“Illegal Guns”
A common trend in newspaper articles and quotes from politicos (seems to be the in-thing to do among Democrats who are trying to back away from their strong anti-gun stance) is to refer to “illegal guns” when really they mean “guns being used or carried illegally”. The truly illegal guns (full-auto, sawed-off or otherwise short-barreled, etc.) are pretty freaking rare in my experience (except in places like DC and Chicago where broad categories of guns are illegal, of course). This is a major language problem, and we in the gun rights community should fight it at every step. In conversation: “What, exactly, is an illegal gun?” “Can you explain what makes it illegal?” Being sold, used, or carried in an illegal manner does not make the gun itself illegal.
Scenario: Some felon obtains an everyday pump shotgun. His ownership of the gun is illegal. The gun itself is not. If he sells it to a person who is not prohibited from owning firearms, there is nothing illegal with the situation (although the felon could be prosecuted for having owned a gun when he was not allowed to). The gun itself is not the illegal part.
Every time I see yet another op-ed about “illegal guns on the streets,” I bang my head against the desk.
