When did "Gun Control" become "Gun Safety"?

[mikem317]

Is this a new effort by Team Anti? Obviously the term "gun control" comes with some serious PR baggage and it's pretty old. I mean, the 1968 fed act was actually called the "Gun Control Act" so that term is at least 45 years old or so.

I received a message from Carol Shea-Porter the other day. Being an informed voter I read it all (and disagreed with almost everything in it, of course.) But before I read the entire email, I parsed through the message until I found something on gun rights. It was under the subheading "Gun Safety". Gun safety? I read the associated paragraphs.

There was nothing about gun safety in there. No judicious use of trigger fingers. Keeping the weapon unloaded until ready. Storing your weapon safely. Knowing your target and what's behind your target. None of that. Paraphrasing, "we owe the victims of gun crime a vote" or something to that effect. Nothing about gun safety. It was all about gun control and channeling raw emotion from recent tragedies into stoking gun grabbing efforts like the UBC. Not gun safety.

So when did they start using "gun safety"?

 

[MisterHappy]

When they realized that a new, more politically neutral term, was going to work better.

Now, you have the Brady Bunch with "Gun Control", and other, more reasonable, people selling "Gun Safety."

 

[joeendris]

Still a lie and a ruse, no matter the wrapping...

 

[GunGrey]

Cause gun safety is a more paletable term. I mean who isn't for gun safety?



Just typical liberal doublespeak.

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

Cause gun safety is a more paletable term. I mean who isn't for gun safety?

Just typical liberal doublespeak.

They are taking a page from the abortion debate. Please dont start debating abortion here. But "pro life" is really hard to beat. Who isnt pro life? Pro death? Now we are forced into the "gun choice" camp even though we are more about actual gun safety than they are.

 

[falcon123]

Is this a new effort by Team Anti? Obviously the term "gun control" comes with some serious PR baggage and it's pretty old. I mean, the 1968 fed act was actually called the "Gun Control Act" so that term is at least 45 years old or so.

I received a message from Carol Shea-Porter the other day. Being an informed voter I read it all (and disagreed with almost everything in it, of course.) But before I read the entire email, I parsed through the message until I found something on gun rights. It was under the subheading "Gun Safety". Gun safety? I read the associated paragraphs.

There was nothing about gun safety in there. No judicious use of trigger fingers. Keeping the weapon unloaded until ready. Storing your weapon safely. Knowing your target and what's behind your target. None of that. Paraphrasing, "we owe the victims of gun crime a vote" or something to that effect. Nothing about gun safety. It was all about gun control and channeling raw emotion from recent tragedies into stoking gun grabbing efforts like the UBC. Not gun safety.

So when did they start using "gun safety"?

Didn't you get the memo? Obviously not.

- - - Updated - - -

Calling a turd a turd wasn't cutting it. So they started calling a turd a Baby Ruth. Tastes the same.

 

[Mr Weebles]

They are taking a page from the abortion debate. Please dont start debating abortion here. But "pro life" is really hard to beat. Who isnt pro life? Pro death? Now we are forced into the "gun choice" camp even though we are more about actual gun safety than they are.

Yeah, this.

It's the same reason we hear "common sense gun laws" all the time our of their lying mouths. After all, who would be against "common sense" gun laws?

Control the message, control the outcome.

 

[dans]

"Gun COntrol" is not working. They need (as has been said in previous posts) a less domineering tag line. "Common sense" and "Gun Safety" seem to be the words of the day.

 

[shamrockjr]

Right out of the Obama playbook. The libs have always strived towards turning a phrase (e.g. undocumented immigrant vs illegal alien) rather than winning an argument. But to answer your question, that's the first time I've heard the phrase "gun safety" replacing the apt phrase "gun control". Why doesn't this surprise me?

 

[cekim]

Indeed another PR push to reframe the debate by the progressives, fascists, eugenicists, white surpremecists, racists, bigots, socialists, communists, elitists, weather undergrond, or whatever else they want to call themselves today.

