Examining the false concepts behind loose firearms and why registration doesn't reduce gun crime. When discussing matters of policy, it's important to define our terms because cloudy thinking can lead to misunderstanding or even outright deceit. Gun control advocates in particular like to use sneaky tactics: they tend to make assertions and then use the grey area of confusion to make their point. Let's take the concept of 'loose firearms'. For most people, the term is just shorthand for 'guns that are in some way illegal and used by bad guys'. People also tend to talk about loose firearms and unregistered firearms while using the two interchangeably. A gun control advocate may say that if each firearm is not registered to the individual, the number of loose (or 'bad-guy' owned) firearms would increase. This is an example of using an imprecise label to make a point that, upon examination, is flat-out wrong. Continue Reading