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.
