A dozen reasons why: Concealed carrying of guns is NOT like air bags

The RNC national convention is working overtime to make people feel afraid; it is some of the worst fear mongering, the most inaccurate passel of lies I have seen in a long time.  Outside of the convention it is an armed camp of paramilitary-armed people, despite the protests of Cleveland law enforcement who does not want them there because they pose a danger.

Fear mongering by the GOP sells guns for the NRA and encourages people to feel they need to carry lethal force into the public square, when there is no good reason to do so, and when doing so actually adds to the danger to people (including the gun carrier).

I recently read a discussion with someone who was intellectually dishonest, yet this person expected -- one might say DEMANDED that he be regarded with trust and confidence from the rest of us when he carries a firearm in public.

I don't have a lot of respect for the judgment or the integrity of someone who demonstrates both poor logical reasoning and intellectual dishonesty, including a willingness to engage in ad hominem attacks.  If your thinking is so flawed you think airbags are like guns, you need remedial education in how to think.

Just one of the failed arguments proffered was that there was no difference in protecting oneself and one's family from intentional or accidental injury by having airbags in one's car, and carrying a firearm to shoot someone to protect oneself and family.

Airbags make us all safer; firearms widely carried in public locations endanger us, making us all less safe, even the gun carrier, ESPECIALLY the gun carrier,  and they particularly endanger law enforcement.

Here is a partial list of reasons why that is a faulty comparison:

 1. Airbags are a passive defense against injury, triggered independently of individual choice or judgment; firearms are not.
 2. Airbags are subject to extensive study, recall, and other consumer protections, including liability suits; firearms are not.
 3. Airbags are required by law; firearms are not.
 4. Airbags don't accidentally injure innocent bystanders; firearms do.
 5. Airbags are not a means to commit suicide; firearms are.
 6. In the event of an airbag injury, nearly always there is only one victim; firearms frequently have multiple victims.
 7. No one creates anything remotely like an arsenal of airbags, while firearms are stockpiled.
 8. No one uses airbags to overthrow or attempt to overthrow government; the same is not true of airbags.
 9. Airbags only work in close proximity; the same is not true for firearms.
10.Airbags are not essential for national defense, firearms are.
11. Airbags are not mentioned anywhere, directly or indirectly, in the U.S. Constitution; Arms are.
12.  Airbags have a single use after which they are discarded; this is not true of firearms.

Please feel free to add any other ways in which airbags are NOT a legitimate comparison to firearms and personal safety.

An opposing opinion

I have to admit that it is quite nice of the people at this blog to allow a raging "gun loon" like myself the ability to give the opposite side of the issue. 

After all, we know that the good old days were quite different from what they are now.

People like this solid citizen used to open carry and had easy access to firearms.  There weren't many criminals and the ones out there didn't walk around with guns.

That point came to me when I was in my basement and heard a loud noise from upstairs.

It was at that point that I realized I didn't have a machinegun the way granny did because of those gun grabbers.  I would have had to make due with a semi-automatic pistol to deal with whatever intruder happened to be upstairs.

Unfortunately, it was my grandkid.

At least medical science has progressed and the little monster will live.

But, I have to admit I miss the good old days when solid citizens like the one I have pictured here had access to machineguns, short-barrelled shotguns, and other firearms that are hard for the average citizen to own.

It's nice to know that some people out there agree with me and want to carry weapons like these on the streets these days.

Even better, they can shoot the police in Indiana.  Hell, when grannie's friend John Dillinger did that sort of thing, the cops went and hunted him down.  These people weren't criminals, they were otherwise law abiding citizens.

But, Johnny would be proud to be a Hoosier these days!  Hell, he might even be alive thanks to the wise legislators in Indiana.


I miss the good old days and wish there were more guns out there in the hands of people that the law deems to be criminals.

But, they were good people who knew how to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

Concealed Carry as the Solution for Voter Fraud!

Sarah Silverman has it sussed!  What are those voter suppression laws really meant to do?

Why, get more guns on the street, of course!