Bob Owens And The Battlefield of Gun Rights: Gun Hero of the Day

Mark Walters writes [via ammoland.com]

You know, I used to tell my employees a few years back, when writing a sensitive email or replying to one, just sit on it. Write it then stick it in “drafts” for a day and return to it for another proofread later. It might save your ass. I can’t count how many times I’ve done that then wiped my brow thinking how lucky I was for not hitting the “send” button. I’ve had people thank me for giving them that advice.

The point I’m making is when you respond to a sensitive situation or topic when your blood pressure is up or you are upset, your response is usually emotionally dictated rather than rational and isn’t that the epitome of liberalism, feeling–not thinking?

When it comes to the loss of Bob Owens, it’s hard not to let my emotions invade my space.

Days have gone by, and I’m still trying to process the fact that he is gone. Like many of us in this community, I too had just seen Bob days before at the NRA annual meeting in Atlanta. The evening before the convention kicked off; I had the opportunity to introduce him, Jenn Jacques and Stephen Gutowski to my wife and kids for the first time when a group I was with ran into him and his party at a restaurant in town.

Bob hugged me and among other things, apologized for not being able to give me more radio time as he was working on his book. I reminded him, as I had in previous conversations, that no apologies were necessary and when the book was finished we would discuss it on air.

That will never happen. The finality of his action has begun to sink in.

Look, I am angry about what he did for a lot of different reasons. That is normal. I am upset the community lost such a vocal champion; I’m upset we all lost his wit and wisdom, and I am angry that he was capable of doing such a thing. I do not understand it and never will.

However, I am also very grateful. I am grateful for the very things that make me angry. I am grateful the community had him as a vocal champion, agree or disagree with some of his work. I am thankful that I was able to share his wit and wisdom, albeit not nearly enough. I am grateful for the short on air time we had and being able to share his thoughts with anyone listening.

Now to the “other side.”

Bob willfully put himself in the public eye and as such had drawn the angst of the rabid, militant, hateful, vile, despicable, left wing, sanctimonious lunatics who claim some moral authority over the rest of us.

I learned a long time ago not to “feed the trolls” but I gotta tell you, it’s getting difficult. I expected, and I’m sure Bob would too, the response from those who hate everything he stood for, which is essentially everything you stand for also.

I will resist identifying those people by name (I’ll leave that to others) as it’s what they want, however seeing such hateful rhetoric directed at another human being as I am witnessing now is not surprising considering the source.

I’m talking about the comments from some of these animals on Bob’s Facebook page, Twitter accounts, etc. Certainly, some are fake accounts but nonetheless, fake accounts run by real people, if you can even call them people.

There is no such thing as the “tolerant” left. There has never been. The left tolerates only that with which they agree. If they disagree with you, they will leave no stone unturned coming after you, especially after you pass and can’t respond. Cowards, plain and straightforward. What they don’t realize is, they only strengthen our resolve.

They remind us that we don’t need to react the way they do for one simple reason. It is not necessary for us to “impose” our will upon people. Freedom already belongs to those who choose it. It doesn’t have to be forced upon us. Freedom is the natural state of the universe. While we have to fight for it from those who hate it, it only has to be grasped by those who seek it, and there are more of us than there are of them.

That’s why they hide behind phony accounts, masks, and anonymous internet screen names. They are desperate, and desperate people do and say desperate things.

That Bob’s death is bringing out such hateful rhetoric from these monsters is proof that Bob was winning, that we are winning. It is proof of their moral bankruptcy.

While Bob won’t be around to witness our continued winning streak, he certainly contributed significantly to its success. He was a fierce fighter, and a true warrior on this battlefield of rights and I’m honored to have known him. Please donate to help his family.

https://www.gofundme.com/the-bob-owens-memorial-family-fund

About Mark Walters

Mark Walters is the host of two nationally syndicated radio broadcasts, Armed American Radio and Armed American Radio’s Daily Defense with Mark Walters. He is the Second Amendment Foundations 2015 Gun Rights Defender of the Year award recipient and co-author of two books, Lessons from Armed America with Kathy Jackson (Whitefeather Press) and Lessons from UnArmed America with Rob Pincus (Whitefeather Press)