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A hat tip to joehuffman.org for pointing out the absurd in this article from ABCnews. It quotes Shannon Watts as saying the following: “I think the NRA should be very afraid of Americans, who’ve had enough of the gun violence in this country and in particular moms,” Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action and a board member for Everytown for Gun Safety, said. “Moms are afraid our children will be taken away and in the end, I think that’s the emotion that will win the debate.” So Ms. Watts believes that . . .

Debates are about  emotion and apparently questions of law should be decided by the fears of mothers rather than facts, thought, rational consideration of reality and reasonably expected consequences. Not that we probably shouldn’t be afraid of Ms. Watts and the power of the anti-Second Amendment media and politicians behind her.

Relying on the power of emotion over fact and logic is a standard ploy for sophists for whom those factors don’t make the grade. It’s standard fare for those who believe that people are too stupid to control their own lives, so they have to be lied to in order to allow their “betters” to take care of them. It’s the mainstay of the nanny state.

The danger is that emotions can win debates when those emotions are backed up by threats of violence. An inflamed mob can kill you. If you fire up the ignorant enough, you can get them to go along with disarming and attacking those whom they are told are the real danger.  You can use emotion to concentrate the power in the hands of the government to kill off the educated, as in Cambodia, or the Jews, as in the Holocaust.

My colleague, John Jay Ray, has studied the motivations of political leftists, and they are invariably founded in strong negative emotions. It’s worthwhile to note that Shannon Watts finds her strongest card in emotion, rather than fact. That is what you have to do when neither the facts, the culture and the Constitution are on your side.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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105 COMMENTS

  1. Me thinks the anti libtards would have a fit if a child was in a pro-gun ad–but somehow its ok if its for antis

  2. Uhh, when was Kinder Surprise banned? I have the little toys all over the house.

    That girl needs to get her booger hook off of the bang switch. She needs to be trained in proper safety and use of a rifle.

    • “booger hook” Priceless! My first thought as well, 1.2 seconds into seeing that image. I couldn’t even tell you what the other kid was holding.

      • The fed confiscate a few hundred thousand a year. They’ve been banned from the US for at least 30 years.

        • Just like a gun ban, the KInder Surprise ban isn’t working because I keep buying them! They are actually disgusting but the little toys are too weird to not look at.

        • You’re right. My understanding is that the ban on Kinder eggs even predates Kinder eggs, in that the ban goes back to a 1930’s law banning candies with embedded toys, and Kinder eggs specifically weren’t developed until more recently than that.

          That aside, given the ban and this product’s availability, I’m wondering about the smuggling operation. Are there actually mules out there cramming a dozen Kinder eggs up their rears in evasion of Customs authorities? Even in a cushy first class seat, that has to be a rough ride.

          • Interesting thought, that, but they probably come in via the Postal Service. How can I get some? Sounds like interesting contraband…

            • If you know someone in Europe or Canada they can send them by mail with other stuff and there is a good chance they will get through. If you go to Canada don’t buy them at the duty free shops across the border and if you do pay for them with cash.

          • The eggs are hollow and crush easily. The chocolate is So-So but they put some great toys in them.

        • So if they have been banned evil contraband here and legal in Europe for 30 years, do we have a list of all the tragedies which they have caused in Europe? Or do we have yet another example (which I have never heard of before) of government overreach into an area which is none of their concern?

        • My in-laws bring them from Europe all the time, they make no real effort to hide them, so it seems that customs just generally doesn’t care.

          • I also bring them home on the airplane whenever I go to Europe. Tell the immigration guy you have candy and they don’t even look. They do catch a lot at the Canadian border and when people mail them in.

    • As long as we allow people who have no knowledge of or experience with Firearms to put forth an opinion on same that little girl will never learn that *picture me wiggling my finger here…* “This is THE Safety.”

      No problems with free speech, but if it takes place in the media then it should come with a warning label “individual has no knowledge, training or experience, practical or otherwise with the subject they are commenting on.”

