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How Reality TV Saved the Second Amendment
American Thinker ^ | December 3, 2012 | Ron Resnick

Posted on 12/03/2012 11:51:59 PM PST by neverdem

I used to dream that someday I would make a fortune, retire from whatever business occasioned the fortune, and endow what I would call the Second Amendment Litigation Trust. The sole purpose of this trust would be to finance Second Amendment attorneys to prosecute litigation designed to result in judicial decisions affirming the Constitutional right of individuals to keep and bear arms.

I envisioned raising public, legislative, and judicial knowledge and awareness of the origin of, and the meaning of, the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. I was looking forward to hiring Second Amendment scholars to identify what we believed to be Second Amendment violations, and to persuading people to whom injustice had been done to become the plaintiffs in our crusade to advance liberty in America by dusting off and exalting the Second Amendment.

It is striking how Democrats have deleted from their vocabulary the phrase "gun control." For decades policy arguments about restrictions on firearms have sharply divided Conservatives and Liberals. But the subject of "gun control" was nowhere to be found in the Congressional mid-term elections of 2010 or the presidential election of 2012. Not one word about restrictions on firearms was uttered by President Obama until he was asked directly in a presidential debate whether he would support a...

--snip--

Even if a new justice who believes personally that the Second Amendment guarantees the right of states and not of individuals to own firearms is appointed to the Supreme Court, I am no longer certain that McDonald and Heller would be reversed. If an ever larger majority of Americans view the private ownership of firearms as normal and acceptable, as taught by the increasingly popular and numerous reality TV shows about guns, I doubt the Supreme Court would overrule that widespread view...

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: banglist; scotus; supremecourt
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1 posted on 12/03/2012 11:52:05 PM PST by neverdem
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To: neverdem

The will of the people nor the rulings of prior courts
have any effect on tyrants. Those in charge will no longer risk losing their positions of power by offending
the electorate....they will impose their disarmament via
beaurocratic regulation and executive order. The right to keep and bear will be acknowledged by our lords and masters
while they continue to nickle and dime it to death.


2 posted on 12/04/2012 12:00:23 AM PST by nvscanman
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To: neverdem

It does seem that the Second Amendment is being embraced more and more these days by both Republicans and Democrats, Liberals and Conservatives, and, perhaps most importantly, by middle-of-the-road folks of all persuasions.

This is something long-time shooting enthusiasts would never have thought to see even fifteen or twenty years ago.

It may be the one thing for which we can thank Obama, that he has done more to promote firearms ownership - albeit it unintentionally - than any president in the entire history of the nation, including Theodore Roosevelt.

Strange, but...


3 posted on 12/04/2012 12:19:32 AM PST by Jack Hammer
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To: nvscanman

What Good Can a Handgun Do Against An Army?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-backroom/2312894/posts


4 posted on 12/04/2012 12:22:13 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet (I'll raise $2million for Sarah Palin's presidential run. What'll you do?)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Thanks for the link.


5 posted on 12/04/2012 12:25:51 AM PST by neverdem ( Xin loi min oi)
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To: nvscanman

Nickle and dime is correct. I recently visited a large “National Conservation Area” in Colorado. The posted rules allowed hunting in season, but target practice with firearms was strictly prohibited.


6 posted on 12/04/2012 12:44:51 AM PST by STYRO (Do not accept unconstitutional government as legitimate government.)
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To: neverdem

Does anyone really believe that if an Obama/Marxist-dominated court could issue some fatwa about no Americans being allowed to own guns, anyone would comply with that edict? How the heck do they think they’d enforce it? Do they know how many Americans, of all political affiliations (here in Wisconsin, Dems have tons of guns) own firearms. And not just hunting rifles and shotguns. It would be like prohibition i.e. unenforceable. Just let them try. I’m not turning mine in. It would be another civil war.


7 posted on 12/04/2012 2:54:31 AM PST by driftless2
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To: neverdem
An interesting mockumentary film about reality shows, the 1A and Russian roulette: Live!
8 posted on 12/04/2012 3:03:29 AM PST by Daffynition (Self-respect: the secure feeling that no one, as yet, is suspicious. ~ HLM)
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To: neverdem

Whistling past the graveyard, here.

With Barry II, we are going to have to fight this one out. It will not be pretty—thanks, RINOs.


9 posted on 12/04/2012 3:43:20 AM PST by Flintlock (PARANOIA--means having all the facts.)
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To: neverdem

Absurd and naive statement by the author. Libery is and always will be fleeting. In 1975 you’d be branded a nut if you wrote this article. Back then “everybody knew” guns were the problem. Public opinion is like a fire and just as dangerous. It’s why we have a Constitution, originally written to limit the franchise and the influence (menace) of the public.

