Bitter – Page 69 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Hunters Stand with Gun Owners Over Sportsman’s Show “Black Gun” Ban

I’ll repeat something that I said earlier today about a commenter’s use of the term “Fudd” to describe the situation of the Eastern Sports & Outdoors Show:

I really hate using that term because far too many gun owners are willing to lump everyone or every thing branded â€œsportsmanâ€ or â€œhunterâ€ into that category. The folks up there on the list of vendors who have pulled out over this decision include quite a few people who sell nothing at all related to the demonized â€œblack rifles,â€ yet they are sacrificing thousands of dollars to make a stand for our rights.

I get what you are trying to say in terms of how the sponsors are behaving, but just be careful throwing around that term so that you donâ€™t end up turning people against all hunters & sportsmen.

I think that’s especially relevant after more announcement tonights. Several of the archery hunting celebrity speakers have now pulled out of their events at the Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show because of the exhibition company’s ban on all things modern sporting rifle. They are standing with us. Half of the companies on the list I’ve been keeping of confirmed speakers and exhibitors who are sacrificing their deposits don’t sell any products related to shooting modern semi-automatic rifles. Yet, they stand with us.

Just like we would hope that Reed Exhibitions and the Eastern Sports & Outdoors Show wouldn’t judge a gun by its color and aesthetic features, I hope that our folks don’t judge a Second Amendment supporter by their favorite sports.

Eastern Sports & Outdoors Show Loses Major Sponsor

Just a few minutes ago, Cabela’s announced that not only are they not going to attend the Eastern Sports & Outdoors Show because of their ban on modern sporting firearms, but they have also pulled out of their top sponsorship agreement.

With that news, Sebastian and I have decided in the last few minutes that tomorrow would be a lovely day for a drive to our nearest Cabela’s to buy a few things we don’t actually need. We’ll also send a short and polite note to the manager to let them know of our appreciation for their decision.

UPDATE: The interesting thing will be to see if The Outdoor Channel will continue to keep up their sponsorship agreement with the ESOS. They are the only other top sponsors with specific financial interests at stake with ESOS’s new ban on modern rifles.

NSSF Sticks by Expo Company’s Decision to Ban “Modern Sporting Rifles”

My head is spinning. I am so thoroughly confused by NSSF’s statement that actually calls on gun owners to stand up for the Eastern Sport & Outdoor Show and attend. Seriously?

I must fisk this just see if I understand this correctly because this honestly blows my mind.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation strongly disagrees with the decision of the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show’s management to disallow the display and sale of Modern Sporting Rifles at its 2013 exhibition. In our discussions with Reed Exhibitions, we have made this very clear.

Okay, this sounds all good and well. So where the hell do we go from “strongly disagree” to “go and give them money” which is in the last paragraph?

While assuring us that all legally available firearms will be welcome at future Eastern Sports and Outdoor Shows,

I guess the ESOS that is planned for this upcoming February is somehow in the past. How can “all legally available firearms” be “welcome at future [shows]” when they are, in fact, banned at the upcoming show?

…it was explained that this unfortunate decision was made in response to the planned actions of a single retailer that would have drawn significant unwelcomed media coverage at a time when firearms ownership is being assailed in the media.

So let me get this straight. One exhibitor planned to behave in a manner to bring negative media to the Eastern Sport & Outdoor Show. In response to the bad behavior of one retailer, they decided to ban all modern sporting rifles. Funny, that’s exactly how gun control groups think. One person used a gun in an irresponsible or illegal manner, therefore all of us must have our guns banned. This just legitimizes the entire “logic” behind gun control efforts. The logical response for ESOS was to ban that retailer. Crazy concept there. You punish the people who are doing wrong, not the people who use and sell their firearms and accessories perfectly lawfully and responsibly.

I would also argue that if NSSF’s defense of ESOS (below) is based on the notion that banning an entire class of modern firearms is the best solution to bad press, then they have been willfully ignoring the headlines that have come out from ESOS’s actions. The papers all over the region have been promoting their decision to ban these “powerful” weapons from a show for average sportsmen. In fact, one paper actually quotes the Reed staff as saying that their concern over having these guns is with the consumers who might attend. It’s us that the company doesn’t trust, and that is the story playing out in the media.

It is important to note that this year’s show will continue to feature a wide variety of firearms.

It just won’t feature “all legally available firearms” that NSSF promised in the first part of the statement.

However, it would be unfair to penalize the 1,200 exhibitors or the some 200,000 sportsmen and women who will attend the show by discouraging participation at a time when the hunting and shooting sports community needs to be united in the face of political challenges.

