National Review Online is the independently edited web version of William F. Buckley, Jr.’s conservative magazine. This month, in cooperation with the National Association For Gun Rights, they’re giving away a Colt 6920 like the one shown here. Go ahead and click the pic above to enter. No, really: the link will take you to the actual sweepstakes entry page. But hurry, because the contest closes Friday at 5:00 p.m. EST. And meanwhile, in Georgia…
United States Senate candidate Dr. Paul Broun is also giving away an AR-15 of unspecified manufacture, valued at $1,300.00. You can click on it to enter, too; Broun’s contest doesn’t close until February 27th.
Now that you’re back from entering both these sweepstakes, let’s think about what these contests mean for the 2nd Amendment, the Republican party, and conservatism in general.
#1: We’re Not Kooks.
William F. Buckley, Jr. founded the National Review as a bastion of principled and intellectual conservatism in 1955. His first job, as he saw it, was to rid the conservative movement of its ‘kooks’ including anti-Semites, George Wallace and the John Birch Society.
As much as Moms Want Some Action might believe to the contrary, shooters and hunters and 2A supporters are not a dangerous and disreputable fringe. We’re not kooks; we’re mainstream Americans.
The National Review, the mainstream journal of American conservatism, clearly gets this. By offering an American-made Colt AR-15 as a sweepstakes prize, they’re signaling to the rest of society that we’re not a gaggle of ammo-hoarding conspiracy theorists huddled in our doomsday bunkers. We’re one of them. We’re ordinary Americans.
#2: They Need Us.
2A supporters are smart enough to know which party respects their rights and which party doesn’t trust them. When a credible U.S. Senate candidate hands out an AR to a lucky visitor to his website, this shows that he’s actively cultivating our support.
More importantly, it shows that he needs to actively cultivate our support. And if he pisses off Moms Want Some Action in the process, more’s the better.
#3: There’s Nothing Scary About ‘Scary Assault Rifles.’
William F. Buckley, Jr. could charm the fur off a polar bear. Despite his anti-chic views, he was a sought-after guest in the New York/Long Island liberal dinner-party scene. His intellect changed many minds, while his charm and wit and sunny disposition softened many more hearts among the unpersuaded. He once said that his favorite under-used word was ‘irenic.’
The symbolic power of the National Review embracing the modern sporting rifle can hardly be overstated. With all due respect to Uncle Ted, the National Review’s endorsement sends a much more inclusive and productive message than “Suck My Glock” does.
Modern firearms are not evil, they’re not scary and they’re not dangerous. They’re just firearm and tools, and now (hopefully) icons of conservatism in general.
Another spin on the classic meme. All he’s trying to reinforce is guns = insanity. If you support, own, or carry a gun you must be insane and everyone should fear and loathe you. What they really fear is shattering their fragile sense of utopia where everyone gets along and crimes *shouldn’t* happen under the omniscient guard of the police.
The entire article is fraught with fallacies and the classic memes and assumes the reader hates guns as much as terrorism. The mere idea of wanting to fire a gun is “nutty” to them.
NAGR is one gun organization that I don’t like. If Obama sneezes, Dudley Brown will email you stating that the sneeze was part of the grand scheme to take away your guns. They come across as both the boy who cried wolf and chicken little.
They spam way too much.
A much better man than Vidal.
This is the article he refers to:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/26/3895027/big-pine-key-homeowner-has-gun.html
Pretty tight range, but it’s legal in Florida :).
And more good news from FL:
http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2014/01/florida-bill-would-virtually-nullify-all-federal-gun-laws-2797008.html
High Standard K121 Flite King 12 gauge shotgun with the barrel cut with a pipe cutter to 18.5 inches.
I was 19, and there was a situation where my life could have potentially been in danger. Bought the shotgun from a Family friend (legally of course) and felt terrible cutting the barrel of such an old shotgun that has been around for decades but I did what I had to do. It wasn’t worth much, i only paid 125, but at the time I didn’t have much money either. I still love the old thing. I had the front sight bead reattached to the now shorter barrel. I still have it, I can’t allow myself to sell this first gun or modify it and bring it back to it’s original condition. I bought it to protect me and mine and I love it for being there. not to mention the Action is one of the smoothest shotgun actions I have ever had the pleasure of working
WTF is this guy talking about? I can take a gun into a bar in Arizona? is he completely misinformed or intentionally misleading people? then again, gun control advocates tend to not know a damn thing about guns or gun laws.
Entered in both contests and donated in both. Going to start this weekend off right!
“While we await the court’s decision…”
How silly is it that we seek repreave from the very same organization that enslaves us? They’re all on the same team, folks!
I genuinely laughed while looking at the list.
Looks like wrong video got uploaded?
Just have to say that these people are truly idiots. Their motive is the the more you say the more people will believe so they just keep right on yapping with the bullshit. There were many slam responses to this idiots story though.
Nice job giving a pass to statist Republicans who are proponents of civilian disarmament…
…one would almost think that the only Presidential candidate in 2012 who pushed for and signed an assault weapons ban won, instead of lost.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2846204/posts
You can carry loaded beer cans for self-defense in New York, but only seven at a time.
in addition to practicing fire from a prone position, practice with targets side ways at ground level. I learned last summer in league that i tend to shoot high at a sideways ISPC Silloutte target level with the ground. I think it has to do with my bifocals. It sucks turning into a OFWG. Think outside the box, dont always shoot at targets at the same level or position
Yup… Have fun rounding up the 95% of assault weapons owners who laughed in your face, your tyrannical piece of shit. Make sure to bring a body bag for them to put your worthless carcass into when they are done.
This is step 1.
Step 2 will be to revise the curriculum so that no instructor can deliver it compliantly (Probably by making it unworkably complex).