Category: How Not to Win

… not make gun owners look like lunatics in the media for all to see?   You know what ends up happening when the majority of the people in this country who don’t own gun, and don’t care much about gun rights, start believing that gun owners are out to foment a civil war?   They start agreeing to take our guns away.

Some may want an armed revolution, but I don’t want to see it come to that.  It is not inevitable or necessary at this point in time.  I’d prefer to solve this problem politically, and guys like this aren’t helping.  We’re winning right now, both politically, and the hearts and minds.  Could we please not do stupid shit like this to fuck it up?  Thank you.

This isn’t going to help shut up Bloomberg:

NEW YORK (AP) — A South Carolina gun dealer who sued New York’s mayor for saying his shop engaged in “criminal behavior,” has asked judges in two states to put his case on hold so he can fight an unrelated criminal charge.

Licensed firearms dealer Larry Mickalis was indicted earlier this month on a charge that he illegally sold a rifle to an ex-convict two years ago at his pawn shop in Summerville, S.C.

The charge was a surprise development in the merchant’s ongoing legal battle with New York City, and his attorneys have now asked courts to freeze the civil litigation until the criminal case is resolved.

Recall that ATF was steamed that Bloomberg’s antics interfered with several ongoing federal investigations.   I’m guessing this was one of them.  Either way, this isn’t a good development.

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.

Sandy Abrams got 5 years for firearms trafficking.   The big difference between the anti-gun folks and us, is we’ll air our dirty laundry, where they prefer to sweep it under the rug:

In the Parkville case this year, Baltimore County police charged Abrams, saying in court papers that the sale was illegal because customer Keith J. Showalter had a criminal record that prevented him from owning a gun legally and because such gun sales are supposed to be reported to the Maryland State Police.

Police responding to a call from Showalter’s estranged girlfriend on Feb. 18, 2007, fatally shot him after he refused to surrender and fired seven rounds from a military-style rifle at the officers, according to police.

As part of their investigation, police say they also found an illegal machine gun in Abrams’ custody during a search of his property.

The Brady Campaign will no doubt be savoring this.

This guy has to have hit over at least half of the stereotypes of gun owners in this incident. Folks, if you’re going to drive your dirt bike drunk, and without headlights, don’t sling your MP5 over your shoulders and put your beer on the handlebars. Of course:

The weapon was an MP-5 semi-automatic sub-machine gun, fully loaded, and was slung across his back, according to Officer David McIntyre of the Ashville Police Department. The suspect also had a six-pack of beer hanging from a sack off the handlebars of the dirt bike.

We do have to get some sloppy reporting. If it’s semi-automatic, how exactly is it a machine gun?

By sticking up for the second amendment rights of violent criminals. There are good poster children for why our current “prohibited person” statutes are overly broad. There are good poster children for the fact that the government has criminalized virtually everything, including making things like importing lobsters in plastic bags instead of cardboard boxes, a felony.

Sean Taylor is not in either of those two categories. Thanks Larry, with friends like this, who needs enemies?

UPDATE: I think it’s a reasonable argument to make that someone so dangerous they can’t be trusted with a firearm ought to be in jail. But the fact is, we let dangerous people out of jail. That they should be in jail rather than roaming the streets is a reasonable thing to argue, but is a separate issue from the second amendment. There are definitely prohibited people out there who don’t deserve to be prohibited, and I think our current laws cast way too broad a net, but someone charged with threatening with a firearm and aggravated assault, that plead down to misdemeanor battery, is not someone I’d go before the public with as an example. To me, for a pro-gun leader to do that doesn’t help the cause, and would do more to turn people off to the second amendment than bring people over to our side.

UPDATE: Here’s the WaPo article from the time:

According to a police report, Taylor and a co-defendant, Charles Elwood Caughman, 19, of Baltimore, drove up to a residence in a blue 2005 GMC Yukon Denali sport-utility vehicle and Taylor pointed a gun at two individuals he believed had stolen two all-terrain vehicles from him and demanded they be returned. No shots were fired and Taylor and Caughman left the scene before returning 10 minutes later.

At this point, police say Taylor, whom the team lists as 6 feet 2, 231 pounds, exited the vehicle and began assaulting one victim, swinging and missing with a closed fist before a fight ensued. Caughman, who was arrested and charged with aggravated assault on the night of the incident, chased the other victim with a baseball bat before he and Taylor fled the scene, according to the police report. The incident took place less than two miles from Taylor’s residence in Miami.

Under these circumstances, the two victims would have been justified legally in shooting Sean Taylor and  Charles Elwood Caughman dead where they stood.  Do you want these two being used to help promote the second amendment?

