There is a common denominator to nearly every person who advocates for more gun control: They know little to nothing about firearms or gun ownership.

It seems that every time one of these people expresses their anti-gunner views, they inadvertently expose the fact that they have no knowledge of what they speak.

I came across some responses to an article published by The Atlantic related to the police’s substandard reaction to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Several of the responses criticized the officers’ lack of response as the gunman murdered children and teachers. But one of the responders made a rather bizarre argument: America is addicted to guns like drug addicts are hooked on narcotics.

The American people relate to guns as addicts relate to drugs. Addicts change everything in their life to accommodate their drug use. They filter their relationships, alter their schedule, and change their living situation—all to facilitate their access to the substance. They blame everything and everyone for what goes wrong, but never the drug.

And so it is with guns in the United States. Law-enforcement officers should alter their techniques because of shootings. Teachers should carry weapons to protect themselves and their students. Sixty-year-old men should be trained to run into the line of fire. Children should learn when to duck and when to run. Everyone attending a public event should know where the exits are. We are willing to put everything second to our need for guns.

The responder concludes by arguing that “Until the American people wake up to the fact that our drug is killing us, until we stop enabling our addiction, we will continue to see tragedies like that a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.”

Let’s start with the ridiculous drug addict analogy. Many folks who are addicted to drugs often engage in harmful behaviors that can negatively impact themselves and others. The substance on which they are hooked has a deleterious effect on their health.

On the other hand, the vast majority of gun owners do not use their firearms to hurt other people or themselves. They possess the firearm to protect themselves, hunt, or engage in sport. The analogy unfairly stigmatizes gun owners, painting them as dumb rednecks who think their guns make them big men. This is a common tactic among anti-gunners who struggle to come up with coherent arguments.

Next, there is the ridiculous assertion that gun owners, like drug addicts, believe everyone else should have to alter their lives to accommodate our decision to keep and bear arms. It is true that certain measures like active shooter drills and implementing enhanced security protocols are definitely a change from how schools and other public facilities typically operate.

But why do these areas have to engage in these methods? It’s because of sick bastards who carry out mass shootings in schools and other places, not because of folks like myself who carry firearms for self-protection. The notion that I and other gun owners are somehow responsible for the actions of these evil beings is absurd.

The author seems to be implying that if we supported stricter gun control laws, active shooter training and other measures would not be necessary. Again, this shows how little folks like her understand the gun issue. Stricter gun laws do not stop mass shootings, full stop. Indeed, one of my favorite questions to ask anti-gunners while they are exploiting a tragedy like what happened in Parkland is: What new gun law could we pass that would have prevented this shooting?

The answer is little more than a chorus of crickets.

Furthermore, hardening schools and other facilities with security measures is a far more effective approach to deterring and stopping would-be mass shooters than having a government pass laws that the shooters will break anyway. Is it sad that children must be subject to these measures? Of course it is. But blame the bad guys, not folks who simply want to protect themselves and their loved ones.

It is also worth noting that relying on such a lazy and simplistic analogy completely ignores other factors that play into these atrocities. The author said nothing about mental health, community intervention, and heightening awareness of potential threats.

They rarely do.

This is because they ultimately believe that gun violence is the fault of the firearms, not the people using them. The same is true of drugs. Crack cocaine on its own can’t harm anyone. It is when people choose to abuse these substances that they fall into the trap of addiction.

Nobody wants to see innocent people murdered by evil people. Regardless of where one falls on gun control, most people want to save lives. The problem with the anti-gunners’ approach to the issue would only make people more vulnerable to these evildoers. Instead of blaming regular folks who happen to own guns, we should make sure more people are able to obtain the means by which they can defend themselves from the bad guys.

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