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By Stephen, on January 28th, 2011%
How many gun owners and politicians do you know who say they support the second amendment, then caveat that statement with …
… but I don’t think that means you should be able to own an assault rifle, I’ve never wanted one.
… but that doesn’t mean you can carry a gun around with you.
… but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have to register it.
… but nobody needs more than one gun a month.
… but it’s OK for big cities to restrict the right.
… but National Parks should be strictly offlimits.
… but {ad nauseum}
On this blog I’ve given arguments against gun registration, “Assault Weapon” bans, the anti-gun stance of some mainstream Christian churches, and other self-righteous but logically challenged anti-gun rhetoric. Honestly, the anti-gun groups have little but knee-jerk fear and paranoia to draw upon and their bogus studies and proposed laws are easily debated.
But the anti-gun groups have been successful anyway, because they’ve created so much background noise, eagerly picked up on by the Main Stream Media, that gun owners who don’t pay attention to gun politics — the average Joe/Joanne who owns a firearm for hunting or self defense but for whom gun ownership isn’t high on his/her radar . . . → Read More: How to approach gun owners who don’t understand the politics of gun control (the 2nd amendment “but heads”)
By Stephen, on January 27th, 2011%
I just don’t understand why anti-gun people can’t think past the short term. There are violent people in the world, there always have been and always will be (read The Bible or any History book for proof). But while evil is quite good at finding a way … we on the other side are at the disadvantage and need every empowerment possible. And tools like weapons are more of an aid to us than a help to those who would do us harm. i.e. an attacker/assailant/assassin plans out the place and circumstances of what they want to do, and base their plan on what tools they have available. For the rest of us, we have to have the best tools available to respond, and a readily usable and effective weapon is about the only thing that equalizes things. Duh.
So here is my response to Japete:
We can’t ignore violence of ANY kind after the Tucson massacre, or any other violence. And we won’t. And we haven’t.
But we need to act intelligently, and find real solutions instead of “feel good” solutions. Limit magazines to 10 rounds and the next shooter will just bring two guns or buy one illegally (the Columbine shooting, which . . . → Read More: My favorite anti-gun lady doesn’t understand how anybody can think past HER clinical fears and paranoia …
By Stephen, on January 16th, 2011%
Although Japete is great as a motivator to blog, it’s amazing how she keeps laboriously making the same arguments over and over again no matter how badly she gets shredded by those who understand the issues. And the one argument that bothers me most is when she (or anyone) tries to bring religion and faith into a secular subjects like gun control. Here is her post, and my comment is below:
I think we’ve been down this path before.
I agree that there is nothing Biblical that tells us we must own weapons, or that we, as represented by our government, should not be able to limit ownership of types of weapons.
The belief of our founding fathers was that we had a right from “God” or “nature” to self defense, from other individuals OR a government turned tyrannical, and therefore to sufficient arms for either purpose. But while I agree with that right whole heartedly, I’ve never seen a specific BIBLICAL basis for protecting ownership of a class of arms, such as semi-automatic weapons or whatever.
But on the other side, the only part of the Bible you could possibly interpret to be pacifistic . . . → Read More: Still … the anti-gunners keep trying to get The Bible involved …
By Stephen, on January 10th, 2011%
Brady Board member Joan Peterson, blogging as Japete, makes her second post within a day and a half of the murderous assault by probable psychopath Jared Loughner. The anti-gun groups jumped on this incident of political violence with exuberance, undoubtedly hoping for the kind of success they attained after other political assassinations (from Kennedy to Reagan, though none of those laws affected this assault). And honestly … I don’t blame them. At their core are people who truly believe that all violence is due to guns and that without them violent people would be harmless (which is not actually supported by history, recent or otherwise) and so it’s natural that they assume that every violent incident will suddenly “open the eyes” of Americans to agree with their version of “common sense” (though it may be anything but).
But a reading of Japete’s post and opinion gives a window to the reasoning the anti-gun groups are using to try and take away a constitutionally protected right, personal empowerment, and cultural tradition … but contrary to what they say their views are not logical, not in our best interests as a nation, and not really common sense at all.
I do realize that Ms. Peterson . . . → Read More: Anti-gunner’s view of the Tucson mass murder and assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
By Stephen, on January 9th, 2011%
Joan Peterson has a blog post on the mass murder and attempted assassination of Rep. Giffords in Tucson. To her credit she doesn’t openly ask for any specific new gun restrictions, but asks that we “…have a national discussion about the role of guns and violence in our country. We are not a third world country where politicians are shot at or threatened on a regular basis.” And of course that last sentence is particularly true, we are NOT a country where politicians are shot or threatened on a regular basis … what happened is thankfully very uncommon.
Now I recognize that when she says national discussion she wants a discussion that involves what kinds of gun control to enact, assuming that some will be enacted, but I don’t make that assumption myself. I’m not against talking about the role of guns and violence in our country because I’m a believer in gun ownership and the right to self defense by all Americans, and I have no problem defending gun ownership even in times like these. To me is just a fact that guns are only one tool used by the violent, and not a motivator or creator of the . . . → Read More: Should the response to a horrendous murder, whatever the motivation, be to give up a precious right?
By Stephen, on December 18th, 2010%
This is repost from almost exactly 2 years ago, December of 2008, but nothing has really changed since them. But since the anti-gun blogger I’ve been interacting with the most has once again made “common sense” her only debating point … I think it’s worth rereading.