Now, I really like the folks at NSSF on a personal level. They are good people. But, I would really, really appreciate an explanation on just how telling sportsmen about ESOS ban on firearms is a manner of “penaliz[ing]” people who planned to go. Do we consider informed consumer decisions to be punishment nowadays?

And don’t even get me started on the blatant hypocrisy of their advice here. NSSF is begging consumers not to punish the vendors who are showcasing their products at ESOS by a blanket boycott of the show. Yet, they want those consumers to hand their hard-earned money over to the management of ESOS ($14/person per day), a company that is enforcing a blanket ban on modern sporting rifles because of the actions of a single retailer. There’s so much logic fail there that I don’t know where to begin.

We urge industry exhibitors and attendees to participate in the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show as planned and encourage attendees to visit the Reed Exhibitions booth at the show to share their concerns and to then enjoy the show.

I will say this for NRA’s statement on the situation. They told members who are concerned to contact Reed Exhibitions directly. That way, if a consumer decides to sit out of the show over this ban, they aren’t out a dime. However, NSSF asks you to pay $14 and then go complain to a company that is, so far, refusing to contact any customers whatsoever, including those who have requested refunds for pre-purchased tickets (and won’t even answer emails from vendors). Let’s just say that in the interest of your wallet, it’s better to follow NRA’s advice.

I totally get why NSSF would want to stick with the exhibition company because they have managed to successfully put on SHOT for years now. I understand what a nightmare position it puts them in. But to actually encourage gun owners to give more money to their consumer show that is actively banning the firearms we use recreationally and for defense?

It boggles the mind that they are asking people to financially support a company that believes in punishing ALL vendors for the misbehavior of one. They have the authority to ban a vendor from their show if one plans to misbehave. That is the appropriate response, not a ban on an entire class of firearms.

I like the guys at NSSF, but the last two paragraphs of this statement calling on gun owners to actively support the company banning modern sporting rifles are just absurd. If they wanted to get word out that ESOS’s parent company had a motivation of fear of bad press, then they could have published this entire statement without the plea for money at the end.

If You Think the Phrase “Semi-Auto Ban” is Overly Broad…

I’ve seen many gun owners argue that the anti-gun efforts aren’t aimed at their guns. Some don’t like that many of us describe so-called “assault weapons bans” as semi-auto rifle bans, even though that’s exactly what they are banning (or, in many cases, much, much more). In this case, Exurban Kevin notes that Time Warner is banning all images of semi-automatic firearms of any kind in commercials.

They, of course, will continue to show movies that feature criminals using semi-automatic firearms to kill and hurt people. But, allowing law-abiding gun owners to be shown what they can legally purchase and use at the range or for home defense is clearly crossing their moral line in the sand.

UPDATE: It just occurred to me. Time Warner Cable is now going to refuse every Hollywood movie trailer with a semi-automatic firearm. Right? Oh, wait, no. This is only a rule targeted at hurting our community.

Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show Bans Modern Rifles & Magazines

If you’re a gun owner or hunter anywhere within a day’s drive of Pennsylvania, there’s a good chance you’ve at least heard of the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show in passing. It’s an absolutely massive outdoor show that has previously allowed firearms vendors to showcase their wares alongside outfitters looking whisk you away on a new hunt. Not this year.

We saw news from a credible source last Friday that the show was putting a ban on modern sporting rifles & magazines. Not only can the firearms and magazines not be on display, “no brochures or documentation that mentions or pictures any ‘black rifle’ or high capacity magazine will be allowed.” We asked around about the issue, and of course, noted as soon as we saw the statement that the company that actually puts on the show is none other than Reed Exhibitions – the same company that NSSF contracts with to put on SHOT Show. Needless to say, Reed did not institute such a ban on SHOT, only on the ordinary consumers that will be frequenting the ESOS. To them, it’s apparently a privilege that only credentialed people can look at the guns or hear their names, but we lowly citizens have no rights to speak or see these firearms and accessories.

Needless to say, the post we saw about the potential ban was verified this week. What’s more, according to one vendor who posted their letter to Reed online, Reed has seemingly violated their agreements with vendors on not only what would be allowed, but how parts of the show would be marketed. Domari Nolo Defense Consulting reports:

In particular, the removal of the promised Tactical section and renaming of that part of the event in a way that belittles the efforts of companies involved is unacceptable.

We would not have agreed to be included in a ‘Wild West’ area had that been the original agreement. Our sponsors also do not want such an association, and have pulled their support of our show presence.

