Misguided Editorial Skews Truth
This week Barbara Kelly offered an editorial for Savannah Now, titled “Time to look at gun control again?” She starts off saying she is “no fan of guns,” but tries to suggest, “I have no problem with those who use guns for self protection in the home, or for hunting.”
Right there she loses us and quickly. What about sport shooters, collectors and others? But then she takes the usual line of trying to interrupt the Second Amendment and offers this thought:
When that was written, the weapons of choice were the flintlock rifle, musket, and pistol. Once in awhile the saber. Read more
Eric at the Gunmart Blog: An Open Letter To All Gun Owners On The Internet
Eric at the Gunmart Blog:
Everyone over at the Brady Center knows that they are not called “clips”. Its a ploy… and they are manipulating us.
Yep, that’s the conclusion that I have come to. Its a ploy. It may not be the best one, but its gotten to the point that I don’t think it could be anything else. Why are they doing this? Well, I think that answer is very simple. They are trying to distract us, and they are trying to dictate our behavior. Read more
Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership: Who Is The Fanatic When It Comes to Gun Control?
Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership:
Colin Goddard, the misguided Virginia Tech shooting victim who has turned to the Brady Center to Promote Gun Violence for solace, said in a recent post about the Oslo Shooting: “Unfortunately, I was soon infuriated by the gun fanatics in America who immediately used this massacre to assert that strong gun laws, like Norway’s, don’t work.”
Well, if you look at the case of Anders Behring Breivik, Norway’s ludicrous “gun control” laws don’t and didn’t work. Read more
Paul Helmke Steps Down From Brady Campaign
Former three-term mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana Paul Helmke has announced that he is stepping down from his post as head of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center effective July 10.
The group’s vice president Dennis Henigan will serve as the acting president while the organization’s board of directors looks for a new president.
Huff and Puff: Florida Doctors Fight Back Against Gun Lobby Gag Law
This week Dennis A. Henigan offered a misleading take on the issue of guns and doctors in Florida. Writing for the Huffington Post, the Brady Center Vice President, offers this thought:
“…the gun lobby wants to prevent doctors from telling you the truth and prevent you from hearing it.”
Is this really a fair assessment? Why do doctors need to know why parents might have firearms? Henigan notes:
“Just as pediatricians have long advised parents on the best ways to reduce the risks of harm to children from household poisons, unsupervised swimming pools and riding bikes without safety helmets, they also have advised them how to best protect their kids from the lethal danger of firearms.”
This may be true, so why can’t guns just be lumped into the mix without requiring doctors to ask whether the household has a gun? Do doctors ask, “do you have household poisons?” How often do you hear the doctors ask, “do you have archery equipment?” What about power tools or lawn mowers?
This is an issue that is blown out of proportion. Why should guns be singled out? Except of course Henigan and his lot know that doctors can guilt parents by warning of the “dangers” of firearms. Isn’t that really the point?
Sarah Brady: Gun Violence Still Reigns
In her op-ed piece for The Washington Post Sarah Brady, wife of former Reagan Press Secretary James Brady, offers a moving statement based on her convictions. However, while we feel for Mr. Brady and do believe the family has suffered a terrible tragedy, we don’t her stance on gun control is correct.
She writes:
“Polls tell us that the majority of Americans — people who own guns and people who don’t, people who identify themselves as liberal and people who identify themselves as conservative — believe in reasonable restrictions on lethal weapons.”
And yet, the media and anti-gun zealots casually ignore other polls. This pick and choose attitude does no one any good.
But then she writes:
“As ‘We, the people’ press our demand for an America free of gun violence, Jim and I believe that the NRA’s mythological power will be consigned to the ash bins of time. Joyously, we may never know how many lives will be saved.”
This again shows a misunderstanding of the NRA. Part of the NRA’s power is not that it is mythological or even magical. It is that it is one voice of many in the so-called “gun lobby,” which supports law-abiding gun owners, who vote. Thus the “We, the people” want guns.
Finally, she offers an idealized view that shows why hers is a lost cause:
“There was a time when few in power believed women deserved the right to vote. It took courage to stand up, face humiliation and harassment, and fight for it. There was a time when few in power believed African Americans deserved full citizenship. It took audacity to stand up, face dogs, hoses and lynch mobs, and fight for it. Now is the time for our elected officials to stand up and lead the way to a nation free of gun violence.”
And we say LOST cause, not because we believe that guns will never be banned. No, this is our absolute worst fear, but rather it is a lost cause that this could ever be a nation free of gun violence. As long as there are drugs flowing from Mexico and into our country from other lands, as long as there is a terrorist threat, as long as there are criminals, there will be gun violence.
