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Question of the Day: What’s “An Honest Conversation About Guns”?

Robert Farago - comments No comments

Every now and then, a gun control advocate likes to portray their position as rational and reasonable. Someone like Cyndy Mullineaux (above), who penned a letter to the editor at Jersey’s courierpostonline.com headlined Honest conversation on guns needed. Here’s her “I support the Second Amendment but -” statement:

I have lived and worked most of my life in the more rural parts of South Jersey. I get the hunting culture and real safety concerns of citizens who are policed by state police from barracks miles away from their 911 call.

Years ago, in a town where I lived, I giggled when I saw this sign at the end of a very long driveway: ‘We don’t call 911, we call Smith & Wesson.’

I am not the boogeyman liberal who thinks the Second Amendment needs to be overturned. I just want safety for myself and my family, like all other citizens.

All I want is safety — from guns! Ms. Mullineaux sees no conflict between her [faux] support for the Second Amendment and The Garden State’s prohibition against lawful carriers from other states carrying in New Jersey. In fact . . .

Shaneen Allen’s story and the telling of it misses critical points that do not foster an honest conversation. Congressman Tom MacArthur, a co-sponsor of the bill, says Ms. Allen “did nothing wrong.” She broke New Jersey state law, Congressman.

New Jersey does have strict gun safety laws. It is the right of the state to make its laws. Concealed carry reciprocity is a states’ rights issue. The Republican Party has turned its back on both law and order and states’ rights when it comes to guns.

Yada yada yada. What the heck is an “honest conversation about guns” and do gun control supporters actually want one?

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Robert Farago

Robert Farago is the former publisher of The Truth About Guns (TTAG). He started the site to explore the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns.

0 thoughts on “Question of the Day: What’s “An Honest Conversation About Guns”?”

  1. An honest conversation starts with the recognition that constitutional amendments apply to each and every state… Unless you want to apply the same rationale to the 13th amendment. It’s state choice, amirite? Let’s legislate degrees of slavery like we legislate degrees of firearms ownership, kk?

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  2. States don’t have rights, they have powers granted by the people and defined in the constitutions of the USA and the individual states.

    Otherwise, if states had rights and those rights included nullifying the 2nd Amendment then they would also have the right to nullify the 13th Amendment.

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    • The tenth was rendered nearly useless by the 22nd. As soon as states lost the ability to appoint senators the Fed no longer had to worry about state legislatures or governor’s. They became nothing more than local administrators of whatever DC came up with.

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  3. OK, she claims she wants an “honest conversation” about guns and “state’s rights.” Let’s see . . .

    I’ll believe her when she expresses support a repeal of the ’34 Act and the ’68 Act as they would apply wholly intrastate transactions. In other words, if “states make gun laws,” then shouldn’t states have the right to allow their citizens to do whatever, as long as it doesn’t involve interstate commerce? E.g., if Texas wants to allow its residents to own locally-manufactured suppressors, SBR’s, and full-auto stuff, why shouldn’t “states’ rights” allow that? If Idaho wants to allow 18 year olds to buy handguns and 16 year olds to buy long guns and ammo, surely she’d be in favor of allowing them to do so, right?

    The reality is that libbies like this no more believe in states’ rights than the man in the moon. It’s just a hobbyhorse they are now on because Congress might just pass something they don’t like.

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  4. As far as they’re concerned, an honest conversation is, “We get to say what we want, you have to admit you’re wrong, and then we take your guns.”

    Part of the reason why I fell on the pro-gun side of the debate was because their arguments depend mostly on lies and obfuscations. If you have to lie to make your point, you’re wrong. Their debate is inherently dishonest, so they’re wrong. Period.

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  5. Most likely, an “honest conversation about guns” will take place only between two gun owners, or those seeking to start their gun owner journey. You can’t have an “honest conversation” with liars, cheats and those who want you dead.

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  6. An honest conversation is sitting silently while a gun controller berates and belittles you then you apologize for being a racist and a child killer.

    And compromise is white out on the 2nd and flagellation in the streets.

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  7. I think my S&W Model 69 snubby in .44 Magnum will do the trick.

    Of course, that will be backed-up by my S&W 649 and my Sig P225, both of which I always carry.

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  8. Rubber wedding ring and the pouch that came with it. Don’t think I’ve ever seen someone use the pouch before.

    The ring is nice though. Love that thing.

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  9. If she wants to have an honest conversation, we can start with the fact that New Englanders have a reputation for being corrupt statists who have a total disregard for the law and Constitution…

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  10. “It is the right of the state to make its laws.” …Unless those laws are in violation of the Constitution or Federal statutes.

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  11. Just read her blog……Hahahahahahahahehehehehehehehe. She IS funny….
    Will she scream if a mouse crosses her path? Most likely. Does she put flowers in her hair when she goes to San Francisco? Probably. Will she immediately expect rescue from police when she gets into trouble? Most assuredly.
    If she ever goes to Alaska, I bet she would take a selfie with a moose or elk, then be surprised when the moose turns on her. Sometimes I just wonder if some people are worth saving in the upcoming idiocracy.

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  12. An “honest conversation about guns” with a true believer lib/prog can only occur if you agree with everything they ever thought, said or did in their whole lives. Otherwise, you are a dishonest reactionary who probably deserves to be in a re-education camp somewhere. There is no reasoning with these people. Stuff like Ms. Mullineaux wrote is just to reassure the anti-gunners of their alleged superiority.