In fact, according to other exhibitor reports, the organizers behind the ESOS won’t even return phone calls or emails to the exhibitors concerned and impacted by the decision. In other words, our money and the money from vendors who sell guns we use was good enough for Reed before, but now they want to have us banned from the premises.

Fortunately, we gun owners are happy to listen. Sebastian & I were planning to attend the Eastern Sports & Outdoors Show – something we have done while also lending a hand to NRA’s booth in the past. We pay for our own entrance fees and we support the vendors on the floor. Well, we did do all of those things. We will not be doing it this year. We will also ask our family members in the area not to attend.

Reed is more than happy to take the money of the modern firearms industry from NSSF with SHOT Show, and word on some forums is that they are keeping the money of the vendors who are pulling out now that they can no longer support the show’s restrictions on their products or those related to their products. They will take our money, but they will work against our Second Amendment rights and actively work to hurt the shooting sports communities. That is a problem.

People boycotting the show have already started to organize, and they are also doing great work in highlighting the exhibitors who are taking a significant financial loss and pulling out of the show over this decision – even when their products aren’t being banned (yet).

Gun owners, especially those in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, are asked to contact Reed’s headquarters at 203-840-4800, inquiry@reedexpo.com, or by fax at 203-840-5805.

Or, as boycotting folks have noted, the information for the Reed employees (or director contractors) assigned to run the ESOS were previously published online, and some of the key folks include:

Group Vice President – Ed Several
Phone: 203-840-5932 Fax: 203-840-9932 Email: eseveral@reedexpo.com

Event Director – Chris O’Hara
Phone: 717-368-7487 Fax: 203-840-9868 Email: cohara@reedexpo.com

Public Relations – Deb Davis
Phone: 717-834-6267 Fax: 717-834-6207 Email: ddavis@conceptoneinc.com

Marketing – Cathy Kitlasz
Phone: 203-840-5871 Fax: 203-840-9781 Email: ckitlasz@reedexpo.com

If you have a moment, also consider checking out the products of some of the companies that have decided to stand with us and lose the investment they paid to exhibit at the show. Here are the ones I have found so far:

In addition to the above vendors who are sacrificing thousands of dollars just in deposits and many more thousands in lost sales, The Bear Whisperer, Fred & Michele Eichler, Lee & Tiffany Lakosky, and Ralph & Vicki Cianciarulo are withdrawing from their promotional and seminar appearances.

And Now Massachusetts…

Today, we get to look at another big anti-gun state to see what the gun owners are facing. According to Reuters, it’s summed up as “requir[ing] gun buyers to undergo background checks even when they made purchases at gun shows, limit[ing] buyers to purchasing one gun per month and reduc[ing] access to high-powered ammunition.”

I tried to look up introduced bills in Massachusetts, but no matter which bill turns up under a search for “firearm,” they all show as up as cannot be found, so I’m having to rely on that description above for any analysis. In other words, I can’t tell you much based on a quick search, but I can give you context to what kinds of laws Massachusetts gun owners already face that they are just trying to make even more complicated.

As I wrote back during NY Gov. Cuomo’s State of the State speech, Massachusetts already declared all previously issued gun licenses invalid – and then proceded to admit that they didn’t even tell thousands of gun owners about the change in the law, so they were suddenly in possession of firearms and ammunition illegally.

Massachusetts gun owners already go through costly license renewals every few years, and they already have to show those licenses every single time they buy either a firearm or ammunition. Even in private sales–including those at gun shows–the buyer and sellers have to show that they are legally licensed, complete an FA-10 together that has information on both individuals and the gun details, and mail a copy to state within 7 days. A private seller is also limited to selling 4 guns per year.

As for purchase restrictions, well, that’s pretty clearly just a case of trying to add insult to injury just because “they can.” There’s no purpose for it given that they already so heavily restrict licenses in the first place. There’s no accountability in issuing them, and it’s all up to the whim of local authorities. It’s tough to judge anything about the supposedly high-power ammunition bill since there’s no real description for what that even means.

So, yeah, we see in Massachusetts what they are trying when there’s really not much else to do when it comes to screwing gun owners. They already suffer enough.

“Constant Line” for Concealed Carry Licenses

Lackawanna County Sheriff John Szymanski has been forced to extend business hours just for concealed carry license applications, pick-ups, and to answer questions about gun permits. Twice a week, his office will remain open until 8pm just to handle the approximately 40 permits a day he has been issuing since the beginning of the month. Last month, he issued 413 permits. That was up over the same month in 2011 by 56%.

The story says that the sheriff’s office couldn’t handle the “constant line” of applicants, so now they have a sign-in sheet–in addition to the added hours. The added hours will be in effect until at least the end of February, but will go back to normal once the rush slows down.

