NRA: No Reason Allowed

phxnews.com ^ | Tuesday April 20, 2004 | Paul F. Heller

[beaureguard]

There is a reason I am not a member of the National Rifle Association. It's not that I dislike firearms - quite the opposite is true, actually. The loaded musket next to my bed is a decent enough testament to that. It's not that I dislike hunting, either; I've spent many an hour killing, dragging, gutting, skinning, processing and eating animals in my day. I agree that there are few deterrents to crime more potent than the Second Amendment, and I can cite many examples where gun ownership may have saved someone's life from a criminal attack. Heck, I even like Charlton Heston.

So where do we differ? It's quite simple: Politics. The NRA is organized, operated and staffed by a bunch of Republican nitwits, starting with its titular head, Wayne LaPierre. He may be the only person on Earth with a "French-sounding" name whose jackboots would be licked by fawning conservatives, who would no doubt wait in line to do so. The NRA and the GOP have been engaged for so long in a lustful and symbiotic affair that all lines have been blurred when it comes to America's heritage relative to weapons of mass production.

Last Saturday, at the NRA's 133rd annual convention (held in Pittsburgh), the oily Dick Cheney was presented with a vintage flintlock rifle, courtesy of LaPierre and his ultra-partisan cohorts. The vice president took the occasion to lash out senselessly at Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, saying the Massachusetts Senator's "approach to the Second Amendment has been to regulate, regulate, and then regulate some more."

From an outsider's scope, it seems that John Kerry probably knows a hell of a lot more about guns than Dick Cheney ever wanted to know. It was Kerry, after all, who picked up an M16 and went off to fight for his country. Cheney had the opportunity to do the same thing, and avoided military service with all his might (as did Karl Rove, who manages the re-election campaign for Cheney and his professional dummy, George W. Bush). So when it comes to "regulating" the sort of military-style weapons that are currently banned in this country - stemming from a mass murder at a schoolyard in, of all places, Texas - Kerry might know a thing or two about how they work.

This is another arena in which politics divides Americans, a fundamental point on which we should all be able to agree. Our Constitution grants us the right to bear arms, in accordance with the traditions that drove the British from our shores in the first place. Yet it is the Republican Party today which most resembles the Redcoats of yore, what with the Patriot Act forcibly violating our Fourth Amendment rights every day at airport terminals all across the United States, and with the imprisonment of Jose Padilla lighting fuses under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments.

As sporadic as those Constitutional violations may seem to conservatives (who refuse to heed the advice of Ben Franklin, that those who choose security over liberty deserve neither), it is their very behavior toward their fellow Americans that will forever keep me at odds with the NRA. Need an example? Of course you do. From the Associated Press's coverage of the convention:

Earlier in the day, Tom Mauser, whose son, Daniel, was killed with an assault weapon in the Columbine High School killings five years ago, tried to enter the convention hall, seeking to urge Cheney to support extending the assault weapons ban... Mauser was turned away by a security guard as several conventioneers applauded. A couple of conventioneers yelled, "Get a life" and "Vote for Bush."

While he's likely no more worried than I am about Bush's chances for re-election, I'm confident that Tom Mauser would desperately like to "get a life" - or rather, to get one back. He was probably thinking about the life of his son, whose murder was a direct result of someone having unfettered access to a Tech 9 semi-automatic pistol, which found its way into the hands of a pair of seriously deranged teenagers, who killed and wounded scores of innocent youths in Littleton, Colorado.

The NRA, naturally, was principled enough to hold one of their little conventions in Denver just a few dozen hours after all the blood had been mopped up. I'm sure there are a good many NRA members who were horrified by the disgusting, asinine catcalls hurled toward a man who had lost his child to gun violence.

Still, there's no point in talking sense to some people about this issue. Some people simply do not have the capability to listen, or to reason, or to think. It surely must be a coincidence that they all happen to be registered Republicans.

[Puppage]

Where's the frig'n BARF ALERT?

[Joe Brower]

A-yep, we don't bend over backwards to kiss the useful idiot's arses whenever they snap their fingers, so *bingo!*, we're all Nazis.

Uh-huh.

[vandykelastone]

Will every has-been mighty hunter go somehwere and slit his throat? Could you all do us this favor?

[HairOfTheDog]

Yuck! This guy overdosed me on venom within his second paragraph. Republican nitwits? Jackboot licking? The oily Dick Cheney?

Bleah.

Musket by his bed my ass.

[stevio]

A loaded musket next to his bed? This guy is really living in the past.

[Numbers Guy]

He was probably thinking about the life of his son, whose murder was a direct result of someone having unfettered access to a Tech 9 semi-automatic pistol

Yeah, if only those psychos hadn't had access to a Tech 9, then they would have been deterred from ever doing anything bad to anyone. [/sarcasm]

[azcap]

That first paragraph is classic talk-radio seminar caller. Introduce yourself as a rock solid conservative before you proceeed to spew liberal talking points.

[Monty22]

Bizarre split between the 1st paragraph (obligatory "I like guns") thing and the childish namecalling that follows.

