| dbo:abstract |
"Guns don't kill people, people kill people" (and variations such as "guns don't kill people, people do" and "guns don't kill, people do") is a slogan popularized by the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and other gun advocates. The slogan and connected understanding dates back to at least the 1910s, and it became widely popular among gun advocates in the second half of the 20th century, so much so that some have labeled it a cliché. The statement, its variants, and counter-variants have been positively or negatively referenced and paraphrased by both sides of the gun control debate, including NRA representatives, the President of the United States, lawmakers, and members of the general public. Gun control proponents believe the slogan is an example of bumper sticker logic and supports the larger folk psychology behind gun advocacy. In colloquial use, both parts of the statement are largely considered true. However, when the statement is used in the context of gun debates it becomes misdirection and can be considered a fallacy. The statement does not say anything about gun control. It further only references that people are violent in general, and says nothing of gun ownership and gun violence. Further, the statement presents two polarizing extremes, namely that either the guns or the people are entirely to blame, while this is not the case with either gun-rights advocates or activists, as they usually lie somewhere between the two extremes. American, Canadian, Dutch, French, and Israeli philosophers, criminologists, psychiatrists, lawyers, and others have considered the statement. In the context of proximate and ultimate causation, the statement is a case of "mistaken relevance of proximate causation". The statement has been considered in the context of technological neutrality, technological determinism, value neutrality, and the instrumentalist philosophy of technology. When arguing that guns have moral value and technological agency, the responsibility of the human is also considered. The gun-human relation becomes a key factor in analysis. Law in the United States already has parallels, for example in the case of regulations for automatic firearms. Scientifically, the statement is inaccurate since it is the bullets and the kinetic energy that causes damage to the body. There are numerous variations that extend the slogan to mental health and social issues, including some that convey that guns make it easier for people to kill, and others in which 'people' is substituted with criminals, toddlers, children, bullets, or other nouns. For the purpose of analyzing the slogan and explaining different points of view, experts replace 'guns' with other terms, such as cars, knives, butter knives, nuclear weapons, and weapons systems. (en) |
| dbp:quote |
And no firearm has ever killed anyone unless directed by a person who acted either from malice, madness or idiocy. Sadly, not all of our elected officials are willing to accept this as fact. Somehow, guns themselves—pieces of hardware, no more, no less—have become the source of evil, while the actions of depraved individuals are conveniently ignored. (en) |
| rdfs:comment |
"Guns don't kill people, people kill people" (and variations such as "guns don't kill people, people do" and "guns don't kill, people do") is a slogan popularized by the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and other gun advocates. The slogan and connected understanding dates back to at least the 1910s, and it became widely popular among gun advocates in the second half of the 20th century, so much so that some have labeled it a cliché. The statement, its variants, and counter-variants have been positively or negatively referenced and paraphrased by both sides of the gun control debate, including NRA representatives, the President of the United States, lawmakers, and members of the general public. Gun control proponents believe the slogan is an example of bumper sticker logic and su (en) |
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