Guns – Page 263 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Quote of the Day: Racism Edition

From Brady Board member Joan Peterson, in reference to this adÂ run by NRA:

Plus, the NRA has thought of a cynical new way to make angry white guys more afraid of Black people with guns by encouraging people of color to arm themselves.

I don’t understand why I’m supposed to be afraid of black people with guns. I’ve been around armed Black Americans at matches Joan, and never thought much of it. I’m afraid of criminals with guns, and I believe all Americans have a right to arm themselves for self-protection, as is guaranteed by our Constitution. So who’s the racist here, Joan? You’reÂ the one that said I should be afraid, and you’re the one that thought such a thought, so who’s the racist in this debate?

The New Hope of Gun Control Advocates

The self-hating gun owner:

Other gun owners interviewed for this article expressed similar reservations, citing their enjoyment of hunting or of introducing family members to the sport while expressing support for stricter gun control legislation. Mr. Kundu, for instance, supports a ban on the kind of assault weapon that he owns, a rifle manufactured by Panther Arms.

Yes, AR-15 owners who think AR-15s ought to be banned. Does the New York Times really believe this is a deep well gun control folks can tap in order to get support? This times piece strains credulity.

Kundu claims to be a master marksman in Washington State. The governing body for that kind of shooting is the NRA or WSRPA. Most competitive shooters will have match results online somewhere, especially at that level. So I decided I would start digging. If he is truly ranked Master in high-power, someone should have heard of him, or shot with him, and there should be a record. When you do that kind of competition, and are ranked highly, you’ve shot with an awful lot of people in an awful lot of matches. I couldn’t find any match results indicating this guy is a serious competitor, but what I did find destroys the whole NYT narrative. Michael Kundu, who the New York Times claims is the new “middle ground” in the gun control debate, is neither an ordinary gun owner, or any kind of moderate voice.

This is not the first time Kundu has been in the media pitching himself as a self-hating, anti-hunting gun owner. CNN has taken the bait too. So who is Michael Kundu? Well, he was School Board President for Marysville School District who ended up in hot water in the past for writing a racist e-mail as a school board president. Also, as School Board President, he attempted to censor dissenting viewpoints on global warming from being discussed in schools.

Perhaps more telling, Kundu’s associated with Sea Shepherd, who were recently declared pirates by the 9th Circuit:

Johnstonâ€™s 1997 stock donation included shares of a company named Northern Development Associates, a for-profit business which is now 100-percent owned by Sea Shepherd.

Corporate records show that the companyâ€™s officers include Watsonâ€™s ex-wife Lisa DiStefano and longtime associate Michael Kundu.

Sea Shepherd’s own web site says he was Pacific Northwest coordinator for the group in 1997. You can see a profile of him here. Additionally, his activities have earned him the ire of native Americans.

How stupid does the New York Times think we all are? And are we to believe that no one at CNN, or the New York Times, are aware that the new, moderate voice of gun ownership is in fact a radical activist with a group that has been accused of engaging in piracy on the high seas? There is nothing ordinary or moderate about this guy.

Mark Kelly, Gun Control Advocate, Buys Gun He Wants Banned

Mark Kelly, who proudly brags of (usually) buying guns at Wal-Mart, may find that going on tv to call for the renewal of a ban on so-called “assault weapons” gets him unwanted attention when he walks into a traditional gun store, buys a 1911–and an AR-15. He was recognized by witnesses, photographed by another customer filling out his 4473, and then questioned about why he would buy something he says he doesn’t want other people to have.

As his new Democratic PAC, Americans for Responsible Solutions, was questioned by media, Kelly suddenly issued a statement saying that he doesn’t plan to shoot or even keep the firearm. Instead, he claims to have bought it just so he could waste his money and turn it in to the police. Sssuuurrreee, he did.

I think that Kelly is going to find that his very public campaign to restrict our rights isn’t going to bode well if he plans on shopping anywhere other than big box stores where gun owners are unlikely to gather.

