Everytown for Gun Safety, the organization funded by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, issued a set of five talking points for gun control advocates to follow when trying to persuade their pro-gun friends and relatives of their error in thinking on Thanksgiving.
Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and former mayor of New York City, right, speaks during a panel discussion with Jeff Weiner, chief executive officer of LinkedIn Corp., at the Bloomberg Year Ahead: 2015 conference in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014.(Getty Images)
“This Thanksgiving when talk around he table turns to politics and current events, you can help set the record straight on some of the most common myths about guns,” the talking points titled, “Talking Turkey About Guns,” says.
The “myths” and “facts” infographics included Thanksgiving imagery such as turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie.
There was also one with toy cowboys, one wearing a black hat the other wearing a white hat, tackling the past assertion from the National Rifle Association that, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
The Everytown response was, “If more guns stopped gun crime, we’d be the safest country in the developed world. Instead, Americans are 20 times more likely to be murdered with a gun than people in other developed countries.”
The talking points further say that even though a background check bill failed in Congress in 2013, “92 percent of Americans – including 82 percent of gun owners – support background checks for all gun sales.” It also noted the voter-approved passage in Washington state to expand background checks.
Another talking point said, “Women are five times more likely to be killed by an intimate partner when a firearm is present.”
Pro-gun economist John Lott, head of the Crime Prevention Research Center, disputed the violence towards women statistic in an interview with Guns.com, saying the figures on “intimate partners” include prostitutes and their customers.
“If you want to ask about the real risk factor women should be careful of men with violent criminal records, not ownership of guns,” Lott said.
Regarding the 92 percent support for background checks, Lott said this figures, “Confuses support for the background check system that we have had with the expanded background checks that they want.”
See the full list of talking points here.
