I’ve been watching our opponents somewhat carefully, since they launched the Second Chance on Shoot First campaign. I thought it was curious to note that while Mayor Bloomberg put his weight behind this effort, it did not appear that MAIG was joining. But then I noticed one of MAIG’s campaigns released a mother day message from Sabryna Fulton, however, you will note that it mentions nothing about Stand Your Ground, nor will you find it linked anywhere on the Fix Gun Checks Campaign web site. Why would this be?
Probably because Bloomberg can read polling data as much well as anyone else (h/t Dave Hardy for the link). There is a gap in thinking between elites and ordinary Americans on matters of self-defense, and Bloomberg has made a concerted effort to keep MAIG’s message narrow, and focused on topics that poll well. While the other two gun control groups, CSGV and Brady, have become a P.T. Barnum quality freak show, MAIG is being very careful with its image and message. Bloomberg must be worried fighting Stand your Ground using his Mayors could backfire on him.
He’s right. MAIG already got a small taste of what a minor campaign by NRA against his mayors cost him in terms of membership. He would not want to do anything to wake up the grassroots to take the fight to his mayors on their own. I think we can expect MAIG to largely stay out of the fight on Stand Your Ground, while Bloomberg will run a parallel effort under his own name, rather than that of his Mayors organization.
Of course the fight against Stand Your Ground is DOA ! Anyone with common sense is not going to back any measure against Stand Your ground. Fighting this law is a no win for the anti gun crowd. They cant take away the right to defend oneself and loved ones against crazed homicidal maniacs. They cant take away common sense itself from citizens either. The antigun crowd will be seen as leaving the citizenry helpless in the wake of an onslaught of hoodlums and murderers. The antigun crowd and Mayor Bloomberg should just quietly go away and leave this fight unfought. They will be better off for doing so.
They are supposed to be against illegal guns, not so much into regulating usage by legal gun owners. I wonder if there isn’t a backlash from his own members suggesting that going after self-defense is a departure from MAIG’s mission statement.
I doubt he ever hears from the vast majority of his members. I question how many of them even know what’s being done in their name.
Stand your ground is safe here in Florida. the majority overwhelmingly approve of it. As most of you are well aware, it very likely will not apply anyway when the light of day shines in the Zimmerman case. That will fall under the self defense law preceding SYG. As further evidence surfaces, it appears that Zimmerman will walk. Maybe not, because the drive-by media is doing its best to continue to hide the truth. We’ll see.