[Monty22]

"So when it comes to "regulating" the sort of military-style weapons that are currently banned in this country - stemming from a mass murder at a schoolyard in, of all places, Texas "

Oh, can anyone please tell me what he's talking about here?

[muawiyah]

There are such people around ~ they prize THEIR OWN right to keep and bear arms but they don't want anybody else to be armed.

Several members of the Senate are in this category.

[antiRepublicrat]

The NRA, naturally, was principled enough to hold one of their little conventions in Denver just a few dozen hours after all the blood had been mopped up.

Stating one little truth, while not stating the rest of the important facts surrounding that truth, is the same thing as a lie in my book.

[Puppage]

...and the childish namecalling that follows

Yeah, that hit me like a ton of bricks, too.

[VRWCmember]

So when it comes to "regulating" the sort of military-style weapons that are currently banned in this country - stemming from a mass murder at a schoolyard in, of all places, Texas - Kerry might know a thing or two about how they work.

This idiot doesn't know what he's talking about. The banning of "military-style" weapons didn't stem from any schoolyard mass murder in Texas. He may be thinking about the one at a daycare center in California.

As for the author's ludicrous assertion that Kerry's extensive 4-month military adventure in Viet Nam provided him with more firearm knowledge than Cheney and Bush, there is NO QUESTION who is better to defend our second amendment rights or who I would rather have covering my back in a firefight.

[dighton]

This twit has a website.

[VRWCmember]

Yet it is the Republican Party today which most resembles the Redcoats of yore, what with the Patriot Act forcibly violating our Fourth Amendment rights every day at airport terminals all across the United States, and with the imprisonment of Jose Padilla lighting fuses under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments.

What an idiot. The Patriot Act isn't violating anybody's fourth amendment rights; and it would probably be a good idea to pick someone other than a traitor who conspired to smuggle a dirty nuke into the country as his poster-child for innocent victim of GOP human-rights abuses.

[BurbankKarl]

I think carry voted for a bill to ban all centerfire rifle cartridges.....so you would have .22LR left for hunting!

[VRWCmember]

He ought to subtitle it "The Craino-Rectal-Inverted Ravings of Paul Heller.

[BurbankKarl]

I read the Columbine report. They purposefully omitted the anti-depressant drugs both these kids were told to take, citing patient confidentiality.

[proudpapa]

I'm sick of hearing how Tom Mauser wasn't allowed into the NRA's convention. Is he a member of the NRA? Did he pay to be there? (Assuming it wasn't a free event)

I can't imagine the pain of losing a child.

But what does Mauser's loss have to do with our collective ability to defend ourselves?

[spunkets]

" Tom Mauser would desperately like to "get a life" - or rather, to get one back."

Nah. He's only interested in destruction and making life miserable for everyone else. that's why he teamed up with the liberals. The same mentality drives alqueda, hamas and the other jihadi recruits.

[Psalm 73]

"...a bunch of Republican nitwits...the oily Dick Cheney..."

Ahh, and now a word from the kinder, gentler political party.......
You can always tell a Demoncrat by the sleazy* way they talk.

*(sleazy is not necessarily a derogatory term in this sense)

[vbmoneyspender]

I think muskets were in vogue at around the same time liberals last had a coherent political philosophy.

[BurbankKarl]

I didnt realize this was just a blog, and not a news opinion

[BadAndy]

This sounds like Michael Moore writing under an assumed name?

[Monty22]

"I didnt realize this was just a blog, and not a news opinion"

Isn't it sad that the mainstream left media and this guy sound so alike?

[BurbankKarl]

He is just a Michael Moore clone....a wanna be with a DSL line.


pfheller@cox.net <--tell him what you think

[Monty22]

The linked site already has tons of hatemail lol..

Anti-gun libs are in bad shape these days. Even DU is more pro-gun than anti now.

The few left get ridiculed to no end, and nobody else cares at all about the agenda. Good news for us though.

[dannyc1]

Oh those nasty Evil Tech 9's if we could just rid the world of those it would be safe for the children ! Who would even consider that it might have been an actual person behind those guns that did the killing. I guess thats wrong headed thinking....

[stevio]

I have nothing against muskets, this guy is just BS.

[Sloth]

Tom Mauser, whose son, Daniel, was killed with an assault weapon in the Columbine High School killings five years ago, tried to enter the convention hall, seeking to urge Cheney to support extending the assault weapons ban.

Because it was so friggin' effective the first time around?!

[wjcsux]

Another sleazy f*ck that "likes guns and hunting" but hates the NRA and Republicans. Probably one of Sarah Brady's lackeys.

[paul51]

there's no point in talking sense to some people about this issue. Some people simply do not have the capability to listen, or to reason, or to think

I suppose it's just a sad fact that we all can't be as clear thinking, rational and level headed as the author. What a JA

[Constitution Day]

This twit has a website...

...and an e-mail address at that website: Paul F. Heller

[BurbankKarl]

http://www.nranews.com/nra.html

that reminds me...have you checked out the NRAnews.com channel yet? a live call in show is happening right now!

