To the editor

Vladimir Lenin reportedly said, “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.” Sadly, whenever tragedies such as the Parkland school shooting occur, Astroturf groups, whose ultimate goal is the complete elimination of civilian gun ownership, spring into action. They promulgate “The Big Lie,” that we can’t be safe unless we ban certain types of firearms.

Control the terminology and you control the conversation. How many times have you heard the phrases; “Saturday night special,” “assault weapons” or “gun show loopholes?” These have literally been made up by gun ban zealots. They then attach their own definitions to them, and have gotten their allies in the media to repeat them until they become a part of the lexicon, and “everyone knows” what they mean.

Ask the average non gun-owning person what an “assault weapon” is, and they will probably tell you it’s a machine gun. Sowing that impression in the public’s mind was the goal from the beginning. Once ordinary semi-automatic firearms with only cosmetic similarities to military weapons can be conflated with “machine guns” (which have been under strict Federal control since 1934), it becomes far easier to ban them.

Now, the propagandists have a new tactic; they’ve made pawns out of school kids. After all, who isn’t moved by the spectacle of High School students from all over the country marching to protest gun violence?

Parents; ask yourselves what kind of groups would encourage truancy? Take a close look at who’s sponsoring these walkouts and you may find that their motivations aren’t what they appear to be.

Students; I grew up during the Vietnam era and know something about protest movements. I applaud your desire to effect change, but be very careful, far too often outside organizers have a hidden agenda that may end up being detrimental to you in the long run. Keep in mind that the causes of violence in society are multifaceted. They don’t lend themselves to easy fixes. Focusing exclusively on gun control prevents us from having a real dialog on methods that might actually improve public safety.

Charles Ely

Bremerton