ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the folkloric title which is the standard argument of the gun lobby in the United States against efforts to restrict the possession of firearms. There must either be a core of neutral language somewhere, or people must somehow be able to discount the biases as they go about their practical affairs. Language begs off with its own folklore: 'Sticks and stones may break my bones but words never hurt me'. It is questioned whether man is menaced by man's works and words as well as by man. It is hardly stretching what we know about causation to say that if the gun had not been on the mantelpiece, the victim would not have been shot. The logical, factual, and scientific language that results is so important that it imbues its users, even the most naive, with a keen awareness of language.
