TheGunBlog.ca — The way we talk about guns shapes our perceptions and politics. Here are 14 expressions that smart shooters never use.

Most of the phrases are clever psychological stunts by anti-gun activists. They work by the principle of association. Put ideas together and your brain associates them automatically.

It’s why advertising works. Commercials feature shiny happy people having fun, so you associate the product with shiny happy fun.

If a shooter uses one of the words on this list, they may have just slipped up and need re-education. They should subscribe to TheGunBlog.ca. If they use more than one, be very careful. They are probably the enemy.

Expressions Smart Gun Owners Never Use (Alphabetical)

1. Active Shooter: An active shooter is someone who makes frequent trips to the target range. If we had more time and money, we’d all be active shooters. If you’re talking about someone shooting people in a shopping mall or a school, how about: “active attacker” or “mass attacker.”

2. Amnesty: An amnesty is forgiveness for something you did wrong. When the police invite you to surrender your property and promise to not charge you, it’s not an amnesty. It’s voluntary surrender. If you want to get rid of the guns, give them to a friend or an auction house, not to the police.

3. Assault-Style Weapon, or Military-Style Weapon: This is an invention of firearm prohibitionists after shooters mocked them for the incorrect use of “assault weapon.”

4. Assault Weapon: From 1944 until 1994 an “assault weapon” was an automatic rifle in a medium calibre. Today, it’s hoplophobe code for “scary-looking bangbang” and shooters ridicule them for it. But the gun industry contributed to the abuse of the term and confusion over it. Be specific: “automatic rifle.”

5. Buyback: If the government forces you to sell them your guns, it’s not a buyback, it’s confiscation paid for with your tax money. They can’t buy back something that wasn’t theirs to begin with. And you’re paying for it anyway.

6. Crime Gun: If you don’t say “crime car,” “crime fist,” “crime bottle,” “crime rope,” or “crime knife,” then don’t say “crime gun.” It’s a gun. If it was used in crime, be specific: was it stolen, smuggled, illegally purchased? See also “Illegal gun.”

7. Grandfathering: The government promotes gun bans by promising to let you keep your newly prohibited firearms until you die. It’s a lot easier and cheaper than taking them while you’re alive. But confiscating your guns after you die isn’t “grandfathering.” It’s “confiscating your guns after you die.”

8. Gun Crime: You wouldn’t say “fist crime,” “knife crime,” “crowbar crime,” or “van crime,” so why would you say “gun crime”? If you mean a criminal attack with a firearm, or an illegal shooting, or the unlawful possession of a firearm, say so.

9. Gun Control: If you mean recoil management, fine. If you mean “restrictions on who is allowed to own firearms,” that isn’t gun control, it’s people control.

10. Gun Violence: This is the go-to phrase of gun banners and confiscators. It’s pure PR genius and total kryptonite. We don’t say, “That gun is violent.” We say, “That person is violent.” Violence is a quality that applies to people and actions, not objects. And what part of the gun is the violent part, anyway? “Gun violence” is wrong in so many ways, but it’s powerful psychologically. If there is one expression you must never use, this is it. It’s what Scott Adams calls a “linguistic kill shot.” Bottom line: If you ever hear someone use this expression, grab your guns before they do.

11. High-Capacity Magazine: An AR-15 magazine that holds 20 or 30 rounds is a standard-capacity magazine. A Glock 17 mag that holds 17 rounds is a standard-capacity magazine. If you have a 60- or 110-round drum, then maybe you call that a “high-capacity” magazine. Maybe. But for some people, that’s just a standard 60-round drum.

12. Illegal Gun: Sometimes used as a shortcut for a firearm a criminal imported, obtained, possessed or used illegally. Better to be specific. We don’t want the word “gun” next to anything bad. See also “crime gun.”

13. Non-Restricted: All authorized firearms in Canada are tightly restricted. There’s no such thing as a non-restricted firearm. But the law has fabricated three classes of firearms, one of which is “Non-restricted.” It’s a label that means the opposite of what it says. All firearms are restricted, some are “Non-restricted” and Joseph Goebbels just peed his pants.

14. Unrestricted: All authorized firearms and all firearm owners in Canada are tightly restricted. Some people confuse the misleading legal classification of “Non-restricted” with the adjective “unrestricted.” Don’t. See also “Non-Restricted.”

Bonus

Violence: Not to avoid, but to be aware: When a bad guy does it, it’s “violence.” When a good guy does it, it’s “force.”

Related Information

• Hoplotheists Need a Religious Exemption From the Firearms Act
• Hitler Buys a Gun in Canada: Funny Video Should Be Mandatory
• Travel Tip: Don’t Bring Spent Brass in Your Carry-On, Like I Did

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