Asserts the conservative Republican blogger in California: "The problem with the NRA ad about Obama’s children [receiving Secret Service protection while Obama opposes placing armed personnel in schools] isn’t that it is glaringly logically invalid. The problem is that it’s a
politically foolish point to make. As I said [earlier], logically
valid arguments can sometimes be inefficacious and unappealing. The
whole point of debate is to make the most persuasive,
valid arguments. Bringing Obama’s children into this political
discussion is not an effective way to convince people that the pro-gun
position is worth supporting. It’s rather crude and turns people off to
hearing the logic of the conservative position."
He continues his commentary: "Another valid-but-unconvincing argument that I have
consistently heard during this gun debate is the notion that the Second
Amendment isn’t just for self-defense against other citizens, but it is
also a defense against a potentially tyrannical federal government.
While this argument is incontestably valid, it is foolhardy to employ
this as the principal argument for the importance of guns in our
society. Right-wingers already have the largely unfair reputation of
being paranoid gun nuts who are desperately trying to recreate the Civil
War and secede from the nation, so why feed into that notion by
assiduously making this valid-but-unpersuasive argument?"
More commentary from Mr. Okeem, about conservatives and gun rights: "The main argument that should be used by conservatives is that guns in the hands of law-abiding, magnanimous members of society help to reduce crime. Moreover, we must argue that gun-free zones are tantamount to well-decorated invitation cards to mass murderers for them to go on unencumbered killing sprees against innocents. Gun-free zones in schools make children less safe by broadcasting their lack of protection to deranged, violent murderers, and even just repealing these laws will
make children safer in schools. When conservatives talk about gun-free zones and make the lives of innocents the priority, people will be more willing to
listen to us. When conservatives make arcane and abstract constitutional
points about the intent of the Second Amendment being largely about
protection from a tyrannical federal government, Democrats can easily
engage in demagoguery and argue that the conservative position is one
where the protection of innocent life is secondary to a phantasmagoric
vision of Obama being the second coming of Hitler. (And that is not hyperbole. Democrats will make that argument.)"
Chidike Okeem: "Conservatives Must Make Smarter Arguments About Gun Rights"
