It’s often said that a conservative is a liberal who’s just been mugged. It’s probably just as often that someone who’s been affected by violence turns into an outspoken and hard working activist for gun control. I know of few people who are truly passionate about the issue who haven’t been personally affected. It’s not surprising, really. We’re passionate about stopping them because we also have a personal stake in the outcome as shooters.
The Ventura County Reporter has a profile of Tim Heyne, who has been spreading gun control ordinances throughout Southern California:
That black day occurred on Memorial Day in 2005. Heyne and his wife, Jan, were with Heyne’s best friend, Steve Mazin, when Mazin’s neighbor, who held a grudge, approached the trio and shot them all. Mazin and Jan were killed. Heyne was left for dead with three bullets to the chest, but he survived and eventually recovered. All this, despite the fact that Mazin had a restraining order.
Mazin’s neighbor, as someone who had a restraining order on them, was not legally able to possess or purchase a firearm.
“Gun control is an incendiary term which the opposition likes to use because it sounds very condescending,†he said. “It speaks to the Second Amendment. What we are about is having sensible, responsible and accountable gun laws to keep the public safe.â€
The group Heyne refers to as “we†is the Brady Center headquartered in Washington, D.C. Heyne organized the Ventura County chapter, ignoring the warnings from seasoned gun control advocates that it was the Wild West of gun ownership. In recognition of this feat, the Brady Center will be honoring Heyne for his work on gun control issues in November.
California is the wild west of Gun Ownership? Maybe in 1883, but California’s shooting community has been taking a beating since 1989, and isn’t wielding a whole lot of political power these days. I’m all for having “sensible, responsible and accountable laws that keep the public safe”. But gun control doesn’t do that. Mr. Heyne is a shining example of its failure, as the federal and state laws that disarm people subject to a restraining order did not stop someone that was intent on murder. Is it so crazy to suggest that an honest man with a gun could have?
UPDATE: Joe Huffman has a telling quote as well.
I’m beginning to hate people like Heyne. He was attacked in a horrible manner, his wife and friend were killed, but does he respond to the issue as a thinking human being.
No, he becomes even more of a wimp and tries to take away the right of other people to defend themselves if they are in a similar situation as what happened to him.
Seriously, WTF. It really is going to get to the point in this country that we as gun owners are going to have to put our collective feet down and say NO MORE. We aren’t going to obey your god damned ordinances and restrictions and if that makes us criminals then…….
Very simply put, Mr. Heyne is a coward. If ever a man had a reason to understand the importance of defense of self and loved ones, Mr. Heyne is that man. Yet, he has chosen to force others to be as ineffectual as was he in defense of himself and his wife.
Mr. Heyne is not anti-violence, nor is he anti-gun, otherwise he would not be willing to hire his violence done by gun wielding members of law enforcement. He has not called for their disarmament. Ergo, we can assume the Mr. Heyne understands the need for judiciously applied violence at times of the occurrence of great evil. He just prefers to hire it done.
Mr. Heyne has non-verbally stated by his position that he holds nothing dear enough to defend, not himself, not his wife, if he must be the one to risk combat on their behalf. As a sop to his conscience he has wrapped himself in a false flag of supposed superior morality by claiming not to believe in gun violence. Of course, he does. How could he not? He lost his wife to it. He relies on its potential every day in the form of law enforcement to keep him safe. Yet, how much better would it have been had he been able to defend 3 innocent people when the potential of police gun violence did not materialize into reality at the time and place he really needed it?
Mr. Heyne is a coward. A coward who is ashamed of himself and is cloaking that shame in high sounding but false statements of principle. Having been a victim of such a heinous act does not immunize one from having his flaws recognized for what they are.
If what happened did not teach him the importance of the defense of life, it can only be because doesn’t want to learn nor to shoulder the responsibility. Especially if he thinks he can just hire it done.