A special thanks to Thunderclees and Haysi for diving into the Internet Pits of Hell for us.
One of the hallmark cries of the gun lobby in resistance to new firearms legislation is that regulations punish the “responsible gun owner.” I actually know many gun owners who are sensible, careful people who take their responsibility for owning a killing machine seriously. However, these reasonable voices seem to have gotten lost in the cacophony of the debate about gun regulation in our country. Instead, the craziest (and often greediest) voices seem to be the loudest and the discussion about gun policies has become extreme and pointless. Here is the reason the American public will have a hard time trusting gun owners to do the reasonable thing.
Note: This post contains some really ugly racial slurs. You have been warned. People are awful sometimes.
Let’s start with the Twitters. Maybe the reason we are so uncomfortable with gun owners is because they seem kind of racist.
As if the racism isn’t bad enough, it is also less than comforting that many gun owners who are expressing their opinions seem to have an unsettling mix of stupid and crazy.
From World Net Daily.
This fan of Michelle Malkin seems confused about the New York law (and spelling).
Fox News word scramble.
From The Blaze.
But ultimately, maybe the reason that we don’t trust gun owners to be “responsible” is that so many of them are threatening to kill the rest of us.
Here is an excerpt from the serious business militia site The Sipsey Street Irregulars.
The way this will play out, if in the unlikely event that Obama & Co. get their fervent wishes of a true ban on semi-autos and standard capacity magazines (and private sales as well) is that our side will disobey, resist and flaunt the law. As the author says, this will make the regime so nuts that they will come to attack such resisters a la Waco and Ruby Ridge. The only thing is, they had their free Waco in the 90s, without consequences to the raid planners and politicians. It will not be free this time.
Kindly study the topic of 4th Generation Warfare, which targets the enemy decision making elites, not the military forces or the populace, in order to destroy their will to fight. Bill Clinton, in his frustration at the Serbs in 1999, changed the rules of engagement to include the political, media and intellectual leadership of his enemy, sending precision guided weapons into their homes as well as Serbian Radio and Television.
Now, imagine an American civil war fought along the same rules.
Um, wow.
Look, I get that pulling inflammatory quotes from anonymous internet commenters is not necessarily reflective of your average gun owner, but that is exactly the point I am trying to get at. This has become the public face of gun rights advocates. A crazy, scary face that most reasonable people are not comfortable with. Gun owners have let their message be hijacked by the crackpots and the hucksters who sell fear over reason.
I grew up around guns. I have great childhood memories of hunting trips. I believe people have the right to own firearms. I also believe we need to have sensible gun policy reform to stop these horrible mass shooting incidents. However, the craziness and vitriol of gun control advocates has sapped my sympathy and the sympathy of many other Americans. If the real “responsible” gun owners (and I know there are many) do not take their message back from their more extreme peers they will lose their place at the discussion table. I don’t think this is a fair outcome, but unless reasonable gun owners find a voice for themselves, it is an inevitable one.
This post is part of the Crasstalk Gun Policy Project, which seeks to engage the Crass community in the issues surrounding gun control and gun violence. To be part of the team, or to send us a tip, please email [email protected].
