The Danger of "Meme" Argumentation

This meme is circulating around social media and serves as an excellent example of feigned profundity. I share this here with the intent to offer a deeper analysis. The CDC details a minimum average of 500,00 defensive uses of firearms per year, with some years including as many as 3,000,000. At a minimum, using the same year as an origine in 1968, that means a minimum of 27,000,000 DEFENSIVE uses of firearms. It should be noted that the CDC suggests that these numbers are likely significantly higher. See this study.

Also, the "have died from guns" phrase is intentionally ambiguous and omits any context. Does it include suicide by gun? How about justified defensive use of firearms and justified use of lethal force by law enforcement? How often is it gangland violence? What about accidental firearm deaths? Between 2015-2019, there was an average of 10,251 gun HOMICIDES. This averages to 553,586 total gun homicides in the same 54-year period, nearly one-third of the "fact" presented in the meme. This already discounts this data and demonstrates its clear bias and lack of intellectual honesty.

Also, why 1968? That year defeats the thesis. In that year, Congress passed the 1968 Gun Control Act that prohibited mail-purchase firearm sales and prohibiting drug users, felons, and the "mentally unfit" from purchasing guns. It also prohibits the trasnportation of handguns pruchased across state lines; as a citizen of Illinois, I cannot purchase a handgun in Missouri. If gun control measures were the answer to gun HOMICIDE, why cite the "people killed by guns" afterwards, as it merely highlights its ineffective impact of gun control legislation?

Similarly, Note that the examples used did not solve the problems. People still run into tractor trailers, and individuals still use bombs to conduct acts of terror. All these examples demonstrate the inefficacy of the measures implemented. Further-and really it should not be required to specify-none of those things listed are a Constitutional right. Contrary to Leftist theory and the heightened passions of the masses, rights do indeed matter.

I plan on doing an in-depth analysis of this ongoing debate in this weekend's podcast episode, beginning with an exploration of its historical roots and then a philosophical dissection using reason, not emotive impulse. This data is vital to avoid being seduced by biased information catered to fulfill a specific ideological agenda.