Talking About Guns

Ken at Popehat has a well written article on the topic of talking about guns in which he points out some of the shortcomings of the art on both sides. My position of course is that most of the shortcomings are on the anti gun side, but that's just me. My favorite part was where he takes the usual arguments and substitutes dogs for guns:

Me: I don't want to take away dog owners' rights. But we need to do something about Rottweilers.
You: So what do you propose?
Me: I just think that there should be some sort of training or restrictions on owning an attack dog.
You: Wait. What's an "attack dog?"
Me: You know what I mean. Like military dogs.
You: Huh? Rottweilers aren't military dogs. In fact "military dogs" isn't a thing. You mean like German Shepherds?
Me: Don't be ridiculous. Nobody's trying to take away your German Shepherds. But civilians shouldn't own fighting dogs.
You: I have no idea what dogs you're talking about now.
Me: You're being both picky and obtuse. You know I mean hounds.
You: What the fuck.
Me: OK, maybe not actually ::air quotes:: hounds ::air quotes::. Maybe I have the terminology wrong. I'm not obsessed with vicious dogs like you. But we can identify kinds of dogs that civilians just don't need to own.
You: Can we?

Sums up the typical conversation with the antis pertty well and does it in terms that both sides will likely understand.

As a dog owner I can tell you that dogs will generally do what you train them to do. Some breeds take to certain tasks better than others but most of them can be trained. As a bike rider who frequents trails popular with dog walkers I can tell you right up front that there are 3 kinds of dogs out there. The big ones like Rotties and Pit Bulls generally take no notice of me whatsoever as I pass by.

The mid-sized ones like border collies give me THE LOOK as if to say "That's the strangest antelope I ever saw. Sure would like to sniff it." On a recumbent I don't look like the bicyclists they're used to seeing.

The little ones are the ones you have to look out for. They're convinced that you're a: a threat and b: edible. Size is no issue.If these little tornados weren't on a lead I'd probably come home with one or two clinging to my legs.

Anyway it's a good article well worth a read. The comments are good as well although I haven't read them all (130+) and I've noticed that after a while Godwins law comes into play so you may not want to try to get all the way through them anyway.