I’m not a big fan of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. But I will defend to the death—er, generally support their right to argue for stringent gun control. More than that, I respect anyone who wants to weigh in on firearms related issues. Not necessarily their arguments, morality or logic, but them. Personally. Because you gotta give respect to earn respect. Demeaning your adversaries reduces your credibility. And it’s all about the street cred . . .

So I wasn’t pleased to see ammoland.com use this pic—again—to lampoon Brady Campaigners Paul Helmke and Dennis Henigan. Especially when the image sits next to an NRA editorial on the not-so-dynamic duo. The creepy clown action makes both the world’s most powerful gun group (other than the U.S. military) and the firearms press release retailer seem strident, self-righteous and petty.

Gun rights groups may have to motivate the base, but they also have to charm the silent majority. This is not the way to do it. Am I wrong?

5 COMMENTS

  1. Robert,

    Having recently dived in to the issues around gun control/gun rights, your site has been a breath of fresh air. Like any political issue, it’s not as simple as the extremes on either side want to paint it, and I believe your site does a very well-reasoned, even-handed representing its own position. Your other posts do a great job with facts and statistics, which aren’t always present with some of the more red-in-the-face proponents/opponnets, but this one resonated with me in particular because it says what is said so little around contentious political issues: demeaning your opponent is damaging to civil discussion, and if you have a real point, you don’t need to resort to such tactics.

    I realize this is a 2-year-old post, but bravo, and keep up the good work.

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