms (changed drastically in the past 12 months). There has been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the elderly.
Australian politicians are on the spot and at a loss to explain how "no improvement in "safety" has been observed" after such monumental effort and expense was successfully expended in "ridding society of guns."
Bet you won't see this data on the evening news or hear your governor or members of the state Assembly disseminating this information. It's time to state it plainly: Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws only affect the law-abiding citizens.
One more interesting statistic: Never in history has a nation of free people come to live under the tyranny of a dictatorship except that first their arms were registered and subsequently confiscated.
Note: In his column in the 13 Nov 2000 issue of Time magazine, Steve Lopez indicated that he believes that the NRA (National Rifle Association) sanctions trespassing and poaching (killing wild animals without license or out of season). I wrote the following letter to the editor of Time magazine on 22 Nov 2000. My letter was never published nor acknowledged.
As a third-generation member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), I was interested to read Steve Lopez's column, "Bambi's Got a Little Secret" in your 13 November 2000 issue.
I strongly support all lawful and constitutional efforts to stop the poaching of wildlife as well as all other criminal acts committed with firearms. The entire history of the NRA shows that this organization also has always fully supported and encouraged all lawful efforts to curb crimes (including poaching) committed with firearms. A very substantial portion of the NRA's efforts have always been directed at teaching firearm safety and the responsible ownership and use of firearms.
I was very disappointed to see a vicious slur directed at the NRA in Mr. Lopez's column. "NRA Dream Team" is not an appropriate term for trespassers and poachers. His irresponsible abuse of his First Amendment rights is on the same level as those who irresponsibly abuse their Second Amendment rights.
Time Magazine, its editors, and Mr. Lopez all owe a full and sincere apology to the NRA, its members, and to all who cherish all the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution.
1. Banning guns works, which is why New York, DC, & Chicago cops need guns.
2. Washington DC's low murder rate of 69 per 100,000 is due to strict gun control, and Indianapolis' high murder rate of 9 per 100,000 is due to the lack of gun control.
3. Statistics showing high murder rates justify gun control but statistics showing increasing murder rates after gun control are "just statistics."
4. The Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban, both of which went into effect in 1994 are responsible for the decrease in violent crime rates, which have been declining since 1991.
5. We must get rid of guns because a deranged lunatic may go on a shooting spree at any time and anyone who would own a gun out of fear of such a lunatic is paranoid.
6. The more helpless you are the safer you are from criminals.
7. An intruder will be incapacitated by tear gas or oven spray, but if shot with a .357 Magnum will get angry and kill you.
8. A woman raped and strangled is morally superior to a woman with a smoking gun and a dead rapist at her feet.
9. When confronted by violent criminals, you should "put up no defense -- give them what they want, or run" (Handgun Control Inc. Chairman Pete Shields, Guns Don't Die - People Do, 1981, p.125).
10. The New England Journal of Medicine is filled with expert advice about guns; just like Guns & Ammo has some excellent treatises on heart surgery.
11. One should consult an automotive engineer for safer seatbelts, a civil engineer for a better bridge, a surgeon for internal medicine, a computer programmer for hard drive problems, and Sarah Brady for firearms expertise.
12. The 2nd Amendment, ratified in 1787, refers to the National Guard, which was created 130 years later, in 1917.
13. The National Guard, federally funded, with bases on federal land, using federally-owned weapons, vehicles, buildings and uniforms, punishing trespassers under federal law, is a "state" militia.
14. These phrases: "right of the people peaceably to assemble," "right of the people to be secure in their homes," "enumeration's herein of certain rights shall not be construed to disparage others retained by the people," and "The powers not delegated herein are reserved to the states respectively, and to the people" all refer to individuals, but "the right of the people to keep and bear arm" refers to the state.
15. "The Constitution is strong and will never change." But we should ban and seize all guns thereby violating the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Amendments to that Constitution.
16. Rifles and handguns aren't necessary to national defense! Of course, the army has hundreds of thousands of them.
17. Private citizens shouldn't have handguns, because they aren't "military weapons", but private citizens shouldn't have "assault rifles", because they are military weapons.
18. In spite of waiting periods, background checks, finger printing, government forms, etc., guns today are too readily available, which is responsible for recent school shootings. In the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's, anyone could buy rplus stores, gas stations, variety stores, Sears mail order, no waiting, no background check, no fingerprints, no government forms and there were no school shootings.