      If these clowns want to be taken seriously they ought to be required to take a basic pistol and rifle safety course then fire a hundred rounds from each under the guidance of a trained expert before being allowed to express their anti-gun bullshit.

  3. ahh the old “unwashed egg” bit.

    unwashed eggs are perfectly legal if you own chickens and get fresh eggs from them.

    eat to your hearts content

  4. So…. Because they have children I am obligated to hand over and give up every right to protect them?

    I am 34 and chose not to have children. Because of my choice I can have loaded guns laying all over my home and instead of saving for a college fund I can spend that money on the acquisition of new firearms and accessories I desire to own. I chose not to have children. Sure I may miss out on somethings in life, but everything has a trade off.

    “The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation.” – Adolf Hitler

  5. My rights trump emotion, until they don’t. That’s what “they” want. They don’t really just want your guns, they want all your rights. As soon as they get the 2nd they will go for the 1st or 4th. “For the children”

    That stupid poster… Once again I don’t want a Comment Moderated…

  7. If the group thinks ‘assault rifles’ are so incredibly dangerous, then why are they handing one to a kid to do a photo shoot?

  8. I have never seen any of the little egg thingies, and do not know under what consideration they have been banned to protect children, but I’m pretty sure that, assuming the girl is holding a real, live, scary black rifle, they have been banned in the past, nationwide, and there are several states that ban them to one degree or another even now, for the children.

    Not to put too fine a point on it, and I am afraid it is a logical point that Shannon will not grasp, but I fail to find any mention in the Constitution of a right of the people to keep and bear Kinder Surprise eggs.

  9. OH. MY. GOD. There is nothing too low for these effers to stoop to, is there? They are a BLIGHT UNTO THE REPUBLIC.

    Go live in North Korea, you evil, statist basturds. I’m sure Fearless Brat would employ you as concubines.

    I’m surprised they didn’t have the little girl shooting the little boy. It’s about their speed.

    MUST. HIT. SHEETROCK!

    • …..did that once. Don’t recommend it.

      Statistically speaking you have a 90% chance of hitting the hollow part of the wall, but then that bastard Murphy shows up and statistics go out the window….and you go in for x-rays 🙁

  10. So what they’re saying is that police and soldiers should all be armed with Kinder Surprises?

    That’s pretty stupid.

  11. Scary how left-progressive political thought is history repeating itself-
    compare the Hitler quote from this one from MSNBCs Melissa Tyler Perry:
    “We haven’t had a very collective notion of ‘These are our children.’ So part of it is we have to break through our kind of private idea that ‘kids belong to their parents’ or ‘kids belong to their families,’ and recognize that kids belong to whole communities.”

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/11/melissa-harris-perry-and-the-firestorm-over-collective-parenting.html

    This is what its coming to – by elevating emotion over facts, the Prog-tards become the mob, defined by their lowest common denominator- the fear-fullest. Who then have to turn to someone, the strongman, to defend them… and who is stepping up to the plate, but Nanny Bloomberg, with PR thats eerily reminiscent of 1930s soviet icons, and Germany’s Goebbels like Big Lies.

    • Wow. While I agree children don’t belong to their parents, it’s even more wrong to claim they belong to their communities. It only gets worse when you realize “communities” is really just a euphemism for “government”. Children don’t belong to anyone- they are people. Many, in fact, are citizens, and though their voting rights are held in abeyance during their minority, if anything the government belongs to them.

      • True, kids aren’t property. They aren’t “owned” by anyone. Belonging isn’t the same thing as ownership. And children ultimately belong to their parents, who have a sacred obligation to do right by the children who belong to them.

        What the leftist state wants isn’t belonging, it’s ownership. Over us and our children.

    • I pray that Melissa Tyler Perry is barren. People that twisted should not be allowed to spawn.

