Alert the media. The Moms who Demand Action on the street corners of Everytown USA have found themselves a Fudd in Texas. Manson “Bernie” Phillip wrote his legislator urging opposition to a pair of common sense gun bills: one that would make Texas a Constitution-carry state and another that would repeal “gun free zones” for those with carry licenses. Of course Moms, facing a dearth of anyone in the gun community agreeing with them, hoisted this gun owner up as a “somebody” in the gun world. They now parade him about to further their feeble cause.
Who is Bernie Phillip and why should we listen to him? According to the Huffington Post, he’s got “nearly 20 guns”. That’s a lot, right? In his letter, he brags of his six plus decades of hunting experience under his belt. No mention if he has an Elmer Fudd hat too. What’s more, Bernie claims membership in the NRA for 46 years. He admits he has not once been involved in gun rights – before now. However, these two bills pushed him over the edge. Yep, after all these years, Bernie uses his paper-thin credentials to legitimize his misguided fuddism for all to see. The HuffPo covers it eagerly:
Bernie Phillip is a 75-year-old Texas grandfather who owns nearly 20 guns ― enough, he says, “to take care of business.” He’s an avid hunter, and has been a National Rifle Association member for 46 years.
But this week, for the first time in his life, Phillip broke with the gun-rights group. He wrote to his state representative urging him to oppose two bills that would loosen restrictions on guns. HB 375 would allow Texans to carry a gun without a permit or license, and HB 560 get rid of gun-free zones, including schools, for people with a license to carry.
“I’m all for our 2nd Amendment rights but these two bills are downright irresponsible,” Phillip wrote in the letter, which has since gone viral on the internet. “I pride myself on gun safety and being a responsible gun owner. Neither of these bills further the cause of making our great state safer for my 5-year-old granddaughter. The thought of another parent being able to carry a gun in my granddaughter’s school when she goes to kindergarten next year is terrifying. There’s just no need for that.”
Of course, the fact that those signs proclaiming his granddaughter’s school as a gun-free zone comfort him. He has not considered that gun-free signage serves as little more than a dinner bell for bad people with evil in their hearts.
His letter, courtesy of his hoplophobic daughter:
He calls the concept of bad guy deterrence as “insane” and “irresponsible”.
That alone should tell you all you need to know about Bernie Phillip, a Texan fudd.
Congratulations Bernie. You have become famous the most famous fudd in Texas.