UT-Austin students will hold a "strap in" protest against campus carry on Aug. 24, 2016 by carrying dildos to class in violation of the campus' obscenity policy. Facts and myths about gun violenceRumor #1: Adolf Hitler favored gun control. Veracity:What to know:Source: Was Hitler really a fan of gun control? Facts and myths about gun violence Rumor #1: Adolf Hitler favored gun control. What to know: ... more Rumor #2: Hammers, baseball bats, etc. kill more people than guns. Veracity:What to know: Pro-gun pundits sometimes modify these claims, saying hammers kill more than rifles or AK-47s. That’s true, but extremely misleading. Those weapons, while prominent in pop culture, aren’t responsible for the majority of gun deaths in the country. The FBI totaled 6,220 handgun deaths compared to 496 deaths by blunt objects in 2011, according to Politifact. Source: Politician uses wrong word on gun claim (Politifact)  less Rumor #2: Hammers, baseball bats, etc. kill more people than guns.

Rumor #3: Anyone can easily buy an automatic weapon. Veracity:What to know: Source: CNN's Don Lemon says automatic weapons are easy to get (Politifact) less Rumor #3: Anyone can easily buy an automatic weapon. Rumor #4:Veracity:What to know: Texas is not the Wild West. redmax 8500 backpack blowerPolitifact debunked a claim that “it’s legal to shoot someone who’s committing a ‘public nuisance’ under the cover of dark” in Texas. tom bihn backpack cubeGuns and Ammo lists the Lone Star State as merely the 15th best state for gun owners in its 2015 rankings (Arizona was no. 1). ezydog backpack smallAnd Texas has nowhere near the highest percentage of gun owners by state. laptop backpack unprofessional

Only a third of residents own a gun, compared to half in states like Arkansas and Wyoming. Source: Best states for gun owners 2015 (Guns and Ammo) less What to know: Texas is not the Wild West. Politifact debunked a claim that “it’s legal to shoot ... more Rumor #5: The U.S. has a much higher firearm homicide rate than the rest of the developed world. Veracity: What to know: The key word here is “developed.” The comparison only works when comparing the U.S. to first-world countries like Israel, Japan, Australia or the countries that make up Western Europe. Most (not all) of those countries have strict gun regulations. Mass shootings (four or more people shot or killed) are significantly more common here. Source: Obama is right: gun violence is much worse in the US than other advanced countries (Vox) less Rumor #5: The U.S. has a much higher firearm homicide rate than the rest of the developed world. Rumor #6: The National Rifle Association was founded to protect freed slaves and fought the KKK. 

Veracity:What to know: Not even the NRA claims this. On its website, the organization says the group was founded by Union veterans to help troops improve marksmanship. The Ku Klux Klan formed soon after the Civil War as well, but there’s no evidence the NRA wanted to stand up to them. One civil rights activist, Robert Williams, received an NRA charter and formed the Black Armed Guard to oppose the Klan, Politifact writes. That hardly counts though.Source: NRA founded to fight KKK, black leader says (Politifact) less Rumor #6: The National Rifle Association was founded to protect freed slaves and fought the KKK. Rumor #7: Americans don’t support stricter gun laws. Veracity:What to know: When polled about stricter gun laws, more than half of Americans are against it. But when surveyed specifically about certain regulations, citizens sometimes given overwhelming support. A 2013 Pew Research Center poll showed 85 percent of Americans favored “background checks for private and gun show sales,” and 80 percent favor more policies preventing the mentally ill from obtaining guns.

Even 67 percent of respondents support a “federal database to track gun sales.” And more than half of Americans want bans on “high-capacity” clips, online sales of ammunition, semi-automatic weapons and assault style weapons.Source: In gun control debate, several options draw majority support (Pew Research Center) less Rumor #7: Americans don’t support stricter gun laws. What to know: When polled about stricter gun laws, more than half of Americans are against it. But when surveyed ... more Rumor #8: Many early forms of gun control were racist. Veracity:What to know: Yes, that’s a crucial reason why Texas had an open carry ban on handguns in the first place. The Houston Chronicle wrote last December about how in 1871 the state passed a ban on carrying pistols that was a thinly veiled means for selectively enforcing the law against black people. Many other southern states flat out made it illegal for blacks to possess guns. Rumor #8: Many early forms of gun control were racist.

What to know: Yes, that’s a crucial reason why Texas had an open carry ban on handguns in the first place. The Houston ... more Rumor #9: The failed “Fast and Furious” gun program began under Bush.Veracity:What to know: Barack Obama and others have made this claim. The ATF program purposely peddled guns at the U.S.-Mexico border to better trace them – and then the government agency lost track of the arms. The screw-up began more than a year after Obama’s election. Unlike what Rick Perry has claimed, Obama seemingly did not initiate or approve of “Fast and Furious.” Nevertheless the blunder occurred under the Obama administration. Source: Barack Obama said 'Fast and Furious' began under the Bush administration (Politifact) less Rumor #9: The failed “Fast and Furious” gun program began under Bush. What to know: Barack Obama and others have made this claim. The ATF program purposely peddled guns at the ... more Rumor #10: George Washington wanted an armed citizenry to protect against abuse from one’s “own government.” 

Veracity:What to know: That’s a bogus quote from the first president. Thomas Jefferson didn't say anything like it either. Washington said “a free people ought not only to be armed but disciplined.” He supported the right to bear arms, of course. However, the founding father supported a militia for taking on outside forces (under the auspice of the government). Source: Louie Gohmert says George Washington said a free people should be armed to guard against government tyranny (Politifact) less Rumor #10: George Washington wanted an armed citizenry to protect against abuse from one’s “own government.” Rumor #11: More Americans die from gun violence in the U.S. than in Afghanistan (or Iraq). Veracity:What to know:Source: Biden: Since Newton, more American gun deaths than soldiers lost in Afghanistan (Politifact)  less Rumor #11: More Americans die from gun violence in the U.S. than in Afghanistan (or Iraq). Rumor #12: The UN wants to create an international gun registry or ban. 

Veracity:What to know: This rumor spun out of control over an Arms Trade Treaty designed to stop the flow of illicit international sales. It had nothing to do with regulating sales within the U.S. or circumventing the Second Amendment, a claim once made by former Texas senate candidate Craig James. Source: U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (Snopes) less Rumor #12: The UN wants to create an international gun registry or ban. Rumor #13: Obama will take away bullets through “backdoor gun control.” Veracity:What to know: Allen West and other pundits have cited the Environmental Protection Agency shutting down a smelter last year as proof that gun owners will have to buy their bullets overseas. Nothing supports this agenda. And the closing of the smelter had no effect on ammunition prices. Most lead for firearms in the U.S. is made from secondary sources like old car batteries, a National Shooting Sports Foundation spokesman told Politifact. The ATF has banned bullets that could pierce police body armor.