At the most general level, common sense is trusting what we all inherently know. But you can’t always trust common sense because the more complex the issue, the less likely it is to apply. i.e.:
1. It is the “common sense” of many young men that a happy marriage is based on really good sex.
2. Is is the “common sense” of many young women that a happy marriage is based strictly on love.
But marriage and human relationships are complex, and neither of the above holds true in real life. And seeking knowledge from history and elders is less painful than learning from mistakes (i.e. when facts conflict with “common sense,” facts win).
So when faced with the most complex and serious issue in America, our culture of violence, why do anti-gun groups continue to restate old arguments that have been disproven so many times? Why do they continue to expend their efforts to fight battles that restrict a . . . → Read More: Anti-gun Group Common Sense Gun Laws and Real Common Sense
By Stephen, on August 26th, 2010%
The title is exactly how anti-gun shills like mikeb or the Brady Campaign feel about guns, and here is a story that shows the result of that attitude. From Dave Hardy’s blog, the story of Rodney Thomas, a police officer … a legally licensed concealed weapons carrier and law abiding citizen … who was pulled over on a road that looked like any other. He didn’t go through a gate or checkpoint or anything else obvious, but he passed an imaginary barrier into a Federal Park and immediately became a criminal.
It’s easy to forget that when you drive on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway south of Fort Meade, you’re actually in a federal park. …
It’s also easy to forget that once in this “park,” the laws change from state to federal. And that meant, before February when the law changed, that carrying a gun on federal property was strictly prohibited.
…
Rodney Thomas, a police officer for NASA at the Goddard Space Agency in Greenbelt, discovered that the hard way on Sept. 24, 2006. A U.S. Park police officer pulled him over for driving 77 mph and Thomas reported he had a loaded semi-automatic handgun under the passenger seat.
He was arrested and charged with carrying . . . → Read More: Guns are different, and it’s alright for one mistake that harms no one to ruin your life!
By Stephen, on August 21st, 2010%
About a year and a half ago I posted the video below that proves that where guns are outlawed people, particularly bad people, find a way to get them. That’s the trouble with humans … we’re nothing if not persistent. And we’re particularly persistent at being greedy. Which means that when there is money available and a need, someone will find a way fulfill that need. And now that’s being proven once again in China, where guns continue to be manufactured in tiny, illegal shops, in spite of the tough gun laws. Thanks to SFIH and the WSJ.
Now … I have no problem being non-politically correct as a pro-gun guy by saying that if guns were really hard to get there would be some impact on petty criminals. But only a full gun ban and confiscation of ALL guns of all types would help even a little bit, because silly laws like “one gun a month” or even full registration (the mythical gun show loophole) just place a very tiny obstacle in the way of a criminal. Like putting a lock on your front door, it will stop only the really inexperienced and not very determined bad guy.
But while a gun . . . → Read More: When you ban guns … only criminals will manufacture guns
By Stephen, on August 17th, 2010%
A little Tuesday afternoon just-for-fun imagery here, if you got the time.
In an earlier post I was thinking about referring to the Brady Campaign President as captain of the Titanic, a common reference to someone supporting a lost cause (which is wishful thinking at this point, of course, but we’re getting closer). Then I realized that was a bad reference, and it would be more apropos to describe him as the Captain of the Bismarck.
Like the Bismarck, the Brady Campaign broke out with all guns blazing, getting laws and bans passed, and doing plenty of damage with a string of impressive victories. But the tides turned against them, and at the moment they are barely moving and being pummelled by the good guys everywhere but a few anti-gun States.
Going further (maybe too far) with this image … the various popular gun bloggers (see blog roll on right) are the Swordfish torpedo planes riddling the Brady Campaign with shots below the water line (I am an observation plane tossing rocks and ticking off a couple of the lookouts), and the NRA, Alan Gura, etc. (the big Boys) are the British battleships tearing it apart from the top down.
Just a little fun imagery. . . . → Read More: Herr Kapitän Paul Helmke. Captain of the Titanic? Or the Bismarck?
By Stephen, on August 17th, 2010%
Since I wrote about the fact that gunguys.com has virtually ceased to even bother posting anymore, gunguys.com Mike did do a little happy dance at the Connecticut workplace shooting and repost an article (an early version of the story with bad info) about it. And I’m sure he’s eagerly circling his RSS feeds for another opportunity. But looking at their recent history …
8/5/10: Repost of article on ATF director nomination
8/3/10: Celebratory post of Connecticut workplace shooting
7/15/10: Post on NRA opposing Kagan nomination to SCOTUS, and the last post where they had any original content (1 paragraph, which is stupid but not fisk-worthy)
6/30/10: Repost on VPC post on what they consider research into legal concealed carry (doing a google search, ignoring the thousands of times CCWer’s saved lives, and then pretending everyone’s about to die unless we end CCW right away)
Four posts in about 2 months.
Gunguys.com always was a joke, claiming to be the grassroots voice of the majority of the American people, but always posting only working hours Mon – Fri, almost never on weekends or Holidays (unless they had a happy dance to do over a grizzly murder) and getting their funding from the Free States Alliance/Joyce Foundation. And they . . . → Read More: Quick update on the (near) demise of gunguys.com
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