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By Jersey Joe | Host of Reaver of Common Sense on SHR Media

Everytown presents its “Myth vs Fact” sheet as if it is neutral science. It is not. It is advocacy messaging built largely on its own reports, its own definitions, and selective use of older studies that conveniently support its political agenda.

Below is a breakdown of what they claim, what their own sourcing actually is, and what the broader data and research say when you are not cherry picking numbers to sell gun control.

1. “Background checks stop criminals” but from what

Everytown claims that since 1994 background checks have blocked over 5 million gun sales to prohibited buyers. The number comes from a combination of FBI NICS denials and state systems compiled and interpreted by advocacy groups like Everytown. They never tell you the critical follow up questions.

How many of those denials were false positives
How many blocked buyers actually posed a violent risk
How many were prosecuted for lying on the form

A Government Accountability Office review found that only a tiny fraction of NICS denial cases ever lead to prosecution. In one year there were over 112 thousand denials and only a couple dozen federal prosecutions.

Bureau of Justice Statistics surveys of incarcerated felons show the overwhelming majority of criminals do not get their guns from legal retail channels in the first place. In a 2016 survey of state and federal prisoners who had a gun during their offense only about 10 percent obtained it from a retail source like a store or pawnshop. Most got it through illegal street sources theft or straw purchasers.

So yes the system blocks transactions. That does not prove it meaningfully disarms criminals. It proves the database rejects a lot of people while the actual violent criminals slip through or bypass the system entirely.

2. “The US gun death rate is 13 times other rich countries”

Everytown lumps suicides and homicides together. They ignore differences in population gang activity drug markets and policing. They pick a set of countries that makes the US look as bad as possible.

CDC data show that about half of US gun deaths are suicides. Suicides are driven by mental health addiction and social breakdown not simply guns.

Violence in the US is not evenly distributed. It is heavily concentrated in specific cities and neighborhoods. You do not have a national gun culture crisis. You have a concentrated criminal violence crisis that Everytown wants to treat with national restrictions on millions of law abiding gun owners who are not committing crimes.

3. Domestic abusers and the selective use of old studies

Everytown cites a 2003 case control study to claim that abusers with access to a gun are five times more likely to kill their partner. It is old data based on limited samples and relies on correlation not causation.

Federal law has also changed since then. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 expanded the definition of prohibited persons to include certain dating partners convicted of domestic violence. Everytown talks as if the law is frozen in time because that narrative helps their message.

None of this excuses domestic violence. The issue is whether you target actual violent offenders or use their crimes as a political wedge to justify sweeping gun restrictions.

4. “Chicago proves we need federal laws” or maybe strict laws fail in real life

ATF trace data show that many guns recovered in Chicago originated out of state. Criminals use trafficking networks friends family and straw purchases.

Here is what Everytown leaves out.

Chicago already has very strict local gun laws. Those laws did not deliver low crime. Their solution is to scale that failure nationwide.

If guns in Indiana are the reason Chicago is violent then a national law will simply shift trafficking to new sources including the southern border or black market manufacturing. Plenty of countries with strict national laws still have serious crime involving smuggled weapons.

Chicago is a political prop for Everytown not an honest analysis of criminal behavior.

5. “Children and guns” used as emotional leverage

Everytown focuses on unintentional shootings by children. These incidents are tragic but they represent a very small portion of total child injuries and fatalities. CDC data show far more children die from car crashes drownings poisoning and fires.

The real issue is storage and supervision which responsible gun owners already prioritize. Everytown uses these tragedies to argue for broad restrictions on millions of people who did nothing wrong.

6. “More guns do not stop bad guys” while ignoring defensive gun use entirely

Everytown pretends there is no debate about defensive gun use. There is a long running academic dispute but even the lowest estimates show tens of thousands of armed defensive uses each year which dwarfs the number of casualties from mass shootings.

Everytown erases the benefit side of gun ownership and presents only the criminal misuse side. That is not neutral analysis.

7. “Arming teachers is dangerous” because Everytown only quotes people who agree with them

There are school districts in the United States where trained staff carry firearms. These programs have operated for years without the disaster scenarios gun control groups warn about.

