Certain words hurt you when you talk about your rights and liberties. People who would deny your rights have done a good job of manipulating the language so far. Without even realizing it, you’re probably using terms that actually help the people who want to disarm you. This Politically Corrected Glossary will arm you for verbal battle.
Our Politically Corrected Glossary of Gun Terms Will Help You Navigate Gun Talk
To preserve, protect and defend your rights in the critical debate on where power should reside in America, you need effective words choices. Try out some of the ideas in this chart the next time you deal with this subject.
Then just give it a rest and watch where it goes. You’ll hear their litany, replete with flaws. Don’t rebut. Seize the moment, listen hard and learn—then just raise an eyebrow and think, “How ‘bout that. Feller doesn’t even own a gun. It takes all kinds.” Then talk about something else. And boy, does the disjoint hang in their craw.
Improved 2A Terms
| They Win if You Say: | We Win if You Say: |
| Pro Gun | Pro Rights |
| Gun Control | Crime Control |
| Reasonable Gun Control Laws | Illegal Infringement Laws |
| Anti-Gun Movement | Anti-Self-Defense Movement |
| Semi-Auto Handgun | Sidearm |
| Concealed Carry | Discreet Carry (Right to Carry) |
| Assault Weapon (Lethal Weapon) | Rifle/Carbine (Household Firearms) |
| Saturday Night Specials | Racist gun Laws |
| Junk Guns | Affordability |
| High-Capacity Magazines | Standard-Capacity Magazine |
| Second Amendment | Bill of Rights |
| Gun Rights | Civil Rights |
| Gun Lobby | Civil Rights Organizations |
| Common Sense Legislation | Dangerous Utopian Ideas |
| Anti-Gun | Bigotry |
| Pro Gun Control | Prejudice |
| Anti-Gun | Anti-Rights |
Win the Argument
| When They Say: | You Say: |
| Guns Kill | Guns Save Lives |
| Guns Cause Crime | Guns Stop Crime |
| But Guns are Bad | No, Guns Keep America Free |
| Guns are so Dangerous | Guns Should Remain Dangerous |
| Guns are too Dangerous to Own | Take a Safety Course |
| People Shouldn’t Have Guns | Maybe You Shouldn’t Have a Gun |
| People Don’t Need Guns | Only Good People Need Guns |
| We Need to Outlaw Guns | Bans Fail Repeatedly, See Drugs |
| Guns Should Just Go Away | So Should Dangerous People |
| They Should Take Away All the Guns | Let’s Start With Criminals First |
| They Should Take Away Dangerous Guns | Exactly Who Are “They” |
| Assault Weapons are Bad | Assault is a Behavior or Act |
| We Need Gun Registration | Registration Equals Confiscation |
| Gun Registration Will Stop Crime | How Would My Name on a List Stop Crime? |
| Guns are Meant to Kill | Guns Protect the Innocent |
| We Need More Gun Laws | Criminal Activity Remains a Crime |
| I Support the Second Amendment | Then Which Guns are OK? |
| Do You Really Have a Gun? | Uh, Yeah. We Need to Hit the Range |
This article was originally published in “Combat Handguns” July/August 2018. To order a copy and subscribe, visit outdoorgroupstore.com. The story also ran on PersonalDefenseWorld.com.
