Today’s fool is Thomas S. Markham, writing in the Walker County Register:
NRA advocates: You are simply either uniformed or misinformed about militias in the United States. I fully understand your desire to have the Second Amendment to the Constitution verify that you have the right to bear any type of weapon, at any time you choose, and in any place that you may desire, but it simply does not.
The collective rights view has been, at this point, thoroughly discredited among constitutional scholars, and the latest court rulings are merely reflecting that. Check out the literature. I think you’ll find it’s not us who are misinformed.
As many of you, I’m an old retired hunter. I own several guns. I want my grandsons to hunt, and I want them have the right to protect their homes and families. I’m probably more “on your team†than on the side of those who would ban every form of gun ownership.
You know, I’m hearing this so often now, I’m really starting to not believe it. No, you’re not on my team. I don’t hunt, and you know what? There plenty of lawful and legitimate reason to own a firearm that don’t involve hunting.
Tell me honestly, all you NRA hunters out there: “Did you ever seriously hunt any game with a pistol? Or, did you even ever know anyone who did?†If you think about it, pistols are only made to kill people, not game. That’s a simple and tragic fact. And because of that fact, we must not stand by idle and let these lobbyists make the laws that keep these “Death Weapons†on the streets. The NRA lobbyists represent the “gun runners,†and the rich pistol distributors, not us.
No, I’ve never hunted with a pistol, but I shoot them recreationally, collect them, and carry for self-defense. All legitimate an lawful reasons to have one. I’m seriously starting to wonder if these aren’t astroturfing campaigns, because the message always seems to follow the same format, and it’s one we know our opponents are trying to push. The old “NRA doesn’t represent hunters”, “NRA are extremists”, “I’m a hunter, and I support gun control”.
I have no doubt there are hunters out there who think this way, but you’d think a lot of varying people wouldn’t all sound the same. You’d also think they wouldn’t all seem to mention the same tired issues. Do we all sound the same? I’d like to think not. But I read a lot of these editorials, and I have to say, they sound rather contrived. I would think you’d get a broader range of views and writing styles. What do you think?
