There is a certain image spreading in social networks that seems to be in defense of personal rights but it’s not: it’s nothing but gun propaganda disguised of a civil rights campaign.
It goes like this:
Don’t like gay marriage? Don’t get one.
Don’t like cigarettes? Don’t smoke one.
Don’t like abortions? Don’t have one.
Don’t like sex? Don’t do it.
Don’t like drugs? Don’t do them.
Don’t like porn? Don’t watch it.
Don’t like alcohol? Don’t drink it.
Don’t like guns? Don’t buy one.
Don’t like your rights taken away?
Then don’t take away someone else’s.
There’s a little problem there with this logic. I’ll illustrate it with smoking.
It’s not enough to not to smoke in order to not suffer from smoking, if you don’t like to smoke.
Smoking affects the rights of others by intrusion, it’s the equivalent of stretching your arm up to my nose including contact. Your smelly cigarette is obnoxious and I don’t like the risk of disease by getting second hand smoke into my nose and lungs.
When I don’t want to get that smoke in my lungs, I’m not stretching my arm up to your nose with contact, I’m pushing your arm away.
You are the one intruding on my rights, not me.
Same goes for the effects of many drugs (including alcohol) when out of control (which happens with highly addictive drugs or when people are too drunk to understand how badly they’re behaving) and let’s not dwelve into what a stray bullet can do to me, who had nothing to do with your argument against your also-gun-loving neighbour who’s at odds with you.
Sexual orientation, abortion, sex and watching porn have nothing to do with that. They’re not even in the same league. They’re personal things you do on your own time, usually in privacy.
I can’t agree with that poster as it’s definitely not well thought and only seems to have one goal: allowing unfettered guns into the hands of people.
It’s disgusting. I beg you to not spread it.