We just had a thread entitled "What's So Hard to Understand About the Right to Bear Arms?". I have something to say that could have gone there, but I didn't want to bury it. I'll say it once here, and try not to say it over and over.
Every person has certain things that they believe, and they attach certain levels of importance and certitude to them. It's their world view. It's their context. If you want to understand why a person thinks what he/she does, you have to understand their world view. You have to accept that it may be different from yours. Of course you think your view is more valid than theirs. The fact is, they think theirs is more valid than yours.
If you want to change someone's opinion about something, you have to argue in their context, not in your own. To use a non-gun example, if you convince a Christian, you need to argue in a Christian context. If you want to convince a Muslim, you need to argue in Muslim context. I'm sure that non-believers out there have pulled out their hair when someone based their argument on what's written in the Bible, or in the Koran. Referring to the Bible will not convince a non-believer.
And referring to the 2nd Amendment will not convince someone who is anti-gun. In fact, it will just turn them off.
To change someone's mind, you should:
1) agree that gun safety should be improved whenever possible
2) point out the AWB did not increase gun safety
3) point out that policing the AWB and other gun control measures costs money and police time that could be used for other things
4) point out that we all ready have quite a lot of gun control
5) point out that the AWB and many gun control laws were made by people who do not know about guns, and are considered bad law by most people who do know about guns.
Do you get it?
Every person has certain things that they believe, and they attach certain levels of importance and certitude to them. It's their world view. It's their context. If you want to understand why a person thinks what he/she does, you have to understand their world view. You have to accept that it may be different from yours. Of course you think your view is more valid than theirs. The fact is, they think theirs is more valid than yours.
If you want to change someone's opinion about something, you have to argue in their context, not in your own. To use a non-gun example, if you convince a Christian, you need to argue in a Christian context. If you want to convince a Muslim, you need to argue in Muslim context. I'm sure that non-believers out there have pulled out their hair when someone based their argument on what's written in the Bible, or in the Koran. Referring to the Bible will not convince a non-believer.
And referring to the 2nd Amendment will not convince someone who is anti-gun. In fact, it will just turn them off.
To change someone's mind, you should:
1) agree that gun safety should be improved whenever possible
2) point out the AWB did not increase gun safety
3) point out that policing the AWB and other gun control measures costs money and police time that could be used for other things
4) point out that we all ready have quite a lot of gun control
5) point out that the AWB and many gun control laws were made by people who do not know about guns, and are considered bad law by most people who do know about guns.
Do you get it?