Salon.com > Second Amendment

NRA is getting a new president

Thu, 02 May 2013 22:21:00 +0000

David Keene will be replaced by Alabama attorney Jim Porter as president of the NRA, once Keene's two-year term officially ends at this weekend's NRA convention in Houston.

CNN reports:

While Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre is widely known as the face of the NRA, Keene had an active role in publicity and media appearances, especially in the wake of the Newtown elementary school massacre that left 26 people dead.

Porter has been serving as the NRA's first vice president, and before that he served as the group's second vice president. The presidency, an unpaid position, is the next stop in the NRA's leadership rotation.

Accidental child shooting in Kentucky sparks gun debate

Thu, 02 May 2013 15:25:00 +0000

BURKESVILLE, Ky. (AP) — As Stephanie Sparks cleaned the kitchen, her 5-year-old son, Kristian, began playing with a rifle he was given last year. She stepped out onto the front porch, poured grease out of a frying pan for the dogs and "heard the gun go off," a Kentucky coroner said.

Authorities said the boy had fatally shot his 2-year-old sister, Caroline, in the chest.

In rural southern Kentucky, far removed from the national debate over gun control, where some children get their first guns even before they start first grade, the accident stunned the community.

Kristian's rifle was kept in a corner of the mobile home, and the family didn't realize a bullet had been left in it, Cumberland County Coroner Gary White said.

"Down in Kentucky where we're from, you know, guns are passed down from generation to generation," White said. "You start at a young age with guns for hunting and everything."

What is more unusual than a child having a gun, he said, is "that a kid would get shot with it."

In this case, the rifle was made by a company that sells guns specifically for children — "My first rifle" is the slogan — in colors ranging from plain brown to hot pink to royal blue to multi-color swirls.

Poll: 3 in 10 voters say “armed revolution might be necessary”

Wed, 01 May 2013 21:26:00 +0000

A new survey of voters by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind finds that 29 percent agree with the statement, “In the next few years, an armed revolution might be necessary in order to protect our liberties" - including 18 percent of Democrats, 27 percent of Independents and 44 percent of Republicans.

From the survey:

Only 38 percent of Americans who believe a revolution might be necessary support additional gun control legislation, compared with 62 percent of those who don’t think an armed revolt will be needed. “The differences in views of gun legislation are really a function of differences in what people believe guns are for,” said Cassino. “If you truly believe an armed revolution is possible in the near future, you need weapons and you’re going to be wary about government efforts to take them away.”

The poll also found that 25 percent of those surveyed "think that facts about the shootings at Sandy Hook elementary last year are being hidden." 11 percent are unsure.

h/t TPM.

Pro-gun billboard sparks outrage over depiction of Native Americans

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:48:00 +0000

A billboard in Greeley, Colorado, is causing outrage among residents because of its use of Native Americans to oppose gun control. The billboard features a picture of three Native Americans with the sarcastic message: "Turn in your arms. The government will take care of you."

The billboard was paid for by a group of locals who asked to remain anonymous, according to Lamar Advertising, which spoke with KUSA.

From the AP:

Bloomberg gun group to grade lawmakers

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:04:00 +0000

Michael Bloomberg's pro-gun control nonprofit, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, is borrowing the NRA's system of handing out letter-grades to lawmakers, except it will rank them on how strong they are on gun control.

“For decades, the NRA has done an admirable job of tracking to minute detail how members of Congress stand on gun bills. We’ve simply decided to do the same,” said the group's director, Mark Glaze.

The Washington Post reports:

Gun Owners of America out-hardlines the NRA

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:55:00 +0000

The NRA's smaller but more hardline gun lobby cousin, Gun Owners of America, is steadily gaining influence and pressuring Republicans to oppose gun control legislation.

The New York Times reports that the group, led by Executive Director Larry Pratt, has been effectively targeting senators, particularly Republicans who have indicated that they are open to supporting things like universal background checks.

For example, Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who began working with Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for a deal on background checks, was pounded by calls and emails from constituents after the Gun Owners of America got involved.

Part of the group's increasing profile might come from its decision to remain outspoken against gun control in the days just after the Newtown school shootings - which led to newfound media exposure. At the time, the NRA and other gun lobby groups went into hibernation mode, while Pratt made comments like "Gun-free zones are like magnets for the monsters in our society."

From the Times:

NRA’s rhetoric on gun “confiscation” appears to be working

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:24:00 +0000

A new poll by Quinnipiac University finds that 48 percent of Americans believe that universal background checks will lead to gun confiscation -- a favorite talking point of the NRA. Despite this, 91 percent of those polled still favor the policy.