UPDATE: This morning I just remembered that I thought Arizona had some kind of law requiring guns taken by or given to police actually have to be sold back on the open market. Here’s a January article on that very issue, so Mark Kelly may have just bought a gun that will end up right back in the gun shop.

A Reliable Gauge of How We’re Doing

I gauge how we’re doing by the Joan Peterson hysterics meter, andÂ we’re doing a bit better. I actually don’t support ordinances requiring people to purchase guns, but if it drives the right people nuts, I’ll take that application of heat to our opponents at this critical time. I’m really not sure what the Brady folks expected, though.Â You’ve taken a large community, attacked it and insulted it, and now that its dander’s up, you’re surprised at what’s coming out.Â We’re actually making quite serious gains in the gun friendly states while they are busy trying to get anything through in the few states they have any real influence in.

Joan notes finally: “Let’s have some real discussion about whether guns in the home are a good idea or not. Let’s talk about whether using a gun for self defense actually is necessary or actually works.” How? This is laughable from a blog that repeatedly censors pro-gun viewpoints and makes discussion impossible. Whether everyone should have guns in their home is a discussion I’m willing to have. I believe in choice, and I actually don’t think gun ownership is for everyone. But that’s vastly different than suggesting the government needs to step in and make those choices.

Saturday News Dump

Bitter and I are hitting the paint brushes and rollers today to get my office prettied up. She picked a tan accent paint for the stairwell, that matches what we want to do with the rest of the house. She wasn’t sure about it, but I loved it. I picked a dark blue accent paint for a far wall in my office, and Bitter loves it and I’m not sure. I’m concerned it looks too black under the jaundiced Congressionally mandated CFL bulbs. But I think once it contrasts with the other lighter blue I picked for the other walls it’ll look decent. But I digress… Â here’s the news dump:

Common sense confiscation in Illinois. Clearly our opponents view this as the less radical approach, since unlike Oregon and Washington, they have not proposed going door to door to inspects homes of gun owners for contraband.

ISRA has issued an urgent alert on the concealed weapons issue.

Anti-gun folks are attacking Colion Noir, who appeared in an NRA video here. Seems they are going particularly out of their way to attack this spokesperson for freedom than many others. I can’t imagine why. I can’t imagine their motivation. Certainly it has nothing to do with race. No, they are good people. They’d never stoop that low.

Anti-gun folks release a study done by cherry picked “experts” who all share a common hatred of gun owners.

Firearms laws do nothing to prevent homicide.

3D printed AK magazine. 3D printing made its way into Republican arguments against the magazine ban in Colorado.

February NICS figures were up nearly 30% over last years. I’m surprised there’s anything to buy.

Cuomo’s gun control position is hurting him with voters. Here’s hoping his ramming of SAFE down everyone’s throats puts him square on the same road as his father in terms of Presidential ambitions.

Geraghty points out that Obama is underwater on job approval. Gee, I wonder what would cause that?

The business of guns.

Gun Control Debate Still Going in Colorado

I’ve been following Dave Kopel’s Twitter feed to keep up to date. I do have to say the GOP is keeping the faith in Colorado, and pulling out all the stops. The Magazine ban has been laid over on a technicality, and we’re now moving on to the campus carry ban.

UPDATE: Campus Carry ban is effectively dead.

UPDATE: Mag ban passes 18-17 by a voice vote, but voting is not over, as Dave Kopel mentions, “Obama and Bloomberg rule the Colorado Legislature.” The Democrats must be punished in Colorado. Severely. I will be following the 2014 races there closely. Any loss of freedom anywhere diminishes us all.

Hickenlooper is also up, and won last time because the Republican Party was in shambles. He can’t count on that in 2014. It’s time for Coloradans to take their legislature back from the interlopers in DC and New York.

UPDATE: Assault weapons ban dead.

UPDATE: Kopel: “Republicans fighting like Alamo defenders. Just tried again to defeat #magban on Comm of the Whole Report.” also “Repubs now fighting again to remove govt loophole from #magban. Laws should apply equally” Hey, if they are only for mass murder, why to the police need them?

