Emily Miller is an excellent spokesperson for gun rights: beautiful, intelligent, facile and media friendly. But this appearance is not her best. First of all, fully automatic firearms are not outlawed by the National Firearms Act. (A fact she later alludes to but doesn’t state outright.) Second, her antagonist is right: why should we outlaw machine guns as defensive weapons? TTAG’s Armed Intelligentsia will argue that all day long. Third, defending a ban on full-auto firearms because “we as a society have decided” opens the door to the counter: why shouldn’t “we as a society” decide to ban semi-automatic modern sporting rifles? The proper distinction here (as we’ve mentioned many times) is that . . .
aimed weapons are OK. Weapons of indiscriminate mass destruction are not. Say yes to the bazooka! Other points of information . . .
Lanza did go into Sandy Hook Elementary with a handgun. A semi-automatic Bushmaster AR-15 is different from the hunting guns of yore, which were bolt action. The cartridges used in most modern sporting rifles are different from the calibers used for hunting back in the day (.223 vs. .308, .30-30, etc). Half the owners of AR-15s are not former military and law enforcement. They account for less than 30 percent of MSR ownership.
As for agreeing that NICS background checks need to be improved before they’re expanded, I know that’s the official NRA and NSSF position. But they have to say stuff like that. A conservative pundit can tell it like it is. The system sucks, it will always suck, it degrades our firearms freedom and it needs to go away.
Again, Emily’s good for gun rights. But she needs to bone-up on her gun facts and think it out again.
While some of those things made me cringe also I think she was ‘choosing her battles’, and I thought she did very well on the Bazooka thing by asking Mr. Strawman if he actually wanted to use one for self-defense. As you said, she also did say that if he really wanted to he could fill out the NFA paperwork (nevermind having to find somebody willing to sell him a WW2 relic).
I think it is actually an interesting tactic for handling it. I prefer the “you can, just fill out the paperwork” as it seems to surprise the anti-gun lobby a lot more when they find out they can buy grenade launchers just fine, so long as they have the money.
…and a clean record. Which may be difficult for many of the “media stars” to manage.
The amount of smugness and contempt Mr. Strawman had for Ms. Miller would be hilarious if it wasn’t so damned absurd.
I agree I watched it again. She did good. She just needs more experience with crazy left field questions. Funny how so many gun nuts are being critical of her. She is out numbered and yes she isn’t ready for Crossfire yet but she will be. But on Crossfire she won’t be outnumbered and a Conservative will be there on her side so maybe I am wrong about that.
I think she did well considering she was subjected to the standard assault tactic of nearly every major “news” outlet: get 2 or more people with the opinion you support to gang up on one person with the opinion you want to look bad. She did very, very well not to get stuck in the standard entrapment tactic, which I personally find extremely hard to beat back.
If your enemy knows more about a subject then you do the wise and intelligent thing to do is to retreat, find out what went wrong, go back and kick some ash.
Facts are like bullets, you want as many in your pocket as possible. As a Rep for the NRA she dropped the ball
I am not angry at either Emily Miller or Katie Pavlich. Both ladies are brand spanking new to the world of guns and 2A issues. They are trying their best. Yes over the last year or so they have had bad days. RF said it right. They need to do more homework. We need brite new faces. We have to educate them in a loving way. Lets give them the info they need. Hopefully they learn from these battles. This is a 20 or 30 year war.
Perhaps RF could offer each of them a free lifetime membership to TTAG?
This is for Ralph:
Picture this – Shannon Watts, Emily Miller, a bottle of Champagne, a hot tub and a chaise lounger . . . . I am just saying.
I really am starting to fear for your sanity over this Shannon Watts thing you got goin on lol.
Relax. Me thinks that after some proper action that she is demanding, she would chill out. that, and I just want to knock the smirk off her face
I hesitate to ask what you’d do it with, as this is a family-oriented web site. . .
Idk man she’s liable to snap it off and do you with it… then probably stuff it down your throat or beat you to death with it.
DD, please pass the bong, buddy. You’ve had enough.
Maybe it’s because I just woke up and my MIL has been here all week, so I share some of Shannon’s longing for action. But the thought piqued my interest.
NICS does suck, but how do we stop the dangerous types from getting guns? I know what I just asked caused aneurisms in the “Never Compromise” crowd, but guess what? We live in a society where nutjobs kill people and we have to stop them somehow, and I do not agree with any mental health database nonsense.
NICS delays me every time I buy a gun, which is obnoxious to say the least considering I live somewhere where I’m LICENSED and have been checked numerous times already.
What do we do about those who will ruin guns for the rest of us? On that note, why are people so fucking dumb? Who shoots themselves when cleaning their gun? I clean my guns all the time and would never not know it wasn’t loaded. Even then I’d act as if it was and not pull the trigger!
The simple answer is: you can’t. NICS does not solve the problem. It never inconveniences the criminal because they don’t submit to it. It just makes our day longer.
