It’s always seemed curious that so many of the people who profess the most hatred and fear of those currently wielding power in Washington are many of the very same people who have long been advocates of gun control. If — as the black-clad Antifa thugs, profess — you really believe that President Donald trump is a fascist and/or a Nazi, do you really want to give the government he currently heads the ability to more tightly regulate your ability to purchase and own firearms?
That’s the central contradiction behind Eve Peyser’s article at vice.com, ‘The Leftist Argument Against Gun Control.’
“Gun control means disarming the revolutionary masses and oppressed classes,” a leftist named William Gillis told me in an email. Gillis, one of the 15 anti–gun control leftists I talked to by phone and email for this story, called gun control “the worst possible idea in history.” He also sent me this meme:
Why, it’s almost as if America’s Founding Fathers intended the right to keep and bear arms as a bulwark against government tyranny or something. We’re sure we’ve heard that argument somewhere before.
Not all anti-gun control arguments are this fanatical, but many stem from a fundamental mistrust of the US government. Alex Turner, a 24-year-old retail manager from Kentucky, believes that we can’t trust Trump to not tweet out a declaration of war or the Democratic Party to hold a fair primary, so why should we trust the government to regulate firearms? (Of the anti-gun control leftists I corresponded with, most of them were men who voted for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary and either sat out the general election or begrudgingly voted for Hillary Clinton.)
As far as America’s gun rights supporters are concerned, it’s a big tent. There’s plenty of room in here for everyone…no matter how you managed to finally conclude that arguments for gun control are centered much more in a desire for control than they are concern about guns.
“As a black leftist male from and in the south who’s a gun owner, I find the conversations on gun control in liberal and left circles oftentimes deeply ill-informed,” (Michaelantonio ) Jones explained. “I’ll be frank, I’m not comfortable with giving the state (the US proper)—which was founded on, by, and sustained through genocide, slavery, and theft—a total monopoly on violence. I believe that for folks that look like me, surrendering effective means of self defense and trusting that system is suicide. Also, let’s not forget that gun control in the late twentieth century in the States has basically been an effort to disarm people of color.”
Don’t look now, Mr. Jones, but America’s history of gun control laws rooted in racism goes back a lot farther than that. Still, no matter what you think of the circuitous route he took, Jones managed to land at the right airport.
So let’s not quibble. In the post-Las Vegas push for more restrictions on civilian firearm ownership, it’s good to have more supporters for the RKBA, no matter which side of the political spectrum they lean toward.
Ruganzu Howard, a 37-year-old ex-cop from Seattle, explained it in even simpler terms: “Many people have opinions on guns and absurd notions of ‘common sense’ gun laws. There is a reason this shit ain’t been figured out/resolved. It’s not the evil GOP, or NRA, it’s because Americans want fucking guns.”
Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
I looked at quite a bit of information about the shooting, and I am 100% convinced there were at least 2 shooters. The first evidence is multiple phone videos where you can hear shots being fired and there are no muzzle flashes coming from the area on the Mandalay where the room is. Second is the cab driver video where you hear shots occurring a good distance away, and then very loud gunfire, presumably coming from the 32nd floor. Third are two reports from victims that people were shot in such a way that the fire could only have come from behind the stage.
BTW, what is directly behind the stage? A construction area with two huge towers. I also saw what appeared to be a very good amateur analysis of the audio. The guy know his stuff about guns, and calculated the delays between bullet impact and gunfire sound. One delay was consistent with the distance to the Mandalay, but the other was approximately 275 yds. Echoes my azz!
I don’t know why they are lying about the tragedy, and we may never find out. They are flushing information down the memory hole as fast as they can. This is like 1984 happening in real life – you just state what reality is via the media and the world changes to fit the new reality.
“… it’s because Americans want fucking guns.”
Is THAT where baby guns come from?
There is a serviceable list of Republicans that need to be primaried.
We need a law that makes murder a capital crime.
The biker is being dumb. The cop was too.
The biker gave riders a bad name the cop did the same for LEOs. I mean, break it down: if the actions of the biker are dangerous (they are) how does pointing a gun at him stop the dangerous actiont? It doesn’t.
