Special to L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise

To start with, as per the Standard Anti-Self-Defense Handbook—and using the so-far unexplained Las Vegas shooting spree as the latest platform—the usual Second Amendment scoff-laws still prominently include firearm suicides in their gun-death tally.

Thank goodness folks deprived of guns won't use overdoses, tranquilizers-plus-booze, carbon monoxide, razor blades, poison, etc.—and bridges, tall buildings, and open windows for jumping—if they can't get guns!

Or are the usual Congressional victim-disarmers misleading us again?

Suicide by any means, while regrettable, is a voluntary act, and those determined, gun or no gun, nearly always succeed. With that in mind, let's put things in perspective:

The 19,392 gun suicides in the U.S. in 2010, a typical year, swamped the 11,078 firearm homicides. That is, firearm suicides amount to a whopping ~two-thirds of reported gun deaths, dwarfing all other catagroies combined.

So by lumping voluntary suicides in with homicides to inflate the anti-gun bogeyman—and scare the kids—the gun-grabbers are indeed trying to mislead us again.

Another interesting epicycle: A new study—not by the "Authorities" who, in the interest of self-preservation try to duck it—shows that in 2015 U.S. cops killed at least 1,152 people, usually with firearms. This is the first time that statistic has been available because the FBI, etc. have refused to collect that data. For some reason.

That 1,152 deaths-by-cop is very close to 10% of the 11,078 homicides reported in 2010. Are those killings-by-cop included in the official homicide figures? Someone else will have to answer that one. Either way, that would mean cops are responsible for about 10% of U.S. gun homicides.

It's also highly relevant that, as documented in Arm Yourself With The Facts, civilians shoot almost twice as many criminals as cops do, and their error rate—killing an innocent by mistake approximately 2% of the time—makes the cops kill-rate of 11% innocents killed seem down-right criminal.

And while we're looking at things the misguided anti-gun folks like to coverup and/or ignore, even government studies by hostile researchers admit at least 108,000 defensive uses of firearms per year with other authoritative estimates as high as 2.5 million.

And then there are those "assault rifles."

As far as crime goes, statistics—and common sense—both show, so-called "assault weapons" are non-starters, not to mention mis-named. Despite Hollywood, carrying an AR-15, AK-47 or other military-looking long gun concealed under your long black "duster"—or using one in close quarters, as in a robbery or mugging perhaps—just isn't practical and rarely happens. Even The New York Times calls it "The Assault Weapon Myth."

In defending your home from an outside assault, however, such weapons are very practical. So maybe it would be more accurate to call them "anti-assault weapons."

And it isn't always guns —

24 Injured In Stabbing At Franklin Regional High School - CBS Pittsburgh

And, if you're worried about terrorism, firearms aren't the most deadly or easiest weapon to use, although they may stop such a weapon —

…Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a rented, refrigerated truck weighing about 20 tons into crowds along a roughly 2-kilometer stretch of Promenade des Anglais on Thursday night, killing 84 people—including 10 children and adolescents—and injuring 202 others…. Attack in Nice - CNN

And then there's the prominent role drugs play in mass-murders. No, not stupidly outlawed "illegal" drugs, establishment drugs. For example, most school shooters were on prescribed anti-depressants like Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, etc. And of course, U.S. schools themselves were another common factor.

Las Vegas Mandalay Bay shooter Paddock was taking Valium which can lead to aggressive behavior.

Our last misleader—Obama—also fertilized the lie that, with our guns, we Americans are an extremely violent people. Despite that hate-speech from the Propagandist-in-Chief, when compared to other countries, the U.S. isn't all that violent. About average, in fact.

Except, of course, Americans overseas. You know, those unfortunates in the military who are forced to invade countries under false pretenses, blow up wedding parties, funerals and hospitals with B-52s, drones and Hellfire Missiles, etc. And are thus creating enemies for our kids, grand kids and the yet unborn for generations to come.

In that overseas arena, however, as polls show, folks indeed think the United States—that is, the U.S. Government—is extremely violent and poses the greatest threat to world peace.

If the Congressional oath-breakers were sincere about reducing violence here "in the freest country in the world," instead of illegitmately using "Executive Orders" to further tinker with the U.S. Constitution, the chronic oath-breakers would immediately decriminalize "illegal" drugs.

But of course, they're not sincere.

Judging by the composition of the all-time world record U.S. prison population, decriminalization would eliminate approximately two-thirds of the robbery, burglary, mugging etc. since that would crash the price and eliminate the need for folks to steal to support their drug habit.

Well, at least to support their non-establishment drug habit —

Drug Goes From $13.50 a Tablet to $750, Overnight - The New York Times

But forget political new-speak, the real reason our unpopular elected pervaricators are again attempting to disarm us is likely the real reason the Second Amendment exists. And is second only to the First Amendment. Which is also under attack.

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L. Reichard White [send him mail] taught physics, designed and built a house, ran for Nevada State Senate, served two terms on the Libertarian National Committee, managed a theater company, etc. For the last few decades, he's supported his writing habit by beating casinos at their own games. His hobby, though, is explaining things he wishes someone had explained to him. You can find a few of his other explanations listed here.
©October 13, 2017 (10:31a)