“Daniel Howard Simpson (born July 9, 1939 in Wheeling, West Virginia) is a former United States Ambassador to the Central African Republic (1990–92),” wikipedia.org informs us. “[He was the] Special Envoy to Somalia and the United States Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1995–98), as well as undertaking other overseas assignments in Burundi, South Africa, Zaire (on three separate occasions), Iceland, Lebanon and Bosnia-Herzegovina. He also served as the Deputy Commandant of the United States Army War College.” You’d think the ex-diplomat and current columnist for Pittsburgh’s post-gazette.com would know a thing or two about what happens to a disarmed populace, take a pro-gun rights and thus pro-NRA stance. If so, you’d think wrong . . .
The NRA in principle represents Cody the Friendly Squirrel Hunter. In fact, it represents a major industry with deep pockets from which to provide campaign contributions to legislators and other cooperative officials.
And what it wants is not to preserve Americans’ Second Amendment rights. What it wants is to increase sales of guns, to both good guys and bad guys, and to block any regulation of gun sales and use. It wants high-capacity magazines to be freely available, surely not to gun down deer that might pose a road hazard. It wants no background checks on gun buyers, even deranged ones. It wants people to be able to buy assault rifles.
The whole concept is so far from the original American-Revolution, Lexington-and-Concord basis of the Second Amendment as to be a sick joke. Even Dodge City under Marshal Dillon didn’t normally have people toting guns into churches and schools. Miss Kitty didn’t even like them in the Long Branch Saloon.
Even Dodge City! Meanwhile, the gangs of New York. I digress. Mr. Simpson’s antipathy to Americans’ natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms, and the organization that’s fighting to protect that protected right, is straight out of the antis’ playbook. What amazes: Mr. Ambassador’s parting shot (so to speak):
Why can’t Mr. Obama now take on guns? He could take a stand and do what he can as president. Even if the NRA continues to block meaningful legislation, he could make an important point on a key American issue.
I hope the Secret Service hasn’t deteriorated so far that he is afraid for his life if he takes on the NRA. Then there was Martin Luther King Jr.
Seriously? Simpson is asking his readers to believe that the NRA has a hit squad, or sympathetic followers with a penchant for Presidential assassination, ready to take out the Commander in Chief if he tries to disarm Americans? And what exactly did the NRA have to do with Martin Luther King Jr.’s death?
The subtext: the NRA are domestic terrorists. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: this is what proto-government tyranny looks like. And we paid this guy to represent our interests abroad?