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Fables, Myths & Other Tall Tales

Wednesday, July 28, 1999

"Once upon a time . . . "

Sometimes it seems that almost all news reports about firearms, "gun control" or crime should start out with that phrase. Those four short words tell us that while the story to follow will be presented as fact, it is really fiction, or better said, a myth or a fable. Unfortunately, these fables have come to displace facts in the public dialog about firearms and crime in America.

Some of these fables, as many fables do, started out with a grain of truth, but were later misrepresented and twisted to serve a particular purpose. Others are the product of "advocacy science," research designed to promote a particular point of view. Still others are just incorrect assumptions that over time are given the imprimatur of fact. Whatever their source, it is incumbent that they be exposed as the fables they are so that they might no longer influence the national debate.

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Arthur Kellermann

 


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Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.