UPDATE: If it’s not about crime control, then what is it about?Â She knows the answer to that, and so do we.

UPDATE: I’m told that the final vote has not been taken yet on the gun control measures. A formal recorded vote will happen Monday, so there’s still time to get calling and harass lawmakers.

Anti-Gun Senator Bullying NASCAR

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) is putting pressure on NASCAR to drop NRA’s upcoming sponsorship of the Sprint Cup:

â€œBy giving the NRA sponsorship of a major NASCAR race, NASCAR has crossed a line â€“ you have decided to put yourself in the middle of a political debate, and you have taken a side that stands in opposition to the wishes of so many Newtown families who support common sense gun reform,â€ Murphy wrote. â€œWhether or not this was your intention, your fans will infer from this sponsorship that NASCAR and the NRA are allies in the current legislative debate over gun violence. By announcing this new partnership at the very height of Congressâ€™s deliberations over gun reform, NASCAR has inserted itself into a political debate that has nothing to with the business of NASCAR.â€

They’ve been reading their Alinsky, clearly. “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it,Â polarizeÂ it”

Anti-Gun Grassroots Investments

According to a tweet from Dave Kopel, the anti-gun groups are paying for services to call any supporter they can find and connect those people to the Colorado Senate while debate is in progress on the anti-gun bills.

Antigun lobby is autodialing voters and offering to connect them to StateSen offices to voice support for antigun bills in #coleg

— Dave Kopel (@davekopel) March 8, 2013

Fortunately for us in the pro-rights movement, we have the networks that exist for us to make these request of other gun owners in person. The other side has to pay for it. Of course, by relying on those call center professionals instead of actual grassroots, they are able to more easily target and time their phone calls exactly when they need them.

Targeting Training

Cam Edwards linked to this story complaining about the offer of firearms safety training from the NFL Players Association (sic) with the Sig Sauer Academy at the NRA Headquarters Range. An unnamed NFL general manager was outraged that the Association would offer classes to teach people who might own firearms how to use them safely and instead wanted to demand a “non-gun ownership course,” presumably to lecture these adults on why they should give up their constitutional rights.

The Association notes that estimate gun ownership rates among NFL players is estimate between 25%-75%, so they thought that offering a safety class for players was wise–especially since they note that they don’t advocate on the issue one way or the other.

I don’t think that the attacks on even firearm safety training are an accident. I think it’s very much part of the anti-gun culture war where these elites are horrified that people who learn that safely shooting is a whole lot of fun.

I believe Cam will be talking about this tonight on his Sportsman’s Channel show at 5pm Eastern. It will no doubt be interesting to hear more on this topic. I wonder if we’ll see more assaults on our efforts to train more new shooters, even if the anti-gun crowd used to preach safety.

Then Why Talk to the Media?

UPDATE: I should clarify here that when I’m speaking of “the media”, I’m implying speaking of hostile media, like the WaPo, NYT, or other outlets that have chronically shown an unwillingness to cover the issue fairly. Obviously I’m not against talking to friendly media, or to reporters that have shown a willingness to be fair. But that’s not Sari Horwitz.

NSSF is warning of a media ploy to divide and conquer. I am absolutely sure that the WaPo spun a yarn with that story we highlighted, but the fact is the less gun groups say to the media the better. I am not anti-NSSF by any means, and I won’t condemn the organization like others are doing. I think this was bad judgement rather than bad faith on their part. We’ve talked to many folks at NSSF, and they are fine people.

I believe saying something is an “NRA thing,” in regards to policy on some legislation, is ill advised, especially to a reporter. Steve Sanetti is absolutely right about the media ploy, so then why talk to them?Â The media’s goal is to try to make NRA look unreasonable, and out of the mainstream. Their goal is to isolate them, so it appears that we’re not showing a united front. Likewise, I fully accept that Alan Gottlieb may have only had a choice of how much crap was in the sandwich, but again, I think talking to the media about it is a mistake. The media is the enemy, and the less we say to them the better.

h/t Instapundit