Keep calling them on this BS. It isn't about gun-control or safety, it is about banning all civilian guns and anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying or ignorant. They can take their pick.

 

[NewGuyRay]

The bottom line is that words matter. You can be sure that the terms gun control and gun safety have been extensively focus group and poll tested with their target demographics. If a change in language is taking place it's because testing has shown that gun control is not a palatable term for their target demographic and testing showed that most people have a positive reaction to "gun safety".

So the standard warning still applies. They can call it whatever they want but it's the details that will always matter most. The antis are hoping to influence enough of the low information voters who can't be bothered with details.

The saving grace for us is that most low information voters are unreliable supporters when it comes to issues that do not directly or personally impact their lives. Whereas pro 2A supporters tend to be well informed voters who will reliably turn out in large numbers based on this single issue.

 

[cekim]

The bottom line is that words matter. You can be sure that the terms gun control and gun safety have been extensively focus group and poll tested with their target demographics. If a change in language is taking place it's because testing has shown that gun control is not a palatable term for their target demographic and testing showed that most people have a positive reaction to "gun safety".

So the standard warning still applies. They can call it whatever they want but it's the details that will always matter most. The antis are hoping to influence enough of the low information voters who can't be bothered with details.

The saving grace for us is that most low information voters are unreliable supporters when it comes to issues that do not directly or personally impact their lives. Whereas pro 2A supporters tend to be well informed voters who will reliably turn out in large numbers based on this single issue.

No argument from me. They are definitely relying on bill titles for 4,000 page bills, then trying to argue that your resistance to the happy sounding bill title is irrational if it is based on an objection to one or all of those 4,000 pages which has nothing to do with the happy sounding title.

We have the heavy burden of continually calling them on this and pointing out the racism, bigotry, elitism, fascism and oppression in those 4,000 pages.

We have the harder job of talking about some of the most unpleasant aspects of history and goveranance which these measures ALWAYS bring.

Even worse, the ony successful way to do this is to find a way to talk about freedom and responsibility in positive terms of what we have to gain rather than what we have to lose.

We have to counter their claims of paranoia of government overreach on our part by saying that we have more faith in our fellow Americans to demand that they be able to arm themselves even if we don't know them and cannot say with 100% certainty that they are worthy of our trust.

It takes more respect and less paranoia of our fellow citizens to take this "leap of faith" that we are ALL better off with our fellow citizens armed than we are trying to pick and choose a priori who amongst us not convicted after due process of a violent felony is "safe" with a firearm.

It is they who are paranoid and bigoted regarding what a "stranger" might do with a firearm.

 

[center442]

So when did they start using "gun safety"?

I think it happened about the same time that 'welfare' became 'transitional assistance,' 'sales clerk' became 'associate,' and 'secretary' became 'personal assistant.'

BTW, I'm not a 'gun owner,' I'm a 'firearms enthusiast.'

 

[cekim]

I think it happened about the same time that 'welfare' became 'transitional assistance,' 'sales clerk' became 'associate,' and 'secretary' became 'personal assistant.'

BTW, I'm not a 'gun owner,' I'm a 'firearms enthusiast.'

Funny, this whole time I have remained "American"...

 

[xcom]

It's an old trick. "Pro Abortion" doesn't sound good so call it "pro choice." "Sex education" didn't sound good so call it "Health Education." "Appeasement" doesn't sound good so call it "A Dialogue." "Welfare" dosen't sound good so call it "Transitional Assistance." Yet we keep falling for it...

 

[seanc]

It was in the memo... Global warming became climate change, liberal Marxist socialists officially became "progressives"..

 

[xcom]

It was in the manifesto... Global warming became climate change, liberal Marxist socialists officially became "progressives"..

FIFY

 

[JohnZ]

Ask her why, if guns are so unsafe, the criminals keep using them.