Lethal Logic: Exploding the Myths That Paralyze American Gun Policy

By Dennis A. Henigan

Book Overview

"Guns don't kill people; people kill people."

"When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns."

"An armed society is a polite society."

Who hasn't heard these engaging assertions, time and time again? Burned into the national consciousness by years of targeted, disciplined messaging by the National Rifle Association and others, they are just a few of the bumper-sticker slogans that have defined the gun control debate in America. Long ridiculed by gun control advocates, they are the first words that come to mind for most Americans when the gun issue is discussed.

This is the first book both to acknowledge the profound and deadly impact of the gun lobby's bumper-sticker logic on the gun control debate and to systematically expose the misguided thinking at the core of the pro-gun slogans. Indeed, the author contends that the gun lobby's remarkable success in blocking passage of lifesaving gun laws is the result, in large part, of its relentless and effective use of these simple and resonant messages. Their persuasive power has been a largely ignored influence on the current politics of gun control, in which the gun lobby wields unprecedented power in the Republican Party, while many Democratic Party leaders see the policy benefits of stronger gun laws as not worth the political risk of standing up to the NRA. The book contends that the current political stalemate over guns will never be broken until the pro-gun slogans are exposed as the cleverly disguised fallacies that they are.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1597973564
• ISBN13: 9781597973564
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Potomac Books
• Length: 282 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Lethal Logic

This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to know how to take on the gun lobby's over-used and abused myths. Henigan's Lethal Logic is thorough and well reasoned.

Attempting to open the eyes of the blinded

This book contains enough facts backed with sources and data to help anyone to understand a large part of why our fine country leads the world in death and injury from gun violence. History and facts support a bumper sticker: "The NRA promotes the death and injury of thousands of children a year." The main reason for the NRA to use their powerful muscle to block any and all registration of fire arms and cartriges is a paranoid and false fear that it will lead to the loss of owning their legal guns. Gun owners now have a clear "constitutional" right to own guns for self defense. So, what keeps the NRA from supporting laws that will reduce gun ownership by criminals and the mentally ill? Dennis Henigan provides some reasonable answers if you have eyes to see and a rational mind.

truth serum for gun extremist propoganda

This book is way overdue. If the importance of a book is measured in terms of its honest assessment of a significant societal problem this book warrants ten stars. Gun violence claims over 30,000 lives in the U.S every year, twice as many as drunk driving and little is done to address this most neglected issue due to the clout of the gun lobby. Lethal Logic is a critical step forward. Worth reading for all who love their children and this country

An excellent alternative...

if "Jack and the Beanstalk" is sold out. Although to be honest; in "Jack and the Beanstalk", the "magic beans" actually WORKED, while in "Lethal Logic" the "magic bean" statistics are apparently self-generated and the statements made aren't supported with logic or research-able data. The book was very repetitive of the same baseless anti-gun talking points. I found this very helpful in teaching reasoning and logical thinking to my 4th grade daughters. They "ripped it apart" on every page and the repetitious nature of the book allowed them to "catch" repeats of the same illogical and poorly thought-out "talking points". For example; where the book indicated that the availability of guns causing an increasing in suicides; we looked up the data on Japan's suicide rates and found them nearly double that of the United States, yet guns are banned. Using the flawed train of thought found in "Lethal Logic"; this must mean Japan's high suicide rates are due to the lack of guns. The girls enjoyed learning that when England allowed the common subject to carry guns: The police officers actually patrolled the "gun laden" streets of "Jack the Ripper" fame... "armed" only with a stick and a whistle. But now that guns are "banned" for law-abiding subjects, as endorses in "Lethal Logic", more and more officers are carrying guns because "the streets are simply too dangerous". This would seem to disprove the contention in "Lethal Logic" and proves the bumper sticker: "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns" to be correct. As we are a military family, the girls quickly caught the lie that stated: "This latest tragedy, at a heavily fortified army base, ought to convince more Americans to reject the argument that the solution to gun violence is to arm more people with more guns in more places". The girls quickly pointed out: "That was another massacre in a `Gun-Free Zone'!" (We had done a little research to learn how many of the well known U.S. massacres were in "Gun-Free Zones", the most recent massacre that we found which wasn't in a "Gun-Free Zones" was the Waco Massacre. Another incident of "Government slaughtering it citizens"?) I gave the girls an assignment: If "reasonable" and "life saving gun laws" are real, find the U.S. cities with STRICT gun control laws and crime rates lower than the national average. I suggested DC, Detroit, NYC and Chicago. :) When the girls asked why anyone would write such a book, I said that the organization the author works for, makes their living convincing the law-abiding to send them money to work to strip them of their Freedom. They asked: "Is this what you mean when you say `A fool and his money are soon parted'? So yes, this was a very useful book.