  12. The problem is that banning anything hasn’t protected a single soul. Its a logical fallacy.

    • Did you notice how they (conveniently) had the stock fully extended–obviously to make the rifle appear to be a big as possible?

  15. If Laws and rights are to be based strictly on emotion, then hand over your right to vote Ms. Watts. Put the African Americans to the back of the bus, re-enact prohibition, outlaw gay marriage, shall we keep going?

  16. Libtards are incapable of seeing the difference between a lawful gun possessing citizen and murderers, at least it seems that way.
    PS get your finger off that trigger, ya little brat.

    • It also looks like she has the safety off.
      (On the full-res image, you can see the notch pointing up.)

  17. Those Kinder Surprise eggs are banned here? Go into any store with European food – you’ll have no problem finding them. Although the toys inside used to be better in the old days.

  19. If it hasnt already been pointed out to TTAG, that gun has an auto sear…

    “One child is holding something that has been prohibited since 1934.”

  20. Sharon is not a smart woman. If she doesn’t have pure emotion and fearful rants, she’s got nothing. Intellectually, anyway.

  21. Ooh! Kinder Eggs! My kids loved them. Never once choked on the little toys. Why? ADULT SUPERVISION. I watched my kids. Ooh! AR-15! My kids love them too! Never once shot anybody. Why? ADULT SUPERVISION. EDUCATION. RULES. GUIDANCE.

    Stop living in the Nanny States, people. Guns are safe. People are dangerous. B A N P E O P L E.
    Ban ridiculous, over-reactive, silly liberal moms. Oh, and teach your kids how to properly address a trigger.

  23. The real problem is that in this day and age emotion trumps logic every time. And they know it. It only takes hammering on emotion for a few years for change to come through. There are many examples starting with Polar bears and climate change to name just one.

  25. I think Shannon Watts should be VERY afraid of the people in America who are tired of the lies they are being spoon-fed by the media and particularly people like her. The people who are tired of being cast as freaks, outcasts and idiots by the liberal elite. The people who are making their voices heard and exposing the real truth.

  26. Well said….
    Robert Seddon
    P S Please tell the Moms that if their kids are not climbing into my house after midnight, they should have to have no fear of my firearms. If they ARE climbing into my house after midnight, they better be wearing steel body plates and a lot of Kevlar. At least they will still be alive.

  27. PS to prior:
    They might be missing a piece or two, but as long as it is not the head, they will be alive at least.
    ROBERTSEDDON

  28. Why is it always white kids in these ads holding the gun and the other kid is a minority?

    • Beat me to it. But of course the answer is obvious–the Moms Who Don’t Get Action are reliably “progressive” in at least one other area besides their disdain for gun rights: they are racists who believe , since guns are bad and only white people do bad things, only white people have guns. And, more subliminally, people of color are not to be trusted with guns anyway.

  31. “…Americans, who’ve had enough of the gun violence in this country and in particular moms”

    She’s absolutely right. Americans HAVE had enough of her and her employees.

  33. I think it’s a trick question. The rifle, and what looks like a standard capacity 30-round magazine, have been banned in many parts of America, but to control the population, not to protect anybody.

  34. I just really wish I could submit the picture of my child shooting a .22 here.

    The only justifiable thing I will say is…yes I believe in Gun safety..however I also believe in The Constitution and I believe my children should be educated to protect themselves from things bigger then the boogeymen.

  35. So true. All you need to do is focus the simpletons on something to hate, and violence is sure to follow.

  37. An anti-anti gun group should be formed called “Father’s who protect mom’s who demand action” (or whatever damn silly name they have that has mom in it). It would serve two facets. One, the name itself promotes the same emotion that their group name promotes. Two, someone has to protect them from themselves. Why fight them when you can put them on the defensive by just trying to help them? Deranged thoughts late at night.

    • I beg of you, please don’t put an apostrophe in front of each and every terminal s.

