Get the Rules of Gun Safety Right

Language & Logic Matters

Jul 03, 2022

A guy who just assumed I knew very little about guns told me the “rules.” I’m always patient with such people because I like to bring them along, help raise them up to a higher level of activist , which itself requires sharp thinking and great care with language . He said, “always treat a gun as if it’s loaded.” I held up my hand and smiled.

I said , well then you could never clean your gun, because nobody should clean a loaded gun.

(That’s called a reductio ad absurdum. It’s an absurd conclusion that the rule would prevent gun cleaning, because guns should be cleaned. The rules must be practically and logically consistent with each other).

He looked at me , stunned.

I said try again. I commanded him, rephrase, and get the rule right. And quit being so sloppy—such sloppiness indicates low expectations of yourself and ultimately how voters and judges see you.

And so we worked on it.

The Republican Professor

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