John Moses Browning Day?

I think it was originally proposed by Mike Adams:

For the record, I am opposed to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a national holiday in the month of January or, for that matter, any other month. It isn’t that I oppose a national holiday celebrating the legacy of America’s greatest civil rights leader. I just don’t believe that King was our greatest civil rights leader. I believe that distinction belongs to John Browning.

Since John Moses Browning was born on January 23rd, 1855, it will be easy to make the transition from a Martin King to a John Browning national holiday. And it will be educational, too. Many gun owners are unaware that Browning sold 44 guns to Winchester including the Model 94 level action repeater. Guns based on the Model 94 design and chambered in 30-30 have probably killed more deer in North America than any other model before or since.

Now, I would not want to disparage John Browning’s stellar and unrivaled contributions to the design of the modern firearm, but I’m going to disagree with this, and suggest that this is one of the many ways gun rights advocates like to shoot themselves in the foot.

I strongly believe we need to keep gun rights in the main stream if we want the second amendment to be taken seriously, and for the right it protects to continue to be protected.  The more we look like a quirky subculture, and less like neighbors, friends, and co-workers, and other upstanding community members, the less ordinary folks are going to care about our rights when the politicians come for them.

Suggesting that Martin Luther King Day be replaced with John Moses Browning Day is one of those things that makes people look at us and think “Those people are nuts.”  We also don’t need to reinforce the negative stereotype of gun owners as being racists with this kind of crap.  I’m in favor of Martin Luther King Day remaining Martin Luther King Day.  I would not oppose a John Browning Day, but let’s not fan the flames of racial resentment by suggesting it replace a holiday that’s important to a lot of Americans.