@CSGV: Bringing People Together

One thing that I've noticed in my many 'conversations' w/ gun banners is that they have an overwhelming need to believe that all firearm advocates are in lockstep and take our marching orders from the NRA. Well anyone w/ a clue knows that's not true as there is quite a variety of opinions amongst us, sometimes leading to some pretty heated arguments and conflict.

But as they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Following one of the fun conversations w/ Ladd Everitt (aka GritsJr) of the CSGV, two individuals who had butted heads previously found themselves working together to smack down that obnoxious turd.

Here's how things went afterwards:

Kurt Hofmann

March 18, 2011 at 16:41

Hey Linoge. I know we tend to argue a lot when we encounter each other, but you were great yesterday.

Look at it this way–Ladd sees you as much of a Threeper as he does me .

Linoge

March 18, 2011 at 20:48

@ Kurt Hofmann wrote:

Look at it this way–Ladd sees you as much of a Threeper as he does me .

Which just goes to show that he is even more whacked-out than we originally thought .

Seriously, though, we do agree on a few points… just not on others.

Kurt Hofmann

March 18, 2011 at 21:01

Good to see you, Link P–your contributions to our earlier discussion with CSGV were much appreciated.

Linoge, I could probably have handled some of our disagreements better than I did.

I wish I had.

Linoge

March 20, 2011 at 11:25

It happens. Does not mean we cannot poke fun at morons like Ladd…

So while they aren't likely to exchange Xmas gifts, it did make them remember they're on the same side w/ the same goals, just different ideas on how to get there.

Thanks Ladd. You're a blessing for pro-rights advocates.

The Making of a Threeper

For those who don't know, 'Threeper' is the term used for what is best described as a 2nd Amendment Absolutist. Those that believe that all or most firearm laws are unconstitutional and should be abolished.

I'm not one of those but I do understand the mindset and how it's created. Let's take for example one of those 'reasonable, common-sense' laws in Illinois, the FOID card. For the most part, IMO, it IS reasonable. It's cheap, shall issue, and serves as a defacto background check which has kept several 'loophole' bills from passing.

On the other hand, the Illinois State Police (ISP) have this habit, every few years, of delaying issuing them up to six months and it having to take action by state representatives and senators to get them back on track. Their excuses for this usually include some form of "We can't afford more people" even though the cost of the license is higher than the expense.

Each and every time they pull this trick, it makes me lean a little more towards opposing ANY firearm laws, just picturing how that CAN and WILL be abused when put into practice. And that's just one example.

So it's really the 'gun control' advocates' own fault. Every time they try to play some word games and get caught, or, like Chicago or the ISP, make things as difficult as possible for law abiding people to own guns while criminals and Daley (but I repeat myself) have whatever access to them they want, they turn 'moderate' gun owners into hard-core ones and make 'fence-sitters' lean our way.

I hope they keep it up.

I'm a Gun Owner but....

In a letter making the internet rounds from one eminently proud of his stance, one 'gun owner' hates the NRA and wants Sotomayer confirmed.

It follows the traditional "I'm a gun owner but.." format w/ the author listing his 'credentials' of firearm ownership, how he's really smart, loves his guns, but....

He hates the NRA.

He doesn't actually present a REASON in his letter of why she should be confirmed or dispute any of the points Chris Cox made other than that he hates the NRA:

NRA characterizes the firearms issue through narrow toilet-paper tubes of fear that 'liberals' with anti-gun agenda will take away our guns. The reality is that illegal and improper use, storage or transfer of guns is a significant problem in America. I strongly support gun ownership but come down on the side of organizational and personal responsibility and competence with respect to guns. Guns are dangerous.

Yep, it's not the 80%+ recidivism, gangs, or violent drug culture that's the problem, it's legal gun owners.

He then goes on a rant about how the NRA does nothing for hunters and sportsmen (now there's a familiar phrase). Here's a telling part:

Here in Idaho where I live there are no NRA basic firearm training programs even though this is a great outdoor sports state.

Hmm. About ten seconds on Google found numerous available instructors, courses and programs including Spudguns.net, Idaho Ordnance, etc. Using the 'Find NRA near you' feature, I found even more. Nevermind that our very own Joe Huffman lives in Idaho and could have pointed him to the right people if he didn't do the instruction himself. So our 'strong supporter of gun ownership' is either ignorant or FOS.

Then follows some questions he'ld like to ask Sotomayer:

Do you believe that gun ownership in America carries responsibility by the owner to be competent in the storage, handling, maintenance, and use of the owned firearms?

Do you think that the 'well regulated militia' language in the second amendment implies that private gun owners should be trained and certified perhaps as automobile drivers are tested for knowledge, skill, and abilities?

Should gun ownership carry insurance requirements for liability and health damages caused by the gun owner?

By the phrasing, I'm going to take an educated guess he supports licensing, legislated training, safe storage, and mandatory insurance for all firearm owners because we can trust the Gov't to uphold our rights. That's exactly the view held by the Founding Fathers. Right?

Now, coinciding with the above highlighted phrase, I did a little research on our alleged gun owner. Turns out he is a strong Obama supporter with donations totaling over $2,000 for the last election.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

I'm so glad to have such a 'strong supporter of gun ownership' out there defending my rights even though his 'support' makes a 'Prag' look like a 'Threeper' in comparison.

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