Quote:
Originally Posted by HardDrive
Most of my friends and family are anti-gun. This is what I posted on FB today:
I'm going to lift my personal ban on FB political speech for a day with this statement: There is a difference between fighting gun culture and fighting gun violence, and until the American left stops using guns as a proxy in their culture wars, nothing will be done.
It seems that those on the left envision American gun culture as a small, isolated group of wingnuts. And they're baffled when this seemingly small group defeats their efforts repeatedly. They chalk this up to the 'power of the NRA', and move on to trying the same thing over and over again. But American gun culture is not small. Its as American as apple pie. You're not trying to remove a mole, you're cutting at the toughest sinews of American culture with a butter knife. Shouting 'ban guns' is like shouting 'ban the Ford Mustang'. And every time you do it, more money flows into the coffers of the pro-gun lobby. You are the perfect foil. You are the dragon that they use to rally their troops. The NRA doesn't hate the American left. They love you.
So as a thought experiment, what would you do if you knew that the existing background check system would never be expanded, and 'assault weapons' will never be banned? Is your answer, 'I'd throw my hands up in despair, take my marbles and go home'? I doubt it. Regardless of your viewpoint, I think everyone knows that gun violence can be reduced. And it can be reduced without onerous new laws and expansions of Federal power. But it requires getting beyond slogans, being able to have honest conversations about HIPPA, and the rights of both parties in domestic abuse situations, and race, and economic disparities. When we can be honest enough with ourselves as a people to recognize that gang members in south chicago killing one another is not the same problem as a schizophrenic 20 something shooting up a school, we will finally make progress.
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Bravo!!! Excellent little treatise on the nature of the problem with the left's perceptions, which drive their so-called "solutions". The left will
never be able to hold an honest discussion about "gun" violence, because it is really "people" violence, and some of their most cherished groups of people are at the center of it.
I have to just laugh and shake my head every time I read or hear some left-leaning, hand wringing ninny's view of the NRA. From the outside looking in, of course. They see the NRA as some gun industry owned lobbying group - nothing could be further from the truth. The NRA is about 4 to 5 million gun owners operating at a very grassroots level to promote responsible gun ownership, gun safety, and the shooting sports.
Yes, we have also (unfortunately) been forced to spend a fair amount of time and money defending our Constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Yes, industry kicks in and supports this fight as well, but they are far from the center, or the backbone, of this organization.
We do hire paid, professional lobbyists. We do have folks who do nothing else than keep watch over legislative proceedings. This is borne out of a desire for self preservation, and the preservation of our rights. Aside from that, however, our true power, our real clout, lies with a very politically savvy and active membership. NRA members write a lot of letters, a lot of emails, and make a lot of phone calls in keeping in touch with our elected representatives. We make our voices heard, loud and clear. It's not so much our lobbyists that our representative listen to, it's us - their constituents that elected them, just as it should be. That is our real power.
As far as having any sort of "competency" test prior to exercising one's Constitutionally acknowledged (as opposed to granted) rights, which others would our liberal friends like to encumber with this sort of requirement? Free speech? One cannot speak freely and openly until passing a test that verifies one is competent to do so? How about voting? Hell, our liberal friends would just as soon no one even have to prove citizenship to do that...
There is real danger in the notion that our government has the right, or the charter, to test its citizens before "granting" them certain rights. First and foremost, our Bill of Rights "grants" nothing - it simply reaffirms the rights all men intrinsically hold, above and beyond any authorities' moral authority to regulate and/or impinge upon those rights. Secondly, once allowed to step over onto that slippery slope of government "granted" rights, the rules and requirements to attain those rights invariably tighten and get ever more strict, until no one can pass muster.
So, no, our government has no authority (given it legally, anyway) to impose requirements to be met prior to firearms ownership. Our right to do so exists on a level higher than our government - it is one of the most basic of human rights to be able to defend one's self and loved ones. Until one is a convicted felon, or declared insane, our government needs to just stay out of it.
Oh, and the same can be said for its insistence that it must license us to travel... but that's a discussion for another day...