But the similarities go beyond the heated emotions they raise. Paradoxically, the arguments commonly made by the anti‐​gun and anti‐​immigrant sides are remarkably similar in style and substance, and both sides fall prey to the same problematic arguments that they easily recognize in other contexts. What are those similarities?

The first is simply symbolic. Your position on guns and immigration define your partisan status more than any other issues. Therefore the messaging for both tends to be direct, emotionally charged, and often focused on attacking the other side as evil. Tribal signaling is also more common, resulting in bumper stickers, t‐​shirts, Facebook memes, and even tattoos. While I know plenty of people who are deeply passionate about, say, free trade, I’ve never known anyone who’s tattooed the text of NAFTA on their back. Unfortunately, tribal signaling is usually not conducive to productive debate—the guy with the Second Amendment tattooed on his arm is usually not going to change his mind.

Second, those who are anti‐​gun and anti‐​immigrant often believe that there are essentially no laws about those issues currently in place, or at least the laws are not being enforced. In November, Brian Lonergan of the Immigration Reform Law Institute penned an op‐​ed titled, “America has seen enough tragedies result from its open borders.” With some tweaks, the framework of the op‐​ed could be re‐​purposed into a gun‐​control piece, “America has seen enough tragedies result from its open gun laws.”

In fact, it is extremely difficult to legally get into the U.S., and for some, such as low‐​skilled Mexican workers without American family, it is almost impossible. Similarly, there are myriad laws regulating the sale and transfer of guns, and the penalties are stiff. Would you be surprised to learn that anyone with even a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction is banned from owning firearms for life? Or that those who use marijuana recreationally or medicinally, even in states where it is legal, cannot legally purchase a firearm? And if you lie about it, that could mean 5 years in prison, or if you get someone else to purchase the gun for you—a “straw purchaser”—that could mean 10 years in prison.

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