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  13. My S&W Model 60 in 357Mag is, in my opinion, the best carry of all time.
    For bigger prey, my 1895 Marlin Guide in 45-70 with some Buffalo Bore 400-gr Magnums will definitely do the job, or for really BIG stuff, (that I would never see), Garrett’s 540-gr +P SuperHardCast.
    Of course, the odds of me taking a 2000 mile walk are much less than winning the lottery..

    (THIS IS MY SUPER WIDE SMILEY FACE)

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  14. A universal requirement to serve (in the military, or in any other fashion) contravenes both common sense and the 13th Amendment.

    Far better to offer firearms training starting around age 9 or 10, in all schools. Notice “offer”, not “require”.

    Kurt

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  15. I am a right wing conservative and opposed to much of the LGBT agenda. But as a former prosecutor I focused on behavior not group identity. Any innocent person has the right to defend themselves against an unprovoked attack!

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  16. I have hiked 40 of my years including all of Appalachian Trail from New York to Maine I hiked the rockies in NM and Colorado, Washington state cascades and penninsula as well as Arizona

    My current backpack carry gun is Ruger 3″ LCRx that I installed a .357 mag cylinder in as it comes .38 works fine for East Coast with 125 rem jsp its perfect weight of 20 ounces but gives great sight picture
    full recoil rod and 3″ easy to point and rides close I use kydex chest rig plus its trigger area is big enough for heavy gloves

    I ran Ruger sp101 3″ .357 mag with rear milled in dovetail night sights when out west with buffalo bore ammo
    ditto the above attributes but prefer all steel gun for powered up ammo

    Its all about weight and compact for hike I never had issue but allways comforting

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  17. Retay Inertia Plus, its the solution of Benelli Click problem in inertia operating systems.

    Benelli İnertia is expired and now using Inertia Driven as patented but the problem still goes on.

    Inertia plus works properly with all light ammunition and closes the bolt with lightest pushing. No click just Bang Bang!

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  18. Okay, I do undestand some of the logic behind the article. We do live in a world where everybody has their prejudices. Trans women do become targets of unjustified violence, and it happens more often than with cis women, so they need efficient self-defense tools just as much as OFWGs do. And I fully support the idea that gun rights should never be restricted based on one’s gender.

    So yeah, I’m perfectly willing to take a trans person to a range and help them understand and learn, assuming that said person is civil and sane. No, being trans doesn’t prove one insane. Sure, being trans is a defect, to use a word that’s likely to be properly understood on this forum. But it is an illness that trans people are not responsible for and one that is often best mitigated by transitioning. I don’t care what anyone’s religion says about this, as this is about science and human rights, pure and simple. The world is not just black and white, it is uneducated to say that there’s nothing but male and female. Some people are born with no feet, or with six fingers on each hand, and some do not fit the simple male/female tickboxes. But this is not a place for a biology lesson, what’s important is the fact that being trans (or something else on the LGBTQ+ spectrum) makes one neither intrinsically crazy nor less of a human, so trans people do have their gun rights and we should be willing to fight to preserve them, the same as for any other POTG. Every armed and sensible trans person is a potential ally.

    However… The article speaks volumes about how disconnected from reality too many people are. It shows that too many people on the so-called progressive side of things suffer from highly delusional notions of what and how other people think. They see enemies even where there are none. It shows that too many people have been brainwashed into semi-automatons who way too often don’t bother to think or question. It shows how much irrational fears we will have to deal with when we try to open a dialogue.

    So I’d give the article a B for intent and E for execution.

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  19. Step one! Learn to Read!
    Step Two! Read the Second Amendment!
    Step Three! Learn what “Shall Not Be Infringed” Means!
    Step Four! SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  20. It took me 16 months to get my first pistol in New Jersey. No that is not a typo. 16 months with background checks, interviews, finger prints, character references and this was even before I could have a NICS check run. 9 million people live in New Jersey plenty have not gone through the red tape and won’t to get a gun.

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  21. “As much as I hate to admit it, gun control advocates are right about one thing: the U.S. firearms industry depends on a relatively small number of gun owners buying more guns”

    Robert, you’re seldom wrong. But the numbers don’t match your assertion here.

    In Illinois, we (regrettably) register gun owners. Illinois saw well over 50% growth in gun owners during Obama’s eight years, moving from 1.2M to over 2M. Those people didn’t go to all the trouble to get that Firearms Owners ID card (and spend the money for fees) for no reason.

    While Illinois might not be a bellwether state in everything, the explosion of gun owners in Obama’s time in office does certainly drive a stake in the heart to the MSM fake news narrative that fewer people are buying more guns. What’s more, the growth has continued, unabated, with Trump’s inauguration.

    The number of gun owners nationally might not be growing at the blistering pace demonstrated with hard numbers in Illinois, but it surely is not contracting. It’s growing. And those new people are buying guns and ammo… in record numbers. Last year was the second biggest year for gun purchases – ever.

    How big? Three times as many guns were sold last year compared to 2001.

    Twice as many as 2008.

    John

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  22. “The Colorado mag capacity limit is, possibly, the least enforceable one in the U.S.”

    Don’t say that, dammit. Now the other states will try harder.

    Reply

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