19. The NRA's attempt to run a "don't touch" campaign about kids handling guns is propaganda, but the anti-gun lobby's attempt to run a "don't touch&qbra>
20. Guns are so complex that special training is necessary to use them properly, and so simple to use that they make murder easy.
21. A handgun, with up to 4 controls, is far too complex for the typical adult to learn to use, as opposed to an automobile that only has 20.
22. Women are just as intelligent and capable as men but a woman with a gun is "an accident waiting to happen" and gun makers' advertisements aimed at women are "preying on their fears."
23. Ordinary people in the presence of guns turn into slaughtering butchers but revert to normal when the weapon is removed.
24. Guns cause violence, which is why there are so many mass killings at gun shows.
25. A majority of the population supports gun control, just like a majority of the population supported owning slaves.
26. Any self-loading small arm can legitimately be considered to be a "weapon of mass destruction" or an "assault weapon."
27. Most people can't be trusted, so we should have laws against guns, which most people will abide by because they can be trusted.
28. The right of Internet pornographers to exist cannot be questioned because it is constitutionally protected by the Bill of Rights, but the use of handguns for self defense is not really protected by the Bill of Rights.
29. Free speech entitles one to own newspapers, transmitters, computers, and typewriters, but self-defense only justifies bare hands.
30. The ACLU is good because it uncompromisingly defends certain parts of the Constitution, and the NRA is bad, because it defends other parts of the Constitution.
31. Charlton Heston, a movie actor as president of the NRA is a cheap lunatic who should be ignored, but Michael Douglas, a movie actor as a representative of Handgun Control, Inc. is an ambassador for peace who is entitled to an audience at the UN arms control summit.
32. Police operate with backup within groups, which is why they need larger capacity pistol magazines than do "civilians" who must face criminals alone and therefore need less ammunition.
33. We should ban "Saturday Night Specials" and other inexpensive guns because it's not fair that poor people have access to guns too.
34. Police officers have some special Jedi-like mastery over hand guns that private citizens can never hope to obtain.
35. Private citizens don't need a gun for self-protection because the police are there to protect them even though the Supreme Court says the police are not responsible for their protection.
36. Citizens don't need to carry a gun for personal protection but police chiefs, who are desk-bound administrators who work in a building filled with cops, need a gun.
37. "Assault weapons" have no purpose other than to kill large numbers of people. The police need assault weapons. You do not.
38. When Microsoft pressures its distributors to give Microsoft preferential promotion, that's bad; but when the Federal government pressures cities to buy guns only from Smith & Wesson, that's good.
39. Trigger locks do not interfere with the ability to use a gun for defensive purposes, which is why you see police officers with one on their duty weapon.
40. Violent criminals always obey all gun laws. Therefore we need not fear them.
41. Handgun Control, Inc. says they want to "keep guns out of the wrong hands." Guess what? You have the wrong hands.
National Safety Council figures released in 1991 show hunting to be one of the safest outdoor sports.
Activity
Number of Participants
Number of Injuries
Percent Injured
Baseball
15,400,000
321,806
2.090%
Bicycling
56,900,000
514,738
0.905%
Fishing
46,500,000
65,667
0.141%
Football
14,700,000
319,157
2.171%
Golf
23,200,000
24,224
0.104%
Hunting
18,500,000
1,475
0.008%
Soccer
11,200,000
101,946
0.910%
Swimming
70,500,000
65,757
0.093%
Tennis
18,800,000
22,507
0.120%
Water is 19 times more dangerous to a child than a firearm. In 1996, 805 children died from accidental drowning and 42 from firearm accidents. Bathtubs are twice as dangerous to children as guns. Fire is 18 times more dangerous to children than guns. Cars are 57 times more dangerous. Household cleaners and poisons are twice as dangerous. — Paul Craig Roberts, columnist
In 1999 there were eight-eight fatal firearms accidents involving children ages zero to fourteen. Five hundred children die in swimming pools each year.
40,000 Americans are injured by toilets each year.
More than 96% of firearms fatalities in this nation are caused by intentional misuse.
During the Clinton administration, the prosecution of federal firearms violations declined by 44%.
President Clinton claimed that 500,000 felons, fugitives, and stalkers were prevented from buying guns under the Brady Act. However, his administration has failed to prosecute the vast majority of these unlawful attempts at firearm ownership.