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The loaded musket next to my bed is a decent enough testament to that. It's not that I dislike hunting, either; I've spent many an hour killing, dragging, gutting, skinning, processing and eating animals in my day.

This guy is a liar.

Nobody who liked to hunt or shoot would use arcane descriptions like this.

He thinks the lies about firearms give him cover for his Bush attack-lies and Kerry sucking-up.

They don't.

[beaureguard]

Meant to post it, but got interrupted - work called. Sorry!

[Puppage]

Yeah, I was listening to it yesterday. I hope it gets a huge audiance.

[The kings dead]

Tom Mauser, whose son, Daniel, was killed with an assault weapon in the Columbine High School killings five years ago, [...] was turned away [...] A couple of conventioneers yelled, "Get a life"

If true, this is low-class behavior. But the rest of this article is an illogical ramble.

[beaureguard]

Neither did I. Wouldn't have given that site more hits than it deserves had I realized it. Note for future postings.

[jjm2111]

I don't know why assault rifles shouldn't be banned? I mean, why do you need an M-16 to go deer hunting?

[George Smiley]

Our Constitution grants us the right to bear arms

The Constitution grants us NOTHING.

The Bill of Rights enumerates pre-existing rights and prohibits the government from placing limits upon them.

Nitwit.

[Robert357]

Still, there's no point in talking sense to some people about this issue. Some people simply do not have the capability to listen, or to reason, or to think. It surely must be a coincidence that they all happen to be registered Republicans.

Well I have been an NRA member off and on since the 1960's. Periodically, I will get fed up with internal NRA Politics and quite. Then some crazy will get elected or some dumb law proposed and I will join again. I have now been an NRA member for quite a while, as the crazy politicians and dumb potential laws seem to be in too high a number.

If you want to get some NRA members blood to boil bring up the subject of Neil Knox and whether what he was trying to do was good or bad. Also, I have corresonded with former NRA staffers that Wayne L. let go so more money could be focused on the ILA. I don't see Wayne as either a nice guy or the kind of staff person that I want to lead the NRA.

Having said the above, belonging to a major gun rights lobbying organization is critical for all firearms owners and all who value their 2nd ammendment rights, which I do.

This article is a veiled attempt at liberal NRA bashing. I would not be a bit surprised that this story was writen by one of these newspaper reporters who fabricate the truth to come out with articles that "sound good." And even though I am a registered Republican, I do try to listen and learn from what others say, as long as what they say is factual and honest.

[Dan from Michigan]

Last Saturday, at the NRA's 133rd annual convention (held in Pittsburgh), the oily Dick Cheney was presented with a vintage flintlock rifle,

And Cheney had a 100% pro-2a record in the house.

John Kerry, saying the Massachusetts Senator's "approach to the Second Amendment has been to regulate, regulate, and then regulate some more."

Cheney was nicer than I would have been. Kerry voted to ban the .30-30.

It was Kerry, after all, who picked up an M16 and went off to fight for his country.

Bullshit. He turned his back on his country when he got home. Bill Klinton's service is less dishonorable than Kerry's.

et it is the Republican Party today which most resembles the Redcoats of yore, what with the Patriot Act forcibly violating our Fourth Amendment rights every day at airport terminals all across the United States, and with the imprisonment of Jose Padilla lighting fuses under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments.

John Kerry voted for that!

Mauser was turned away by a security guard as several conventioneers applauded. A couple of conventioneers yelled, "Get a life" and "Vote for Bush."

Private event, son.

whose murder was a direct result of someone having unfettered access to a Tech 9 semi-automatic pistol,

The gun did...right...BS.

Still, there's no point in talking sense to some people about this issue.

Look in the mirror, son.

This guy is an ignorant ass suffering from projection 101.

[The_Outlaw_Josey_Wales]

>>I don't know why assault rifles shouldn't be banned? I mean, why do you need an M-16 to go deer hunting?

The Second Amendment doesn't exist for the purpose of deer hunting. It exists to protect us from government tyranny. Elected politicians should fear a heavily armed populace. As far as I'm concerned, all federal gun laws are unconstitutional and should be repealed.

[King Prout]

here's your coffee, here's your tea, here's your courtesy bag (BLAAARGH!)

self-described gun-lover on a MM-style editorial bender

[Travis McGee]

Titanic Barf Alert!

[TC Rider]

Everything this loser has learned in life has come from watching Michael Moore movies.

A drug soaked lib mind is a terrible thing to baste!

[Travis McGee]

I don't know why assault rifles shouldn't be banned? I mean, why do you need an M-16 to go deer hunting?

The Second Amendment has NOTHING to do with deer hunting, but rather the balance of power between the citizenry and the government.

This is what happens in your utopia, when only "government professionals" in the military and police own "assault rifles."

[TC Rider]

Yeah, if only those psychos hadn't had access to a Tech 9, then they would have been deterred from ever doing anything bad to anyone. [/sarcasm]

I don't suppose Mauser has tried to crash a Propane convention? (After all, if the TEC9 hadn't gotten them, the propane bombs were close at hand.)