Fifty-three percent of gun owners believe universal background checks will lead to confiscation, according to the poll, as well as 61 percent of Republicans.

Meanwhile, debate over gun control legislation, including universal background checks, has been delayed in the Senate.

Connecticut passes nation’s strictest gun laws

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000

In the wake of the Newtown school shootings, both houses in Connecticut's state legislature have approved sweeping gun control legislation that, once signed into law, would amount to the strictest gun control measures in the country.

The legislation passed out of the state Senate in a 26-10 vote after a six-hour debate on Wednesday. The state's House of Representatives passed it by a vote of 105 to 44. Both votes were bipartisan, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, D, says he will sign the measures into law as soon as possible.

From CNN:

NRA to roll out guns-in-schools proposals

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:50:00 +0000

On Tuesday, the NRA will reportedly roll out proposals for how to prevent gun violence, including placing armed guards in schools.

CNN reports:

The NRA is expected to give Congress legislative proposals in the Tuesday report.

Law enforcement officials will find training recommendations to prepare the armed guards who the organization believes should be available to schools.

State and local officials will find guidelines on how to alter their ordinances to permit the armed guards.

The report will include both proposed legislation and resources for how to prevent future gun violence, according to CNN.

Wayne LaPierre: Still paranoid

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:50:00 +0000

Shortly after cautioning the world about looting Brooklynites, the NRA's chief executive Wayne LaPierre issued another ominous warning about the Obama administration's push to implement universal background checks. "Don't you be fooled - there is nothing universal and nothing reasonable about it," LaPierre told the 2013 Western Hunting and Conservation Expo in Utah.

"This so-called universal background check… is aimed at one thing," LaPierre said. "It's aimed at registering your guns. And when another tragic opportunity presents itself, that registry will be used to confiscate your guns.

"This is not universal background checks, this is universal registration of all of your firearms," he added.

Town hall questioner says Biden was being sexist on guns

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 21:47:00 +0000

The woman who asked Joe Biden about guns at a Parents Magazine town hall says that she felt the Vice President's response - that she should just buy a shotgun - was sexist.

Kate Ernest had asked Biden earlier this week: “Do you believe that banning certain weapons and high capacity magazines will mean that law-abiding citizens will then become more of a target to criminals as we will have no way to sufficiently protect ourselves?” In response, Biden laughed and said that he's told his wife, Jill Biden, "Jill, if there’s ever a problem, just walk out on the balcony, put that double-barrel shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house."

He added that you don't need an AR-15 to ward off intruders: "Buy a shotgun."

Ernest said on Fox News that she felt Biden was dismissive. “I think it was poor advice and it comes off a little sexist,” she said. “Like, ‘let me tell you what you need’ versus, you know, ‘arm yourself or protect yourself in a way that you feel necessary."

Watch:

After shooting death, new FPSRussia gun-fetish videos are back

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:11:00 +0000

It has been six weeks since the strange death of Keith Ratliff -- the YouTube assault-weapon enthusiast who was shot and killed in his Georgia compound/weapons store/testing facility.

While conspiracy theories continue to fly around the Web (usually suggesting that the Obama administration is sending "death squads" after Second Amendment lovers), his popular FPSRussia channel has gone quiet. No new videos demonstrating what the firepower of an assault weapon might do to a cardboard cutout of Justin Bieber!

(Most Web ratings services placed it among the 10 most popular YouTube channels, with some 3.8 million subscribers.)

But rest assured, fans of freedom. If you would like to see a UTS-15 12 Gauge take out a toilet, FPSRussia is back. And that exploding toilet is verging on 1,000,000 views.

Missouri GOPer uses gun control legislation as target practice

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:50:00 +0000

The gun control debate in Missouri has taken a turn for the extreme, with one state legislator literally using gun control legislation as target practice, and another making it a felony to propose gun control measures in the first place.

State Rep. Eric Burlison, a Republican, posted a Joe Manchin-like video Monday called "2nd Amendment puts holes in HB 545," referring to an assault weapons ban proposed by Democratic state Rep. Rory Ellinger. In the video, Burlison goes to a shooting range to ask people what they think of the bill. In one exchange, he asks a man with a rifle his opinion, and the man responds: "It's a great bill ... It's great target practice." Burlison agrees.

Here's the video, via the Riverfront Times. The legislation-shooting comes around the 2-minute mark:

Stephen King calls his work “possible accelerant” to killers

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:52:00 +0000

Stephen King has published a Kindle Single (more than a book, less than an essay, proprietary to Amazon platforms) on gun violence, in which he describes his decision to pull his pseudonymous novel "Rage" from shelves after possible copycat crimes.

