Since TTAG highlighted gung-ho gun guy Pat MacNamara’s Comedy Central declaration that he supports Universal Background Checks and mandatory waiting periods for firearms purchases (click on image to see segment), the gunblogosphere has been up in arms. Over at ar15.com . . .
Panteao Productions President/CEO Fernando Coelho felt obliged come to Mr. MacNamara’s defense. Which makes perfect sense, given that Panteo sells MacNamara’s Make Ready videos. Here’s Mr. Coelho post:
With the recent fallout over the video of Pat McNamara from an upcoming television episode on Comedy Central, folks have begun to ask us what our position is on this. Some have even asked us to remove Pat McNamara as one of our instructors in the Panteao Make Ready Series.
First, let me be extremely clear that everyone at Panteao Productions supports the Second Amendment. We are all NRA members and our company view (as well as mine personally) is that the Second Amendment is not up for debate. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. That is very clear in my book.
Getting back to Pat McNamara, I watched the video trailer in question and will be watching the full episode when it airs later. The first thought that came to mind was the folks at Comedy Central edited the footage to push their agenda.
I have a feeling the majority of comments made by Pat that support the Second Amendment and gun ownership in general may have been “left on the cutting room floor” or turned into shorter snippets. With the folks at Comedy Central, I would expect no less. In all fairness, it would help to watch the whole video which hasn’t even aired yet.
Do I believe in waiting periods? No. Do I believe in universal background checks? No. That said, there are Second Amendment supporters out there that do believe there should be some form of background check. Others believe in some form of waiting period. That does not make them anti-gun or the enemy of the Second Amendment.
I do not believe that distancing ourselves from Pat over a single video piece is the answer. While we do not agree with his stance on certain topics, we do feel that he supports the Second Amendment. Pat served our country honorably and continues to teach both civilians and law enforcement on proper gun handling. That should count for something.
If anything, maybe his video segment on Comedy Central will cause some mainstream anti-gunners out there or folks sitting on the fence to stop and rethink their stance. Maybe some will go to the range or take a pistol or carbine class and see the light.
Fernando
Well, that’s one theory — one that suits Panteao’s business interests.
As our man Valdez pointed out in a text, MacNamara supporters seem to building a defensive ring around Second Amendment compromisers, while plenty of pro-2A commentators are singing Don’t Fence Me In.
Unforgivable fifth column or united we stand, divided we fall? If it’s the former, does this statement put you off Panteao products?