West Virginia Gun Owners Plan Protest of Joe Manchin

Plans are shaping up for a protest of Sen. Joe Manchin who promised West Virginia’s law-abiding gun owners that he would respect their rights, and has now declared that he wants to ban guns that aren’t relevant to his interpretation of the Second Amendment – the right to hunt.

The organizer suggests that people do not open carry because of legal concerns, and another attendee has suggested some good ground rules: “No camo, no bullhorns, no sticks, no burning in effigy, we will get TV coverage… We need to be normal, just like at the meeting in the rotunda.” They are also encouraging the state’s gun owners to call his office because he’s apparently already feeling pressure.

Media Working Against Your Rights

Many gun blogs have been highlighting the fact that NBC Sports has decided to cancel “3-Gun Nation” in light of the Connecticut tragedy. I think that it is most useful to point out this:

Philadelphia-based Comcast Corporation, owner of NBCUniversal and one of the biggest spenders in lobbying money in Washington, has given $206,056 to Mr. Obama and $20,500 to Mr. Romney.

We cut the cord years ago and stopped giving over more than $100/month to support their Democratic donations. That’s just a reminder.

Besides, getting people involved with the shooting sports is much more fun than sitting around and watching them on tv.

Listening to Cam & Company

Even when NRA is in a strict blackout, Cam & Company has to go on. If you think your job is tough, you ought to tune in. Cam’s job is the last on earth I’d want to have right now. I guess the question is when does it go from wisely allowing things to calm down a bit, to unwisely yielding the narrative to the other side? At some point the political fight begins, and we need to see leadership.How can we expect that legislators stand with us, when NRA is nowhere to be seen in the public debate? I don’t pretend to have all the answers. There’s no textbook for this kind of thing.

A Counter Petition

Things are going to moving at a fast pace probably all this week, as the political struggle of our lives takes shape. There is a counter-petition at the White House petition site that’s up to 18,000 signatures. Surely we can do better than the gun control movement.

School Security in the Philippines

See this excellent comment by Richard Fernandez about his experience growing up in the Philippines:

If Lanza had advanced on even the most wretched educational institution in Sampaloc Manila in that tactical getup he would not have been greeted by unarmed women administrators. There would have been a warmer reception than that. And for a generation which was accustomed to thinking of America as the somehow superior reference culture, that is deeply puzzling.

Why are there so many nutcases of late? And why can they get away with shooting up Columbine, or Virginia or Sandy Hook. Do you mean to say poverty stricken schools in a third world country can hire shotgun armed guard at every school, but America can’t?

Read the whole thing. More here.

Letter to a Local State Representative

One of our state representatives in the area, Steve Santarsiero, has proposed the state completely outlaw “military-style” weapons. My response can be found in the comments below, but I thought I’d reproduce it here:

I live just outside your district, but I know many gun owners who are constituents. Like you, we were shocked and horrified by what happened last Friday, and many of us are still trying to come to terms with the magnitude of evil we saw on display. We are friends, neighbors, and parents, and our hearts go out to the people in Connecticut, as we cannot imagine what they must be going through. 

But the politicization of this act, and the scapegoating of lawful gun owners only makes this pain more difficult for us. Instead of grieving along with the nation, we’re told we should feel shame. We’re told we should surrender our rights. I do not understand how any member of the Pennsylvania Legislature proposes to ban millions of commonly-owned rifles, when, according to Mayor’s Against Illegal Guns, Pennsylvania has reported ZERO mental health records to the federal background check system. As you may know, true military weapons, those that are capable of fully automatic fire, have been heavily restricted for civilian use for sometime. The problem isn’t the guns, it’s our mental health system. The de-institutionalization of dangerously mentally ill persons has not only failed society, but failed the mentally ill, many of whom often become homeless, or end up in the prison system. Gun owners are willing to talk about solutions, but we want to see solutions that have a prayer of working. Connecticut is one of the small handful of states that already bans the kind of guns you propose outlawing. It is ranked number five in the nation by the Brady Campaign for having strict gun laws. Those laws failed to protect those children. Perhaps getting the mentally ill the help they need would actually help to enhance public safety.

Feel free to use this as a template in your dealings with lawmakers. I think it’s important to humanize ourselves first, and then propose solutions. We’re not going to be able to depend on the Second Amendment and constitutional arguments to win this one. When the chips are down, no one except us really cares about Constitutional rights, and those arguments never win.

We have to win by counter proposals that deflect attention away from guns, and into areas, that, quite frankly, may actually have a prayer of making a difference. Something will be done, and we’re going to have to work very hard to ensure that the “something” is not more feel-good laws that have no prayer of actually working, and only will lead to a new round of restrictions at the next horrific shooting.

Mass Shooting Prevented?

A man opens fire in a Chinese Restaurant, then chases one person into a movie theater. He is shot by an off-duty Sheriff’s deputy before he can get in the theater. One bystander was shot by the gunman, but is listed in stable condition. The body counts never really rack up when someone nearby with a gun can stop the shooter.

Bias Much?

Apparently it’s a media story when four anti-gun protesters show up at the White House. You know, we get 6x that many people to show up to my local club’s monthly meeting. Will whatever media outlet conducting that interview note that there were only four protesters?