In fact it makes things worse because of that the officer’s actions which encourage the biker to drop back to two wheels and hit twist the throttle HARD because he has a gun pointed at him for no apparent reason which would suggest to me, were I the biker, that this person 1) isn’t actually a cop (which happens) or 2) is mentally unstable. In either case I want distance between myself and the “officer” and I can get it by hitting the gas because that cruiser cannot keep up with me.
is this not brandishing? most states have laws against that. oh, i forget, we have different laws for different people in this country, based on class.
“Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo says inaction on gun control has “failed thousands of families”…”
And, one could say that gun control/restrictions have failed thousands of families.
The Progs never want to talk about the positive use of firearms (except to deny that there are any).
Chief Acevedo wants to make America disarmed and safe, just like Mexico or Paris. lol
Trade bump stocks for suppressors, knowing that triggers such as the fostech echo, and franklin armory binary triggers now make these bumpfire stocks obsolete. They are far easier to control, and the early versions of the franklin armory trigger could actually go faster than the gun could run. Simply make sure that the bill ONLY bans stocks and not triggers.
How many times does this need to be repeated?
The INSTANT you change one word or repeal all or any portion of any of the Bill of Rights they ALL BECOME FAIR GAME. If one or part of one can be changed or repealed any part or all of the others can be changed or repealed.
This is not a slippery slope, it is a step off a cliff into a VERY deep and dark chasm.
I trained with UK’s Armed Response Units and Swat. All, to a man and woman, top notch officers and shooters. That was one awesome aspect of their view and use of firearms. They took the responsibility very seriously and trained very seriously. Wish some of my fellow officers took the same responsibility seriously.
Of course.
The second he started another string with an AR out the window he wouldn’t have been watching the door. He would have been prone, juggling a rifle, in a room full of smoke, most likely not wearing sound amplifying hearing protection.
Also, if he can shoot through walls and doors, so can I. Suppressing fire during a gun swap would have distracted him enough for more people to escape. This guy was not John Wick.
Interesting that their little video changes not only the skin color of the carrier, but also the police agency he’s dealing with. We have no idea where, or when each of those was shot. One could be in a completely different jurisdiction, and open carry might even be illegal where the black guy was. If you were actually interested in an experiment you would do it in the same place each time.
Carlson’s a talented protagonist, and he certainly comes down on the right side of the 2A, but face it, he brought this guy on his show because he’s a buffoon. Definitely more intellectual than Hannity and more enlightened on the 2A than O’Reilly, but it’s still the same old dog and pony show. No intellectual curiosity.
If I had the same gear and legal immunities as cops, sure I’d try to stop bad guys.
Currently, I have neither of those things, so people are on their own.
They would not want me as a Juror.
1-Fully Informed Juror-google it
2-NOT GUILtlTY!
Unfortunately this will pass. As well as the “assault weapons ban” that will get snuck into it.
The last election was pointless. It’s as if Hillary won.
The democrats lost everything and yet they still are getting EVERYTHING they want.
“They also believe that anyone wanting to purchase a firearm should undergo a mandatory psychological evaluation. For each and every purchase. And that’s in no way an infringement.”
That belief surely smacks of ‘Presumed guilty until proven innocent.” Does she advocate the same requirement for a driver’s license or pilot’s license? I know where I live when I purchased my .22 TARGET pistol, a check was run on me after payment-in-full that included a $25 fee just for running the check. I feel that purchasing a firearm from a legitimate FFL dealer already has safeguards built into the process.
The mental background does carry some weight, however “they’d” twist it so much that if you got angry with the cat for pissing on the floor, you’d have all kindsa bad bad.
Whom ever bought a bump stock just got cheated by the government if this passes. The way I c it, government says it’s OK to buy. I buy it, they take it away. Do I get my money back or just got fucked.
42? If you hunt small game, big game and birds then you do action pistol competitions and you carry a gun for self protection and you have multiple members of your family that has the same interests, 42 is not hard to come by in my family.
I fish too, so don’t ask how many fishing poles I own.
As always the comment for the linked article are closed. These fools know they can’t win in the market place of ideas. Anti gun legislation is based in racism, not the other way around. Whenever we limit a Freedom it is always the result of unsubstantiated fear and rascism.
I call bullshit. Bump stocks are designed to effectively create mechanical automatic fire. If I have a semi auto gun, which malfunctions in a way that creates mechanical full auto fire – under ATF rules and regs it is a ‘machine gun’.