Bitter seemed to not be having fun at the NRA range in Fairfax yesterday.  I was happy to find out she wasn’t looking pissed off because of me.  I tend to refer to loud mouth know it alls on the range as “range assholes”, and I tend to ignore them so I can get my shooting done.   I knew I was next to one of these types, but Bitter noticed the certificates that would indicate he was an actual instructor, there with a student.

A bit of background.  Bitter is an NRA certified instructor herself, who, like most other NRA certified instructors is very good at helping introduce new shooters into the shooting sports, or teach people interested how to safely employ a firearm in self-defense.  But there are bozos out there who manage to go through the instructor certification coursework, and head out into the world to ensure that people who are curious, and need a little guidance, never again want to touch a firearm in their lives.

I wasn’t paying as much attention to the bozo as Bitter was, because I had shooting that needed to be done.  But when she told me exactly what he had been telling, and doing, with his student, I was appalled. As evangelists for the shooting sports, but we have a great interest in driving the assholes out of the business of instructing.  So I will offer to anyone, that if you ever have a bad experience with an NRA certified instructor, let me know.  I will be happy to assist you in making sure other folks out there are aware of your experience.  The vast majority of  instructors are fine people who are good at what they do, but I’m very much interested in getting the bad apples out of the bushel, before they spoil the whole bunch.  It’s only by getting more people interested in shooting that we’ll win this in the long run.

Not much going on in the pro-gun world today, but if you’d like to take a gander at the kind of infighting that is going to seriously hold back our cause, take a look at the PA Firearms Owners Association forum for the latest example.

Disagreement in our movement is inevitable, because if there’s one thing we all have, it’s an opinion. As pissy as I might get at some pro-gun groups sometimes, when I think they are right, I will cheer them to the high hill. When I think they are wrong, I will say that too. But we’re all on the same side, albeit with different public voices and different levels of intensity.

I have my disagreements with some of the pro-gun groups here in Pennsylvania, but I appreciate the work they do. When I hear pro-gun people on our state decrying these groups, seemingly upset that they are building invaluable relationships with state legislators, I get very very worried, because those kinds of relationships are how you get things done in politics. Grassroots do matter, because the ability to deliver votes is what makes a politician pay attention to you, but you need leadership, and you need those legislative relationships if you want to get anything done.

JPFO has picked up on the Joaquin Jackson thing. I have a long standing policy of not supporting groups that attack other pro-gun groups, so I was disappointed to see this:

It’s time to “Humiliate and Repudiate” Joaquin Jackson and the NRA. Go to http://www.jpfo.org/handbill-joaquin.jpg to see our latest handbill. Print it out and distribute it to those who still believe the NRA is working in the interest of gun owners. They are not.

Seriously, that’s not going to help anything. Going after Joaquin Jackson for what he said was fine, but undermining other pro-gun groups and promoting the fragmentation of the movement help no one. JPFO has done good work, especially with exposing abuses by the ATF, but I won’t donate or join groups that are actively trying to divide the movement. There’s no surer way to lose, and you can bet the Brady’s love this kind of stuff.

UPDATE: I should clarify here. I’m not suggesting that any group that’s not NRA is part of the problem. Nor am I suggesting that having groups aside from the NRA isn’t important. But NRA is hugely important, despite its flaws. Other groups need to figure out where they can make the biggest contribution to the fight. JPFO had the right idea with The Gang, because NRA has too high a profile in Washington to publicly make war on a federal agency, and last time they tried, it backfired in a big big way. That’s exactly the kind of contribution smaller groups can make. But what smaller groups should not do is try to compete with NRA, or try to undermine it by encouraging people to get angry with them and support their groups instead. That doesn’t mean NRA is above criticism, or reproach, but when we undermine it, it undermine our gun rights as a whole.

UPDATE: Ahab has more.

When engaging in advocacy in public, particularly in places where you’re not around other gun people, but are around the general public, it’s importnat to remember SayUncle’s wisdom, and stay away from the crazy stuff.   From the Brady Blog, I noticed some people linked to this.

Now, you and I both know JPFO puts out stuff like this all the time, but if I showed this to any of my coworkers, they’d say “That’s totally nuts.  It’s disgusting.”   Most people aren’t going to get that a Jewish gun rights organization put a lot of that stuff out there.   It’s going to get spun as “The gun nuts are using the holocaust to push their political agenda.” by the other side.

So think before you post stuff.   Don’t think how your buddies at the gun club would take it.   Think about how ordinary non-gun people you work with would take it.  Our goal is to educate, not to shock people, and the imagery on that web page are shocking.  I do think it’s important to point out that gun control enables genocide, but be careful how you go about it.  It’s one thing to link to JPFO directly, but we have to be very careful about using their stuff outside of their context.