gunwatch.blogspot.com GUN WATCH Monday, October 20, 2014
What is a Disarmist?
dis·arm·ist (ds-ärmst) alt. dis·arm·en·ter (ds-ärmn-tr) n.
1. A political operative who works to disarm political opposition through the use of irrational and/or emotional arguments.
2. A person who believes that disarming citizens will reduce crime or unjustified violence, in spite of contrary evidence or facts.
3. A person who wishes to disarm others because they do not trust themselves to bear arms responsibly.
I have long considered various descriptions of people who push to disarm others, in spite of facts, logic, and historical evidence. Several titles have been used; none have been completely satisfactory. To be useful, the nomenclature cannot be so long as to be unwieldy. It has to be easily understood. It makes no sense to allow those who use irrational arguments to define the language. Some candidates have been:
Anti-gun proponents, anti-second amendment proponents, those who push for citizen disarmament, those who want to disarm their political opponents, nanny statists, statists, fascists, gun controllers, gun grabbers, and control freaks. They are all less than satisfactory.
Disarmist is a good choice. It follows from alarmist, racist, and statist. An alternative might be disarmenter. It succinctly captures the intent, disarmament, with the irrationality, demented. As a single word, either is easier to use than a phrase, such as "proponents of citizen disarmament".
Senator Dianne Feinstein, pictured above, fits the first of the proposed definitions, and may fit the second. As she carried a gun for self protection, at least for a period of time, the third definition does not seem appropriate.
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