Disarming the law-abiding will only put more people at risk, not less.
Dennis A. Henigan Notes Obama Finally Says Something
This week Dennis A. Henigan, Brady Center Vice President, penned a piece for the Huffington Post titled, “The President on Guns: What Does it Mean?” Well, considering that the POTUS probably spent more time actually making his March Madness picks than he did writing the op-ed for last Sunday’s Arizona Daily Star – notably given that he probably had it ghost written for him – we don’t think it means much, if anything.
Of course Henigan, a true anti-gun zealot, sees this as the beginning of the end of gun ownership. But it there are some points that Henigan makes that are truly interesting.
First, he actually labels himself as “gun control advocate.” This is contrast to the very way that gun control is addressed. Note that this is the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, as that sounds less threatening to gun owners than the Brady Center for Gun Control. Henigan writes:
“Although one gets the distinct impression that the president would prefer not to receive a positive reaction from gun control advocates like myself, I can’t do him that favor.”
But let’s look deeper into this piece. Again, Henigan specifically says things that gun control advocates have denied. Here is what drew our attention most:
“But the ‘gun show loophole’ is really part of a larger loophole: in most states private sales do not require a background check, whether they occur at a gun show or not. This means that criminals and other legally prohibited gun buyers may be turned away at a licensed dealer, only to ‘effortlessly’ purchase guns elsewhere. Significantly, the president did not mention gun shows in particular, but rather said ‘we can’t allow’ the broader private sale loophole to persist. The president clearly articulated the rationale for extending Brady background checks to virtually all gun sales. It is a reform the Brady Campaign has been advocating for many years.”
For years we’ve heard about the “gun show loophole,” but here Henigan makes it clear it is really about private sales in general. To end private sales would in turn create a national database of gun ownership, where every legally owned gun would be tracked. And yet criminals would still be armed. Can any law-abiding gun owner imagine a worse case scenario?
Of course according to Henigan this is what the American people want! He writes:
“As recent polling has shown, the proposal to extend Brady background checks to all gun sales is solidly in the middle of public opinion on this issue, receiving strong support even from gun owners. An astounding 86% of Americans, and 81% of gun owners, support universal checks.”
So who conducted the poll and who released the findings? Only Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Imagine the findings if the National Rifle Association conducted the poll?
Finally, Henigan says the problem with all this is, of course, the NRA. He writes:
“Far from being part of the solution, the NRA has shown, once again, that it is the problem. If President Obama truly wants a system that no longer allows countless violent criminals to ‘effortlessly’ avoid background checks, eventually he will have no choice but to confront the gun lobby, and defeat it.”
Here we agree – in a way – with Henigan. We feel that Obama should make gun control the cornerstone of his reelection campaign. The defeat of course won’t be of gun owners, but of the POTUS.
Brady Center Filed Brief Today Supporting Restricted Permitting Process
The California Pistol & Rifle Association and five individuals have sued San Diego County and its sheriff because California law used the wording “may issue” in its concealed carry permitting process. Under this law, law enforcement officers determine who has “good cause” to receive a permit allowing them to carry a concealed handgun in public areas. The Legal Action Project of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence filed an amicus brief today supporting the California law.
NRA Once Again Notes More Guns, Less Crime
The National Rifle Administration once again said what we all already know, there are more guns than ever out there and yet less crime. The NRA, via our friends at Ammoland.com, noted:
“Coinciding with a surge in gun purchases that began shortly before the 2008 elections, violent crime decreased six percent between 2008 and 2009, according to the FBI. This included an eight percent decrease in murder and a nine percent decrease in robbery.
“Since 1991, when total violent crime peaked, it has decreased 43 percent to a 35-year low. The murder rate, less than half what it was in 1980, is now at a 45-year low.
“Throughout, the number of guns that Americans own has risen by about four million a year, including record numbers of the two types of firearms that the Brady (Campaign) folks would most like to see banned — handguns and the various firearms they call ‘assault weapons.’”
It is also interesting to us that the mainstream media was quick to point out a surge in gun sales, but usually is quiet on the fact that there are now more guns and yet less crime. Ironic isn’t it.
CNN’s Roland Martin Calls to “Whack the 2nd Amendment”
In an editorial Roland Martin, CNN political analyst, takes aim at the issue of the illegal aliens, and how this relates to the 14th Amendment. He tries to imply that those on the right are looking to repeal the 14th Amendment completely, and he goes on a tirade of sorts, in which he suggests that we “whack the 2nd Amendment.” But we don’t think he’s joking, or just trying to make a point. He seems to be one of those out there liberals that seriously believes that this amendment has to go. Read more