Gun control advocates tout various numbers (most of which are grossly inaccurate) of children injured or killed by firearms. They fail to admit that the vast majority of these "children" are are legal adults, ages 18-19 and are gang members. In 1999, 89 percent of "child" firearms deaths were homicides; most of the rest were suicides. In New York City, 40 percent of teenage gunshot victims were shot during hours when they should have been in school. Ironically, almost all of these deaths are in urban inner cities which have very repressive gun laws.
The number of children killed in gun accidents is below 190 per year -- not the "12 kids a day" malarkey the gun control groups spout.
Gun crime is most prevalent in states and communities where firearm ownership is most restricted. On the other hand every year, 2.5 million crimes are prevented by the presence of a firearm (where permitted).
It wasn't the Million Mom March who wrote the "10 Commandments of Gun Safety" and it isn't Handgun Control that has taught 12 million grade school children to avoid guns and to tell an adult if they find one. Gun owners did that.
Isn't it interesting that education supposedly works for sex education, for drug abuse, for anger management, for all other areas, but if you ask self-appointed anti-gun experts, education does not work for gun safety!
Referred to in the Second Amendment to the US Constitution?
10 USC Sec. 311
TITLE 10 - Armed Forces
Subtitle A - General Military Law
PART I - Organization and General Military Powers
CHAPTER 13 - The Militia
Sec. 311. Militia: composition and classes
(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.
(b) The classes of the militia are -
(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and
(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia."
Utah Constitution
Article XV
Section 1. [How constituted]
The militia shall consist of all able-bodied male inhabitants of the State, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, except such as are exempted by law.
Section 2. [Organization and equipment.]
The Legislature shall provide by law for the organization, equipment and discipline of the militia, which shall conform as nearly as practicable to the regulations for the government of the armies of the United States.
While gun control appears to be a modern idea, it is in fact almost as old the firearms themselves. Precedents for prohibiting certain weapons had already existed. For example Jews in most of Europe were prohibited from owning arms or joining armies. Naturally, all that was done for their own good. Similarly, peasants were prohibited from owning swords. Crossbowmen and archers were threatened with mutilations if captured on the battlefield. In case of guns, the imperative to ban them was even stronger than with muscle-powered arms.
1518. Enlightened Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian I bans wheel-lock firearms:
Stating that a concealable weapon was the choice of bandits, he prohibited manufacture and use of wheel-lock firearms. While the ban did retard development of the mechanism, it did nothing to reduce crime. Wheellocks were so expensive that it would take an exceptionally well-heeled brigand to own one. An unfortunate side effect of this ban was that people who depended on pistols to deter highwaymen were out of luck. Likewise, people accused of witchcraft or heresy had no effective means of defense, as blunt and edged weapons required strength and years of training to be effective. The ban had eventually lapsed, as the Emperor's son liked guns and had not renewed the ban. As with many laws of that time and place, it was enforced mainly against the commoners.
Public Safety in 17th century France:
Possession of flint-lock or snaphaunce firearms was punishable by death. Naturally, that prohibition did not extend to the king or his partisans in the on-going civil war against the Huguenots.
Japan Controls Guns and other Weapons:
In the late 16th and early 17th century, the Shoguns who unified Japan sought to prevent further challenges to their authority from peasants and monks alike. To that end, they had confiscated all weapons from the population. They succeeded by murdering not only those who did not obey promptly but also their entire families. Such are the measures needed for successful gun control.
America tries half-measures:
The end to slavery after American Civil War had led to first serious gun control here. Originally enforced against Blacks, these laws had later been applied to Chinese and other Asian immigrants, East Europeans and just plain poor people. That pattern continues to this day: the wealth and political influence of many gun control leaders makes them exempt from the same laws that they helped to author. That is why the founder of Handgun Control Incorporated has a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
Efficient German approach succeeds:
Jews were required to turn in guns, sticks and anything else that could be used for self-defense in 1938. That co-incidentally was the year the first concentration camp opened. Most of the six million that perished in the next seven years were disarmed by laws of Germany or their respective home countries. By contrast, when the wised-up survivors with illegal arms made a stand in 1948 Palestine, they had succeeded in protecting themselves and all those who were in no shape to fight. Shall we condemn them for using weapons illegal by British law of the time and place to survive attempted genocide?
Why dig in the ancient history?
With the benefit of hindsight, it is easy to see that depriving a population or an individual of means of self-defense is never done for the benefit of the people disarmed. Are current efforts do do the same to us any different?
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