RF, I disagree with you here. The only purpose of a bump stock is to create mechanical automatic fire. It has no other purpose.
The bump fire’s purpose is irrelevant; the law says nothing about the firearm’s purpose. Nor should it. Read it at the link above.
“Ordinary” Democrats are calling for repeal of the 2nd Amendment and enacting bans on guns. They are not worried about the “evil tyrant Trump” because in their fantasy world, Trump will be removed and they will again be placed in power. So it all makes sense to the disillusioned Libs.
Now, all my previous comment still standing, would I trade bump fire stocks for national reciprocity and removal of suppressors from the NFA? Yep. If you really need to turn your AR15 into a “simulated” machine gun to fight tyranny or zombies, you don’t need a bump fire stock to do it.
Everything the Lefty’s don’t agree with or don’t like is racist. Everything touched by white men is racist. One gun shoots one minority and all guns are racist. Just more bullshit and noise. I do get tired of footing the bill for it though.
There’s a huge benefit to all this finger pointing and confusion – it derails any momentum for the anti-gunners to settle on a single, damaging piece of legislation that might actually have a chance of passing. The more they scurry around decrying various gun freedoms, bolstered by random comments from NRA or other pro-gunners, the less they will actually accomplish.
Can’t squeak a fart out on Obamination Care, Border Wall, Illegal immigration, Voter Fraud, Hillary Clinton’s illegal server, Hillary Clinton’s pay-for-play dealings, Hillary Clinton giving away two Alaskan islands, The Clinton Foundation’s money from foreign nationals for Bill’s speeches tied to U.S. State Department actions, Loretta Lynch meeting with Bill on the tarmac to head off prosecutorial actions, Hundreds of POS (D) scandals. . . . But they can pre-jump-on Bump stocks.
They all have to go. Drain the swamp.
Looks like a Blaser copy…..
About a year ago, I was fortunate enough to get really good tickets to see a band I really wanted to see. Normally, I avoid these settings completely – but a good friend was in town, it was a band I wanted to see, so I bought the tickets.
After arriving and getting seated, I looked around at the outdoor amphitheater (not in Las Vegas) with a huge multi story hotel towering over it and just adjacent to it, and a brick and mortar fence low enough to see people filing by, not directly behind the fence but because of topography, a few yards beyond it.
No one was permitted to be armed within the boundaries of the venue. No one, not the security guards, or anyone else. As I looked around I remember watching the crowd filing by, and looking up at the hotel, and thinking about how vulnerable everyone within that flimsy artificial boundary actually was.
In this circumstance it wasn’t the potential use of one means of attack or another that made me uncomfortable, it was the understanding that in the age of international terrorism – because this venue was situated as described above, it was particularly vulnerable to many forms of attack.
I’ll never return to that particular venue, or another which is similarly situated. That decision was made very quickly. The concert was a good one, but I never really stopped looking around to assess and identify possible threats. Getting out of there, away from the crowd, back in my vehicle, and on the road brought with it a feeling of of real relief
Has the Las Vegas attack has increased my personal situational awareness? Probably.
Oh, good. Eventually we won’t have any limp talkers to donate to, and we can just do it the old-fashioned way, with violence.
The great fear the “gun community” has in educating the public is breathtaking. Those states that have machine gun shoots that make big money for the organizers and owners better not support a ban on bump stocks.
Or you will be labeled a lying 2A hypocrite.
Keep in mind there is still one place in the world where slavery continues to be part of the culture…Africa…Yes it is still practiced there. Except it is called indentured servitude. People will send their children to a village elder or benefactor to pay off a debt owed. This happens in mainly the tribal areas of Africa but yes it still happens. Also remember that slavery was used as a weapon in Africa during the slave trade years. One tribe would capture their rivals and sell them to the slave traders as a way to eliminate them. This is all recorded history if you are willing to spend the time to educate yourself. The new form of slavery against blacks today is the welfare state.
they took the poll AFTER news broke that the nra rolled over on it
gee maybe THATS why…
thanks nra and all the johannes paulsens out there for being the best sunny day patriots money can buy
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were both killed by a .380 caliber pistol bullet
Who says .380 is not adequate for self defense?