That said, if any Lackawanna County Second Amendment supporters wanted to know of a line of gun owners just waiting to “do something,” this would be a great place to collect signatures on letters to Congress. You know that everyone in the line lives in the county, and it’s only split between two districts – Reps. Tom Marino and Matt Cartwright. Cartwright campaigned on a gun control platform pretty much as extreme as anything you’ve heard about on the table federally, but Marino could use the extra voices telling him to stand up for gun owners. (That said, if anyone is in Cartwright’s district, you should write him anyway.)

Warning to Those Who Carry in Pennsylvania or with a Pennsylvania License

Pennsylvania’s new Attorney General Kathleen Kane takes office today. If any of you hold a concealed carry license and travel with your firearms either to or from Pennsylvania, you need to verify the status of any reciprocity agreements on a day-by-day basis.

As part of her pledge to anti-gun groups during the election, Kane vowed to tackle the reciprocity agreements signed by previous Attorneys General. It is possible that a lawful gun owner could start a trip out-of-state with reciprocity in tact and see the agreement voided before it is time to return home. If this happens, they may be caught carrying in violation of another state’s laws and subject to prosecution by the end of the trip.

If you are a Pennsylvania gun owner who knows any other gun owners, make sure you pass this information along. It would suck for your buddy to be arrested for carrying without a valid license because the reciprocity agreement s/he was relying upon was revoked the day before.

The Silence of the Anti-Gunners

Many journalists have taken the attitude that they should try to shame people out of gun ownership, so Project Veritas decided to challenge them about how proud they are of their non-gun owner status. Would they be willing to actually tell the world that they don’t own guns in a way that’s personal? The same kind of personal they made it for gun owners in New York whose houses were put on a map…

I suspect you already know the answer – not a single one of them accepted the sign to declare themselves non-gun owners.

One of the most interesting parts of the video is the section with the husband of the publisher of the Journal News who admits that he’s so anti-gun, he fled the country to avoid them; yet, they gladly hire armed security that he brags are armed. He also continues on how we need gun control that allows nothing more than a single shot – which is less than what his armed security detail is likely carrying.

One of the editors of the Journal News had her armed security detail try to threaten the “anti-gun group” with calling the police for trespass – while they stood on public property. I guess that reflects their views on any so-called “rights” of these “little people” to assemble and even walk down a sidewalk.

The Real Problems of School Security

Remember when the media said that NRA was nuts for suggesting that schools consider a wide-ranging security plan, not only for school shooters, but for other security threats that weren’t as obvious? Yeah, most of us do.

Well, shortly after dinner, my phone started going nuts with alert to look up the local Amber Alert. I Googled it as a good little citizen, and it just goes to show that the schools don’t take security seriously at all. A 5-year-old was kidnapped from her own classroom and the school didn’t even bother to report her missing.

According to what has been released in the last few hours, a woman described as wearing “Muslim-style clothing” walked into a school before 9am–minutes after the girl was dropped off–told the staff she was a mother, didn’t show ID, scribbled a line that was not a name onto a log sheet, walked into a classroom to tell the teacher that she signed a kid out and the teacher handed the student over, which, needless to say, is not “protocol.” The teacher just allowed her to walk out with the little girl without being questioned or stopped. Neither the teacher nor school officials bothered to follow their own procedures to find out if this was a person who even had permission to pick up the girl. They didn’t report the odd circumstance. They just let the kidnapper get away for hours without any report of what kind of vehicle she might be in, what direction she headed, or whether there were accomplices.

It was only when the girl’s daycare program that picks her up from school noticed that she wasn’t present and called her mom to verify that she was legitimately absent that anyone took notice. By that time, it was almost 3pm. The kidnapper had a 6 hour head start, and all because the school staff member was too lazy to question why a stranger who never had to show any ID just walked into a classroom and demanded to take a little girl.

These people aren’t serious about the safety of other people’s children. The child was dropped off just minutes before, and not a single staff member thought it would be odd that someone would turn around and pick them up within 5 minutes. The staff just believed a nice little title from the stranger that she was “mom” even though they couldn’t see her face or recognize her if they had known her since she purposefully covered everything except her eyes. The teacher just believed the stranger that she signed a kid out and handed the child right over. They simply didn’t care enough to give a second thought to that child and the very clearly odd circumstances in front of them.

If you have the means, you might want to take more seriously the Buffy the Vampire Slayer quote channeled by Glenn Reynolds and consider that home schooling is “not just for scary religious people any more.” At least then you’ll know that the person supervising your children actually cares enough to consider real security.