If NICS delays you, it’s either the weekend and a lot of gun shows are in business, or you have a record. Not a felony record, but enough for some junior agent in the FBI to not okay it right away. I get delayed about every other time I make a purchase. You can do 1 of 2 things. 1 Contact the BATFE and request a UPIN. 2 If your state allows instant transfer for having a Concealed Weapons Permit, get one.
The answer to how do you stop bad people from having guns is you lock them up. Anyone that is too dangerous to have a gun is too dangerous to be walking the streets unsupervised.
That being said I am realistic enough to know that it is a pipe-dream and so long as there are ‘bleeding-heart liberals’ (not meant to be a blanket term for liberals, but for a specific ‘type’) that are against severe punishments for severe crimes that is never going to happen, and the NICS system is the compromise we apparently have to settle for.
Nate
“We live in a society where nutjobs kill people and we have to stop them somehow,”
It is a simple answer, shoot the bastards with a good caliber. If they survive that we hang them. Eventually they become rare.
In her defense ,NFA is tantamount to a ban in some places.Just ask our komrades in California and Mass.
Why do you guys at TTAG keep saying Lanza is guilty? I noticed this a few days ago. He’s never been proven guilty. All you have is the “official narrative” and they continue to refuse the release of evidence. (Which is highly unusual.)
In all fairness, you should at least preface your statements with “alleged.”
And yes, I am saying he’s innocent (until proven guilty.)
Is he allegedly dead, too? I’m pretty sure you haven’t seen the body.
Robert, Robert, Robert….
Instead of sword fighting with editorials in the USelessA Today, can you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE find your way on to MisleadingSNBC and whipsaw Mika, Joe, Rachel or Lawerence on the 2nd Amendment.
PLEASE!
For the love of God.
Correct me if I am wrong but didn’t Colt market the Colt “Sporter” rifles back in the 60’s? Seems to me that it was just a civilian version of the M-16.
I face-palm’d a little in this video clip. When the guy brought up the bazooka and full auto machine gun, she seemed to freeze up.
If he wants to own a bazooka, fine, check your state and local laws to see if you can. She should have used it as a way to show how the laws are in fact limiting everything we can own.
It took a while but she finally said…if you want a fully auto machine gun, fill out the paperwork and apply (and of course check your local laws).
When she was talking about sporting rifles being functionally identical to hunting rifles, Scarborough interjected, “So the same caliber?” Emily said “yes.” Of course, that’s incorrect. The AR-15 round is SMALLER and LESS powerful than most hunting rounds. Miss opportunity there.
Last sentence should read “missed opportunity there.”
Actually they consider ALL semi platforms evil. So that includes everything up to 458 socoms, 308s, 50 bmgs.
Just be glad the report was on MSNBC. So no one really saw it.
No one who counts anyway.
The morning joe crew is arguing points and standing on a base of complete ignorance. “There is a functional difference between a hunting rifle and assault weapon.” “These assault weapons are a bigger caliber than hunting rifles.” I have a feeling they would be on our side if they just took a moment to learn a bit more rather than flopping around in their anti-gun broth.
I would love to see mika brzezinski shoot an old 30-06 and an ar-15 back to back just to watch her reaction to these outrageously powerful “assault weapons”
” I have a feeling they would be on our side if they just took a moment to learn a bit more…” But you know they won’t – it’s not good TV.
This was good practice for her. Robert you are right she needs work on her facts and delivery. As Jay in Florida said no one saw it since it was early AM on MSNBC. Most liberals get up late too. LOL I am just happy to see a woman out there taking up the cause. I would like to see Colion Noir. more. Liberals won’t know how to handle it. The pro second amendment movement is color and gender blind and I love that.
considering she is outnumbered 4 to 1 and the idiotic statements and comments come flying out from all sides. Halperin’s comment about bazooka was truly idiotic, and I think it caught EM off guard. but she handled it well.
these folks don’t want facts they want to lead with their emotions. She has a ton of facts in her head the problem is that when she starts to answer a question another question comes flying
Yep Good point. I watched it again. The bazooka thing was the best they had. She will get better. She isn’t ready for Crossfire yet. She just needs to be prepared for the crazy stuff like you said i.e. the emotional agruments
Emily may have had some facts a little off but I am so happy she is on our side, she is a great spokesperson and breaks the predetermined stereotype the libs think we all are. Bravo Emily
Emily Miller has done more for gun rights in the last couple years than the person who is criticizing her by starting the topic. No one is perfect and overall she has done quite well since taking up the 2nd. Amendment cause. Especially in D.C. But everywhere else as well.
Hey Robert. If you can’t be creepy and harass her face to face. And then throw in a little bathroom talk like you did here on the blog. I guess it’s easier to harass her from afar.
Oh and nice touch by starting out by “complimenting” her and then call her facile: superficial.
No wonder I read and spend less time here than I used to.
media training, get some.
The enemy doesn’t limit itself to the truth. I don’t think it’s always in our best interest to either. I know that’s this website’s deal, but I’d rather win than be looked back upon by history and admired for how nobly I lost the fight.
Anything that helps us win, by any means, in any situation, through any medium is a good thing.