"Rage," which King first wrote in high school ("I suppose if it had been written today, and some high school English teacher had seen it, he would have rushed the manuscript to the guidance counselor and I would have found myself in therapy posthaste"), depicts a hostage situation in a high school when a student brings a weapon to school.

12 rational responses to irrational gun arguments

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:47:00 +0000

In a recent discussion about gun control on Thom Hartmann's program, my opponent suggested that gun control advocates like me really have a cultural aversion to guns. That's a standard ploy for the gun set: when reason isn’t on your side, deploy emotional and personal arguments instead.

"Anti-gun"? I could've brought up my own recreational gun use, or even brought out the firing range pass I carry in my wallet. But I'll admit that I've lost a little of my taste for it as our national killing spree continues unabated. What's more, that would've been disrespectful to the millions of Americans who do have an understandable aversion to guns. Personal habits should have no part in a rational policy discussion.

Now that President Obama has made his initial gun control proposals, the crazy's being ratcheted up to a new level. Rational Americans in all walks of life will be confronted with these kinds of arguments. We're going to need a playbook. Here are 12 responses you can use when you're confronted with some of the standard illogical, irrational and emotionally overheated statements that gun extremists use.

Mitch McConnell email: They’re coming for your guns

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 20:12:00 +0000

In an email to supporters, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pledged to oppose gun control legislation and warned his supporters that Democrats "want take your guns."

"You and I are literally surrounded," the email says, according to The Hill. "The gun-grabbers in the Senate are about to launch an all-out-assault on the Second Amendment. On your rights. On your freedom."

The email, signed by McConnell's campaign manager Jesse Benton, lays out which measures the Senate could take:

Gun control doesn’t violate the Second Amendment!

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:00:00 +0000

After more than a week of residual buzz from radio host Alex Jones' now famous meltdown during a CNN discussion of gun control, it is worth taking a deep breath and considering the spectacle's two big lessons, especially now that the White House is pushing Congress to debate firearm legislation.

First and foremost, it was surprising that anyone watching Jones was actually surprised. Yes, his references to Hitler and Stalin and his nationally televised promise of a violent revolution if "you try to take our firearms" was at once offensive and frightening. However, this kind of paranoid lunacy has been the lingua franca of the conservative world since Barry Goldwater first said, "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice."

To know that's true particularly when it comes to guns, try paying attention to conservative radio, blogs and email newsletters this week in the aftermath of policy recommendations by Vice President Joe Biden's commission on firearm violence. If you do, you will inevitably be exposed to one or another attention-seeking Archie Bunker espousing the same deranged nonsense as Jones. Sure, that's disturbing - but it is no longer surprising, except perhaps to a national media and political elite that have no sense of just how corrosive the day-to-day discourse is in so much of the country.

Must-see morning clip: Jon Stewart takes on the NRA

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 13:55:00 +0000

After the NRA released an ad attacking President Obama as an "elitist hypocrite" for using armed Secret Service agents to protect his daughters, Jon Stewart had to wonder: Is the NRA just an "elaborate avant-garde Joaquin Phoenix-style joke, or a false flag operation run by Michael Moore in an attempt to discredit responsible gun owners?"

Watch:

NRA’s threats over gun buyback tied to ALEC legislation

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 22:14:00 +0000

When an NRA official threatened legal action over the destruction of guns from a gun buyback event, he cited an Arizona law that sprung from a partnership between the NRA and the American Legislative Exchange Council, the conservative shop that pushes model legislation in state legislatures across the nation.

It began earlier this month in Tucson, Ariz., when city officials organized a gun buyback to mark the two-year anniversary of the Gabrielle Giffords shooting. Locals turned over their guns to law enforcement, and got a $50 Safeway gift card for each gun in return. Officials wound up destroying a total of 212 guns.

Before the guns were destroyed, Todd Rathner, an Arizona lobbyist and NRA national board member, threatened to file a lawsuit. "We do believe that it is illegal for them to destroy those guns," he told NPR. "If property has been abandoned to the police, then they are required by ARS 12-945 to sell it to a federally licensed firearms dealer, and that's exactly what they should do."

Must-see morning clip: Miss America vs. the NRA

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 15:18:00 +0000

At the Miss America pageant, Miss New York Mallory Hytes Hagan, who went on to win the competition, was asked by judge Sam Champion about the NRA's proposal to arm teachers in the wake of the Newtown school shootings. She responded that she opposes that proposition.

"I don’t think the proper way to fight violence is with violence," she said. "I think the proper way is to educate people on guns and the ways we can use them properly. We can lock them up, we can have gun safety classes, we can have a longer waiting period."