Lethal Logic: Exploding the Myths That Paralyze American Gun Policy [Hardcover]

Dennis A. Henigan (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1597973564 | ISBN-13: 978-1597973564 | Publication Date: June 30, 2009

“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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dennis A. Henigan is the Vice President for Law and Policy at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and Founder of its Legal Action Project. For twenty years, he has been a leading advocate for stronger gun laws, appearing dozens of times on national television shows, including 60 Minutes, The Today Show, Nightline, Larry King Live, and Dateline NBC. Henigan coauthored Guns and the Constitution: The Myth of Second Amendment Protection for Firearms in America (Aletheia Press, 1995).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 282 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc. (June 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597973564
• ISBN-13: 978-1597973564
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #571,070 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Current Events > Gun Control

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the paper it was printed on, December 13, 2011

By 

xtremedays - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lethal Logic: Exploding the Myths That Paralyze American Gun Policy (Hardcover)

The book is worthless unless your using it as a target or as something to start a fire. Don't waste your money on this book with its faulty information.

100 of 156 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pot Calling the Kettle Black, June 25, 2009

By 

EvoSci - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lethal Logic: Exploding the Myths That Paralyze American Gun Policy (Hardcover)

The problem with this book is that it isn't so much about research into real facts about gun control and its effectiveness (or lack thereof), it's simply an attack on a political strategy of using slogans to mobilize a political base. Which is funny, because all this book itself is, is a vacuous piece of political propaganda.

The author tries to convince the reader that these slogans are all the gun rights supporters have. But this isn't even remotely true. Even the American Academy of Sciences and the CDC, after comprehensive reviews of all research on the subject, came to the conclusion that there is no convincing research to support the premise that gun control reduces crime or violence. Comparative studies between the US, the UK, and Australia indicate that gun control may actually increase violent crime (there is a very strong correlation, at least). Even the Clinton Administration's own studies of their "Assault Weapons Ban" concluded that the law did absolutely nothing to reduce violence in the US. One of the other reviewers mentioned "scare tactics". But another thing the author doesn't address is that, while gun control laws have generally been loosened in the US over the last 20 years (especially in allowing private citizens to carry concealed weapons - 48 states now allow it, with 2 not even requiring a permit), violent crime overall, and gun crime specifically, have consistently dropped over the same period. So the gun control supporters who cry out about escalating gun violence (which is a lie in itself) are really the ones using scare tactics.

And yet he doesn't address any of this. Instead he sets up a straw man of a gun rights movement that has none of this factual evidence to support it, and which depends strictly on catchy slogans. Then he knocks it down with half-truths, making it seem like his side actually doesn't have a major credibility problem. It's not that the other side doesn't have any real evidence to back up their claims, it's just that he conveniently pretends it doesn't exist.

If you are an ardent gun control supporter and just want something to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, or if you are a gun-rights supporter and want to really get angry, by all means, buy the book. On the other hand, no matter what your position on the question of guns, if you want an intelligent and honest evaluation of facts on guns and gun control, steer clear of the author and this attempt of his to do nothing more than the same thing as the NRA's catchy slogans. Don't forget, he's the vice-president of a lobbying group with a major stake in the issue. This book reads more like a jealous rant simply because the opposition is doing a better job.

64 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The only civil right tha's fashionable to assault, June 30, 2009

By 

Chris in AL (Birmingham, AL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lethal Logic: Exploding the Myths That Paralyze American Gun Policy (Hardcover)

If we had authors asserting that religion and politics have killed more people than almost anything else over the course of history (which they have), and that we should therefore restrict religious or political beliefs, you'd hear a massive outcry. If an author pointed out that speech is just as dangerous as any weapon and should be restricted by government, the ACLU would be storming the barricades in defense of that civil right. But move one amendment away, and it's trendy to try and strip all people of a civil right because of what some bad people do, even though that right also helps to defend the good people against the bad.

Henigan has for years asserted that law abiding citizens shouldn't be allowed to arm themselves. He has relentlessly pursued stripping individuals of this civil right, through every avenue from public propaganda to civil litigation to legislation, all the while reasserting the Brady Campaign's failed policies. This book is just more of the same; save yourself the money and just visit the Brady Campaign's website if you want to be indoctrinated. The irony is that the sloganeering and propaganda that Henigan rails against are the same tactics that the Brady Campaign has used for over a decade.