Teen Vogue blasted the “extremist” gun rights movement and elected Republicans on Wednesday for pushing legislation to secure national reciprocity for concealed carry.
The magazine attempted to make its case, in part, by claiming more gun control makes us safer and restating the myth that guns that are the number one killer of children.
In contending that gun control makes us safer, Teen Vogue went to the gun control activist playbook of citing “rates of firearm-related death” instead of actual firearm death figures.
On May 23, 2023, Breitbart News noted the focus on “rates” instead of figures is a tactic often used by activists to avoid highlighting the heinous number of gun deaths in stringently gun-controlled states and cities.
For example, On May 13, 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) tweeted: “It HAS to be the humidity. Why else would California’s gun violence rate be 57% lower than Florida’s?”
That tweet, coupled the Newsom’s ongoing push for more gun control alongside criticism of Florida laws like constitutional carry, concealed carry, etc., appears designed to give readers the impression California’s gun control keeps people safe while Florida’s pro-2A costs more lives. But here are the raw statistics: Number of homicides in California during 2021 was 2,495, according to the Centers for Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Homicide Mortality map.
The CDC’s Homicide Mortality map shows the number of homicides in Florida in 2021 was 1,468.
Teen Vogue took the same tactic, pointing to “rates” instead of figures, contrasting New Jersey’s “rate” with Mississippi’s–because Mississippi has constitutional carry–thinking this wins the day. However, numerous other states have gun laws similar to Mississippi and many of them witnessed fewer than half of the homicides witnessed in New Jersey in 2022.
Teen Vogue renewed the claim that guns are “the number one killer of American children” as a way of suggesting we need to be focused on passing more gun laws rather than adopting a “guns everywhere” policy.
Breitbart News did a fact check on Teen Vogue’s claim guns are “are “the number one killer of American children” and found it to be false. Teen Vogue’s claim only works if 18 and 19-year-olds, i.e., people of voting age, are counted as “children.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, a Pulsar Night Vision pro-staffer, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly:
