I have been known for years for saying we need to educate the anti gunners. Now I'm afraid to! They love to use the label "Assault Weapon (AW)." What is an AW? It is defined by a list of certain items, some of which make sense, some are just feel good items, and some make no more sense than worrying about the boogie monster as a three year old. What happens if we convince these people that some of the deadliest weapons on the battle field started their lives as hunting and long range competition guns? What happens if we show them how the properly trained and practiced shooter can do more damage to life with a single shot Thompson Center than a gang banger can do with a semi-auto handgun, "AK-47," or large magazine firearm of any style?
We need to spend more time educating these haters that problem they are fighting by banning guns is actually seated in something else, and the gun is just one of the many tools they use to try and resolve the problem. Two year olds bite, three year olds scratch, pre-schoolers throw sand and Haz droppings, kindergarteners throw dirt clods, second graders pick up a stick, fifth graders make a slingshot, twelve year olds use a bat, by fourteen children have discovered knives, and at some point a gun comes along.
Many countries have banned guns and taken them away. First they deal with the fact they didn't get them all, then they need to start banning other things, because they quickly find that taking away the tool did not eliminate the cause of the violence.
I do not want to educate these people in a way that will give them an excuse to expand their list of scary things even further. I would much rather open their eyes to the real problem, and let them work on fixing that. Once they make an impact on the real issues guns will no longer be the problem they see them to be today.