Au contraire, mon LaPierre
Writes Wayne LaPierre on Why They’ll Lose:
At the end of the day, the Brady Campaign “wins” by taking away your rights. The NRA “wins” by protecting them. And ultimately, I believe that’s why we’ll win more battles than we lose.
I look at it this way: we are already winning. 48 states have CCW provisions, of which 37 are shall issue and 2 states don’t require a permit. The AWB expired. The gun maker immunity bill passed. The DOJ’s official position (bucking 40 years of precedent) is that the second amendment guarantees and individual right. Both major political party platforms say that as well. I predict Wisconsin will go shall issue in the next two years. 2/3rds of Americans oppose additional gun controls. A circuit court in DC struck down draconian gun laws based on second amendment grounds. States are passing castle doctrine laws so fast, my head is spinning. And they’ve expanded self-defense laws. The Democrats won’t touch gun control with a ten foot pole. And anti-gunners like Romney and Giuliani are recanting their old positions. We’re winning and we will continue to do so. The best that anti-gunners can do is spin the NRA supported NICS Improvement bill as a gun control measure, which it is not.
That scares the Brady Bunch, the Gonzos, the Ringlers and the Millers.
August 30th, 2007 at 9:01 am
And I am very glad to see us pushing our advantage.
August 30th, 2007 at 9:39 am
I disagree. We may be pushing but the BATFU is rapidly moving to be able to put all FFL dealers out of business or on a computer. States and cities are passing laws requiring the registration (reporting) of lost or stolen weapons. Every large city is maintaining it’s focus on gun banning. Even in Virginia, city council members who are forced to listen to gun rights advocates are doing so grudgingly.
The police, feds and national guard folks have been revealed as agressively anti-second amendement, regardless of state and local statues by Katrina and other natural disasters.
I think we are hanging on by our fingernails and our enemies are moving to finish us off.
August 30th, 2007 at 10:25 am
In thirty-seven states, those attempting to follow up on a constitutional right must either risk arrest; or pay money, ask permission, provide fingerprints like a common criminal, and often give up some legal defenses. In an additional eleven, the choice is simply between being rich, being a criminal, or not using said right.
Talking about it can get you fired from a government contract, and a crude drawing will get you suspended from public schools.
Buying a gun alone requires an ‘instant’ background check that can take days or weeks, and filling out a form where any error as small as confusing two digits of a zip code or writing ‘Y’ rather than ‘yes’ is a felony. Selling guns either requires dodging the fine and arbitrary line of “doing business” or dealing with the innumerable issues related to an FFL.
Those who avoid the above traps still find themselves dodging between three hundred and twenty thousand gun laws, often contradictory or ill-defined. Ignorance of the law is no defense even the arresting officer or judge may have gotten it wrong or needed to look it up. And these issues are just the start.
We may be doing much, much better than we were ten years ago, but to say we’re winning is to ignore the rest of the field.
August 30th, 2007 at 10:45 am
Saying we’re winning is not ignoring the rest. That would be to say we’ve won.
We make strides nearly every day but have to be careful not to overextend our reach. That was the mistake made in ’94 by the Brady’s and Clintons and they’ve paid for it for the last 13 years.
August 30th, 2007 at 11:46 am
We still have a Supreme Court that’s that’s never heard of the Second Amendment, and gun possession is still too often a crime. There’s still the NFA, GCA, ’86 machine gun ban, and the GHW Bush import ban. We still have the Sullivan Law in NYS, the California AWB, handgun prohibition in Chicago and D.C. – the list just goes on and on. Not to mention the ongoing existence of the ATF, which just loves to stir things up.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Katrina confirmed, for those who ignored the Davidian Massacre and daily example on smaller scale, that the Second Amendment and the Bill of Rights have lost the support of EVERY Law Enforcement and Military unit. EVERY armed authority operating under the color of law, (BATF, FBI, Sheriff Depts, Constables, State Troopers, National Guard, FBI, DEA, et, et), enthusiastically and illegally stole weapons from citizens as soon as the water leveled. Politicians announced new laws on the spot and the Law Enforcement units and National Guard enforced them. Nothing has been done.
Oh, I know the court case that went before the Feds and the State Laws passed in the aftermath, but isn’t this a little like the antis? More law will not prevent criminal behavior by those inclined to indulge in it. Criminals will always ignore the law, and these criminals operate under the color of authority.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
If you Youtube up the NRA Katrina stories, look at the Virginia Right to keep and Bear arms confrontations with police while open carrying, read the account of the police press conference in Flushing where they are lying about airsoft guns, or check the photoblog of the Virginia guys going into testify at a city council meeting, read about the BATF war on Reds up in Idaho, check the TSA anytime, anywhere: The Second Amendment is universally met with hostility at EVERY level of government.
All these people should be ashamed and many of them should be arrested and tried. They all swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and Bill of Rights but instead they project and defend their own power.
It’s fun to embarrass them and it’s fun to shoot, compete and own firearms as we can, but I think we have already lost.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Saying we’re winning is not ignoring the rest.
I disagree. I wouldn’t say a football team was winning just because it was 1st and 10 on the other team’s side of the field, not when they were still down by a lotta points.
August 30th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
This isn’t a football game folks, it’s politics. There’s no quarters, no time outs, no referees, and a lot more rules.
Katrina confirmed, for those who ignored the Davidian Massacre and daily example on smaller scale, that the Second Amendment and the Bill of Rights have lost the support of EVERY Law Enforcement and Military unit.
Seriously, have you talked to many law enforcement people or people that are in or have been in the military? This just isn’t true. Yes, law enforcement brass, especially in big cities, tend not to support RKBA, but there are a lot of cops who support an armed citizenry.
We’re doing pretty well lately. It took most of a century to get where we are, it will be a long fight to get back. That’s just how it is. I’m spending way too much time lately arguing with pro-gun people who don’t have a fucking clue than I am with anti-gun people. Something is very wrong with that!
August 30th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
[…] of my favorite bloggers, SayUncle, has this to say on why we’re winning the 2nd Amendment battle. My favorite quote? States are passing castle […]
August 30th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
“I predict Wisconsin will go shall issue in the next two years.”
Why?
I’d love to see it happen much sooner, but I’m wondering what you’re basing your prediction on.
Right now I’ll be happy if we can just keep the Gov’s stupid socialized healthcare plan off the books.
August 30th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Our sheriff here is pro carry.
As for the NRA, I get their direct mailings as a member, but otherwise I wouldn’t know they exist if the media weren’t out there insulting them. If they’re doing anything at all pro-active in our society, it is not evident to any casual observer here in the West.
Originally, 100 years ago, the NRA was a shooters club, and in that capacity they do very well to this day. They help insure and provide other support to gun clubs and shooting ranges, they have their certified training programs and so on, but as a political organization they are invisible to the public unless you actively look for them.
Does anyone have a report to make, of how you heard anything from the NRA that was directed to the general public (highway billboard, TV ad on a major network, radio ad, etc.)? I can think of maybe one radio ad I’ve heard, with La Pierre talking, in over ten years.
August 30th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
“That scares the Brady Bunch, the Gonzos, the Ringlers and the Millers.”- uncle.
It also scares the NRA. Else why is everybody else carrying their water on the political issues at the grass roots level. Where were they at Norfolk, where are they at Red’s, on and on. They need the issue as much as Brady and they are doing all they can to keep it, not kill it.