April 16, 2013 01:38 PM UTC

The Dumbest Argument Ever (This Year)

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• by: Colorado Pols

The U.S. Senate is discussing potential legislation to expand background checks for guns, and many of the same general arguments are popping up on either side of the discussion. We heard many of the same points here in Colorado when the legislature was debating various gun safety measures last month, but there's one talking point that we just can't take anymore. As the Associated Press explains:

Many consider the Manchin-Toomey compromise the best hope for winning Senate approval to widen the background check system, designed to screen out the severely mentally ill, criminals and others from getting firearms. Background checks are widely considered the heart of the gun control drive.

Background checks are required only for sales handled by licensed gun dealers. The Manchin-Toomey measure would extend that to sales at advertised venues like gun shows and online, while exempting other transactions like those between relatives and friends…

…Opponents say expanded checks would violate the Constitution's right to bear arms and would be ignored by criminals. [Pols emphasis] They are forcing supporters of the background check plan to win 60 of the Senate's 100 votes, a high hurdle.

In other words, the Senate shouldn't expand background checks for gun purchases because criminals would ignore them. In fact, criminals are likely to ignore every law on the books. You know why? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT MAKES THEM CRIMINALS!!!

How does this argument even make it out of someone's mouth? In what other discussion would you use the same logic? Well, we considered making it illegal to kill another person, but criminals are just going to ignore that request, so why bother?

This canard has evolved in part from the equally ridiculous notion that we can target gun restrictions solely at criminals, as though anyone who will eventually commit a crime has a warning placed on their social security card at birth. Every criminal was at some point in their life a law-abiding citizen. It's true that the majority of background checks will impact law-abiding citizens, because the majority of Americans are law-abiding citizens. In other news, people who live in Florida are much more likely to be eaten by a shark than people who live in Colorado.

What does it say about Congress that complete nonsense arguments like these are regurgitated and reprinted on the regular — and actually considered in a serious debate?