So far the argument is about bumpfire stocks and not about banning semi auto rifles
So it seems the strategy is working
That’s such a simple, but essential point that we often forget it. Laws don’t prevent, they punish. So obvious, but so easy to lose sight of when politicians get involved.
Two stories about politicians supporting bans. Yet people keep trying to convince me the NRA is in the middle of some super fancy political tango that is somehow helpful to firearm owners….. What am I missing?
One shot from that .44 will make enough of an impression on a threat you may not need another.
Walther CCP. Failed on the 3rd round, brand new. Waited 6 weeks for Walther to fix it, sold it the day i go it back. Total POS
Congress will pass the buck to some faceless bureaucrat, who’ll rule over gun owners by “regulatory fiat,” as the article says. Up next: “Bullet buttons,” low-capacity magazines, the end of the single-action trigger, bans on pistol-grip rifles and shotguns, … ad infinitum.
There’ll be no trade of bump-fire stocks for silencers as some naive commenters wish for. Ban one thing, you ban a thousand things.. that’s the way of bureaucracy.
As an Australian gun owner who used to be able to buy anything except full auto in my state until 1996 I have NO trust in government and gun control.
I still own and use numerous firearms but not as many and no semi autos.
I just bought a Colt Competition lower and parts kit from CDNNsports.com last week. They have several different things from this manufacturer for sale right now. I plan on building a SBR with mine
18 years old – Canadian Army basic training.
It’s not what your shooting, it’s how you shoot it
Quit messing with that 50 cal, and help me get the bullets in my hair dryer!
What’s that Marvin dear … oh yes I do agree this would be much more fun with a silencer.
It’s sad to see an American citizen write such things. He needs to turn in his Man card. If it was a requirement to serve in the armed forces at age 18 we wouldn’t have to worry with these contrite ass-holes with their heads in the clouds. Take a trip. See the world. Hell read a book. Every place where it’s subject to the same whims as he’s writing is a damn mess; where the wolves eat the sheep who beg to exist at the whim of the ruling class. I’m glad to be an old man if this is the mainstream view.
We should never have closed the psychiatric asylums that we once had in this country because this guy needs to be inside of one.
Magical thinking is not your friend. Restricting your own rights is not going to restrict evil that someone else might do. That “logic” is simply ridiculous yet I am sure that throughout his scholastic career that this young man’s bedroom shelves were filled with participation trophies.
Regardless, somebody needs to go to the loony bin. If not this young man, then surely his professors who taught him.
It is not possible that the left would be involved in any nefarious activities. They have demonstrated how upright and honorable they are many times over the years.
I cannot imagine any official would provide cover for such an operation. There is not enough money to obtain the cooperation of the Sheriff, the FBI, the Media in such a coverup…..but there is ideology.
What is the truth? We will never know.
The anti-gun crowd is charging ahead, the RINOs are capitulating, the NRA is waffling.
Where will this all end? Civil War?
Be Prepared.
My cousin’s friend had to draw on a disgruntled ex-employee who had stalked him to a grocery store parking lot. The muscle bound ex-employee and a muscle-bound accomplice approached the victim and stated how they were going to severely beat the victim. The victim drew his concealed handgun, aimed it at one of the men, and told them to leave him alone. The attackers ran away to their car and left the area.
Unfortunately for the attackers, they grocery store’s video surveillance cameras aimed at the parking lot captured the entire event. The prosecutor exonerated the victim and the attackers are spending a couple years in prison for their assault.
Weinstein Schweinstein.
A .22 rifle at Boy Scout Camp Yawgoog, Rockville, RI. I was 12 or 13 years old.
It appears to be pushing a .408 CheyTac round.
There’s nothing special about this rifle – or the round. Mostly, this comes down to: Choose a high Bc bullet, then choose the cartridge to launch it, then build a rifle around it.
Everything they appear to be doing in their rifle design is pretty well known in long range circles. Their action is aluminum, lined with stainless steel. Their bolt has three lugs. They’re using a quality barrel. The only thing that they appear to be doing that might escape attention is that they’re screwing that brake on with a jam nut, so you could also use it as a barrel tuner. I found that in their rifle assembly videos elsewhere.
“A man’s got to know his limitations”