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Brent

Is "Guns don't kill people. People kill people" a fallacy?
asked on Sunday, Mar 22, 2015 05:16:59 PM by Brent

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Bo Bennett, PhD
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I wouldn't call it a fallacy unless I knew what the person was implying by the statement. If they respond that they are simply saying guns can be used for good and bad purposes, and it is the person that is responsible, then I would only partly agree. But this completely ignores the situational factors that lead to good people do bad things. The statement argues a good point, but it is only one point in a much larger debate.

Here is a Facebook post that I made a while back that takes another perspective on this "argument."

Guns don't kill people, people kill people. This is an incomplete argument that results in endless and pointless debates. What this needs is a "therefore," followed by a conclusion. For example, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people. Therefore, we should be focusing more on what makes people use guns violently and less on just banning the use of guns." This is very different from, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people. Therefore, anyone should be allowed to carry any kind of gun with no restrictions." Don't waste your time imagining the argument or point the other person is trying to make—ask for clarification.

answered on Monday, Mar 23, 2015 07:26:57 AM by Bo Bennett, PhD

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