      For instance, “I am all out of apostrophe’s because I used too many of them” is incorrect! 😀

  38. Ok, wow, I just found out something pretty funny. A company has found a way to make a similar egg legal in the US, and that happened in 2013! It only took me a few minutes to search Google. Shame that Moms Wanting Action can’t do the same…this makes them look even stupider!

    http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/us-ban-of-kinder-eggs-cracked-at-last-8539723.html
    http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/toy-filled-chocolate-eggs-legal-us-102607086–abc-news-savings-and-investment.html

  39. My wife is a mom and a public school teacher as well as a concealed permit holder (LTC-A here in MA), our daughters would never practice such poor trigger discipline! That girl needs to go to her room without dinner for the rest of the week! Finger off trigger until your ready to shoot! Guessing that’s not the message MDA was trying to convey here though…

  40. The little boy could have been holding a baseball bat, then the caption could have read “Guess which one kills more children every year?” or “Which one of these deadly weapons does your child have in his room right now?”

  41. The moral of the story, here, is that it’s OK for these leftards to threaten people with their ignorance, even killing people …….. all in the name of saving lives.

    It means nothing to them that the very people they seek to deny the use of guns to may very well wind up in a morgue due to some criminal’s evil hand, but by then, all they see is someone else having bad luck and they had no responsibility in that person’s death. Emotionally irresponsible; like a child playing with matches, and when the house burns down, it wasn’t their fault.

    Out of sight, out of mind. A well qualified DOPE SLAP for Ms. Watts.

  42. What she is holding is an airsoft “gun”, which are not banned in America. How to tell? Some clues are that the barrel appears to be an m4 style barrel with a regular A2 flash hider on it, sear pin above where the selector would be, and Knight’s Armament Company logo on the right side of the magazine well (Knight’s never made a “plain” styled M4 type carbine to my knowledge, but their logo is used on airsoft products a lot). Why would they go through the trouble of getting a weapon that would probably cost upwards of thousands of dollars to take a picture? Oh, if it was a 2-500 dollar airsoft gun, it would be easier.

    Although those clues aren’t damning by themselves, if you look on the bottom of the pistol grip, you can just make out the fact that it’s not hollow. That’s the motor cover.

    And obligatory “finger on the trigger” safety violation.
    And obligatory “Shannon Watts is an idiot because she doesn’t understand how facts work.”

    • My eyesight must be worse than I thought. You young whippersnappers and your good eyes!

    • There is also the fact that both of her arms appear relaxed and without tension, as does her face and neck. Posing with an actual M4 for a child that size and age should be somewhat difficult, and posing long enough for the average professional photo shoot should be nearly impossible.

  43. Have you ever tried to use a Kinder Surprise egg to stop a violent assault, or any other type of self defense? Doesn’t work very well, does it? That’s why one is banned and the other isn’t.

  44. My father taught me how to shoot. The earliest photo of me shooting a .22 rifle is from when I was 5. I turned out to be a responsible firearm owner. In turn I have taught my son and my oldest grandson in firearm safety and shooting. Both of them are safe shooters. Education is key. Enjoy shooting and owning firearms in a safe and responsible manner. And if ever your life or the life of someone you love is threatened by a lowlife…help him to meet his maker!

    • You’re lucky. My late dad was in the Signal Corps in WWII. He didn’t care much for guns, so I had to pick stuff up on my own.

      My sis has a pic of him, in Tunisia I think, seated with a Thompson. Great photo! He did keep a loaded .22 revolver, an H&R, as I remember.

  46. The picture makes a little more sense when you understand the girl owns a pony and she grazes it on public land.

  47. This is why, even when someone makes the worst and most sophistical argument against gun control (you can have a false argument for a true conclusion), they can still think themselves and appear to others to be arguing logically. Because they at least care about the pretense of trying.

    But hey at least they are honest about rejecting reason and being demagogues.

  48. Someone should have taught that girl trigger discipline and how to safely handle a firearm…oh wait that’s right, MDA has no clue what they’re doing when it comes to firearms.

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