Everytown tells you what certain selected experts say and acts like it is universal consensus.

8. “Millions of kids live with loaded unsecured guns”

The JAMA study cited is based on self reported survey data. It relies entirely on how respondents interpret “unsecured.” It is not a physical inspection of every home.

If someone stores a gun irresponsibly that is a training and culture problem. Instead of promoting training Everytown jumps straight to criminal liability and state control.

9. “Guns in the home make you less safe” simplistic claims from correlation studies

The 2014 meta analysis they rely on pooled observational studies. Observational studies cannot prove causation. Households with firearms differ in many ways that can influence risk including prior exposure to violence and the quality of local policing.

The data show that troubled households plus a gun equal elevated risk. That is not the same as saying guns themselves create the danger in a stable law abiding home.

10. “Millions of guns are sold without background checks”

The claim depends on survey answers from gun owners who self report how they acquired their last firearm. The same Bureau of Justice Statistics data already mentioned shows criminals overwhelmingly get guns through illegal means regardless of background check laws.

Private sales gifts and inheritance have existed in America from the beginning. Everytown treats this normal lawful tradition as a loophole.

11. “Red Flag laws protect due process”

Red Flag statutes allow ex parte orders which means guns can be seized before the owner has a chance to appear in court. The later hearing exists on paper but the immediate deprivation happens before any defense can be offered.

The issue is not the theory behind the statutes. It is how quickly the government can take property without the owner being present to contest the allegations.

12. “Stand your ground is racist” selective coding and broad assumptions

Studies that show racial disparities in justifiable homicide rulings rely on how cases are categorized not on identical circumstances. They cannot prove the law itself is the source of disparity.

The real debate is whether citizens should have the right to defend themselves without first attempting to retreat when threatened. Everytown frames that debate as inherently racist because it supports their political goals.

13. “Gun violence hits Black Americans harder” used as political leverage

It is true that gun homicide disproportionately affects Black Americans. The causes are concentrated poverty gang activity and decades of failed local governance. Firearm bans do not fix any of that.

Everytown uses these communities as rhetorical evidence for national gun restrictions rather than focusing on the underlying drivers of violence.

14. “Active shooter drills do not work so pass gun laws instead”

There is limited data on whether drills change casualty outcomes because school shootings are rare. Poorly designed drills can frighten children. Well planned training can improve staff readiness.

Everytown uses the uncertainty to push the same predetermined conclusion. Pass gun control.

15. “Gun makers target kids” and “weapons of war” emotional framing not technical accuracy

AR15 style rifles are semiautomatic civilian firearms. They are mechanically similar to many other rifles. They are not military select fire rifles.

Youth sized rifles exist for training and sporting purposes just like youth baseball bats or youth sized dirt bikes. Everytown exaggerates normal industry practice to create a moral panic.

16. “Guns in cars are causing crime because they get stolen”

Stolen guns are a real issue but again Everytown blames the lawful owner rather than the thief.

By their logic car owners would be blamed for car theft leading to hit and runs. The real solution is punishing criminals and encouraging secure storage not attacking the concept of keeping a defensive tool accessible when traveling.

The bigger pattern Everytown citing Everytown

Review the source list and you see a pattern. They cite their own reports. Their own advocacy papers. Their own branded “research.”

When they cite outside studies they select only those that support their predetermined conclusions and ignore work that complicates the narrative.

If a tobacco company published “Myths and Facts About Smoking” based almost entirely on its own internal reports it would be laughed out of the room. When a gun control lobby does the same thing the media calls it research.

Editorial Closure

Everytown is not trying to present a full picture of firearm policy. They are trying to steer the public toward one conclusion. They inflate risks omit benefits and smooth over uncertainty. That might work for donors but it should not guide national policy.

America needs serious discussions about violence. That requires full data real context and the honesty to admit when evidence is incomplete or mixed. You will not get that from an organization that starts with a political goal and works backward.

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By Jersey Joe | Host of Reaver of Common Sense on SHR Media
(All information verified through public records, campaign announcements, and reporting from the actual outlets, public records, or documents cited in the article.)

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