"Guns Don't Kill People, People Kill People": And Other Myths About Guns and Gun Control

Have you ever thought to yourself, wow, the NRA is overreaching? It's only the tip of the clip.

In this book the author tears apart each bit of NRA "bumper-sticker logic" with statistics and actual logic. He then sights how gun control in our nation has already helped us, and other ways that gun control can help us all live with our guns in a safer way. (Spoiler alert: none of the ideas are to take away everyone's precious guns!)

Although the author ends with an empowering message, I still feel defeated. Regardless, I would recommend this book as excellent, vomit-in-your-mouth new knowledge, reference-filled nonfiction.

Let me start this whole thing by saying that this is a book that you need to read. No matter on which side of the gun debate you currently reside, this book serves the excellent purpose of providing a well thought out, studied, relatively non-reactionary discussion of one side of the debate.

Definitely only one side. But a discussion that tends to be free of histrionics and hyperbole.

Dennis Henigan has set out to refute the catch phrases that are so often used by those who are opposed to gun control. Tropes such as “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns”, “Gun control is a slippery slope to confiscation”, “An armed society is a polite society”, and “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people” (the book’s show more title) are addressed in each chapter with an analysis of what is being claimed, the logical fallacies that underlie each statement, and reams of data which refute what is being said as well as the underlying arguments that are made by gun advocates. Supported by extensive research, facts, and figures, he does an excellent job of revealing the flaws and underlying realities. It will be hard for all but the most die-hard gun advocates to not begin questioning some of the suppositions we have all made.

The book is not without some minor problems. Phrases similar to “it is not too hard to imagine” and its ilk crop up occasionally. Similarly, there are occasional plays to emotion that sidetrack the discussion. The minute the author heads those directions, suspicion is raised that he is falling into the same traps he is arguing against.

But these are few and far between and unnecessary in supporting Henigan’s points. Feel free to ignore them and just look at the facts presented.

There is no doubt this is a one-sided argument. And the reader has to take that into account. A grain of salt should be included with each chapter. Nonetheless, there are compelling arguments that need to be discussed.

And that is why I believe that all sides should read this book. Those who favor some level of control will better understand how their position can be supported. And those who prefer less control should honestly appraise these arguments to determine how solid their footing is.

Do not get me wrong, I am not saying read this book because then you’ll be persuaded to support gun control. Rather, I am saying everyone should read it is an excellent portrayal of one side of the argument. I would welcome a similarly logical explanation of the opposite side – one that calmly discusses facts and realities.

Discussions which seem to be in short supply on all topics these days. show less

Denish Henigan, point by point, with numerous sources and citations backing him, demolishes the many pseudo-logical arguments posited by the NRA’s stance against any sort of gun control. He brings to bear studies and papers that have analyzed the complexities of gun violence and unequivocally concludes that states and countries with more guns and weaker gun laws are explicitly correlated with more gun deaths. He debunks commonly accepted myths and propaganda (such as the slippery slope argument) with facts, data and logic. Adding guns to the mix in almost any situation (from violent criminals to suicides to accidents involving children) instantly escalates the potential level of consequential harm and fatality. He points out that gun show more control advocates are not trying to “take everyone’s guns away” but are simply proposing sensible and moderate measures towards a safer process and policy for all Americans. show less

Reasoned responses to the typical bumper-sticker arguments regarding our countries mass hysteria towards instruments for killing our neighbors. No one on the other side would be convinced, of course, because it isn't about reason. Our gun mania will die out, slowly and painfully, the same way smoking and drunk driving did - through generational changing of mores, and increased financial liability. To put it a little more succinctly, gun owners today are where smokers and drunk drivers were in the 1970s. Remember smoker's rights?

In debunking the many myths prevalent in the contemporary gun debates Dennis A. Henigan makes far more good points than bad. And unlike some bloated commentary, he does not simply create more bumper stickers, that is a weak and horribly misguided misreading of the book. But alas, some people can only repeat a few cherry-picked items to create an illusion so...

Back to the book, the evidence supports more stringent gun (and bullet) control, which to the knee-jerks (and the just plain jerks) means "they gonna take all my guns!" With very few exceptions that is not what adequate control as debated would do. But they can always use the over-used and, again, weak counter about a slippery slope. These people must live in mountainous ice show more country to experience so many slippery slopes.

I would recommend this to people on both sides of the debate and those, who are likely the majority, who are in the middle and confused because of the hyperbole from (mostly) the NRA but also the gun control lobby as well. Unfortunately this is one of the topics that find very few venues for actual debate and you usually end up with tangential bluster about mental health (which is certainly a concern but is used as a smoke screen so that, by attacking the mental health profession the debate switches to a different topic) or historical events and debates that only tangentially touch on the topic as it stands today.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss. show less

Written by a lawyer and former VP of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, this is an excellent background on the misconceptions, origins, legal history and ideological bastardization of the U.S. 2nd Amendment. Henigan begins by shooting holes in the validity of NRA slogans used by gun advocates. He provides copious references and statistics to make his point. He then follows the legal trail from the early Supreme Court interpretation of the 2nd Amendment and exposes the about face following the ideological majority opinion written by Justice Scalia and the details of that written opinion which leaves the door open for stronger gun controls. It is amazing what the general public misunderstands about this hot button issue.

This book show more was an early release edition obtained in exchange for an honest review. show less

This is one of those books where I feel as if the first chapter or two is missing. Perhaps those chapters would explain the rather simplistic cover & title. Yes, there are times I judge a book by it's cover. In this case, what I thought would be an easier grasp, Henigan writes to (in my opinion) an audience well versed in politics. This book will take a longer read time to get through. In addition, a lot of dinner discussions with a family that often discusses our states gun laws. My hope is that Henigan will clarify rather than confuse the point he wishes to get across on the topic of guns.