What we really need is for the Constitution and its founding principles to be taught over and over again in every grade in school. How many people understand the harm the 17th Amendment causes to our liberty or why the Electoral College preserves liberty or why expanding the franchise undermines freedom? These kinds of questions have answers that are longer than a bumper sticker and that are sometimes counter-intuitive. Skipping over them for a couple of generations got us to electing a Cook County Democrat as President. Now, people are surprised that we’re getting Cook County Democratic politics, policies and an economy that’s the the envy of nowhere (unless you’re a crony capitalist or a political insider looting the public treasury).

What we really need is a Commerce Clause Defense Fund, or a Federalism Education Fund or a Necessary and Proper Clause Litigation Fund. By and large the public is whimsical, willfully ignorant and opinionated. They suffer from the quite normal and natural diseases of jealosy and pain avoidance. They’re fickle and will often support those who wish to enslave them and destroy their liberties.

The author needs to read more history if he thinks we could stand a Kagan-lead court majority. He’s deluded.


10 posted on 12/04/2012 4:21:15 AM PST by 1010RD (First, Do No Harm)
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To: neverdem
From your cited and quoted source article, the graf that links "reality TV" to the newer public support for the 2nd Amendment (the "money quote"):

To my surprise the most powerful guardians of the Second Amendment have come not from law schools but from cable television network programming meetings. I believe that reality television shows based on firearms have exposed millions of Americans to the safe use of firearms for sports, for target shooting and simply for fun. By making the widespread ownership and use of firearms acceptable and normal to millions of people who have never touched a gun, these shows have unwittingly saved the Second Amendment.

(Author then cites four examples from cable TV programming sources.)

This was all fresh information to me. I'd never seen anything about this until now.

11 posted on 12/04/2012 5:05:01 AM PST by lentulusgracchus
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To: 1010RD
What we really need is a Commerce Clause Defense Fund, or a Federalism Education Fund or a Necessary and Proper Clause Litigation Fund.

We need a constitutional convention to nail those trick Hamiltonian trap-doors shut and fill the secret passageways with fresh concrete.

And kick New England and downstate New York out of the Union.

And deport the illegal aliens.

12 posted on 12/04/2012 5:15:00 AM PST by lentulusgracchus
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To: neverdem

Here’s an excerpt that relates to the headline:

To my surprise the most powerful guardians of the Second Amendment have come not from law schools but from cable television network programming meetings. I believe that reality television shows based on firearms have exposed millions of Americans to the safe use of firearms for sports, for target shooting and simply for fun. By making the widespread ownership and use of firearms acceptable and normal to millions of people who have never touched a gun, these shows have unwittingly saved the Second Amendment.

In Top Shot, a reality TV show on the History Channel, male and female shooting enthusiasts from military, police and civilian backgrounds compete in marksmanship tests using a variety of weapons to see who will be named the “Top Shot.” This show allows decorated military veterans, public servants like policemen and firemen and educated and intelligent civilian hobbyists to demonstrate their skill in the shooting sports and their respect for, and love of, firearms.

Sons of Guns is a reality TV show on the Discovery Channel about a custom gunsmith business in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The show allows the obvious fascination with, and love of, firearms of the gunsmiths on the show to shine through. The show also delves into the individual identities and personalities of the members of the cast and their personal relationships, and shows them as real, normal, emotionally happy human beings who simply enjoy building, working with and shooting firearms of all kinds. Finally, Sons of Guns frequently features war heroes, professional athletes and celebrities who passionately like, own and shoot guns. In our star-obsessed world anything a celebrity does which is not illegal makes the activity more attractive and acceptable.

American Guns is a reality TV show on the Discovery Channel about a family gunsmith business in Denver, Colorado. The cast, including the father who owns the shop, and his wife and daughter who work there, allows viewers to associate firearms with a successful business and a happy family life, and shows how target shooting can be a safe, fun and wholesome family activity enjoyed equally by different generations.

Family Guns is a reality TV show on National Geographic about a father and son who buy, sell and restore rare firearms. The show reflects the ordinary human drama inherent in any parent/child relationship and in any family business relationship.

Each of these shows allows people from all walks of life, and especially people in urban areas who have never even seen or touched a real firearm, and who know about firearms only what they see in action movies and in news stories of homicidal maniacs with “assault rifles,” to see smart, educated, classy men, women and youngsters using firearms completely safely and purely for sports, fun, and entertainment. These television shows unintentionally have the effect of introducing people to the safe and fun use of firearms. Instead of associating guns solely with horrible crimes committed by kooks, these shows prove to people that it is acceptable to own firearms, and that many normal, intelligent, educated people enjoy the shooting sports. These television shows have introduced the acceptability of firearms ownership and use into peoples’ minds, and into the fabric of our culture, in ways that even successful results from my litigation trust never would have achieved.


13 posted on 12/04/2012 5:45:35 AM PST by Atlas Sneezed (Hold My Beer and Watch This!)
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To: neverdem

I also think zombie entertainment has really kicked up the interest, too.... as silly as that sounds.


14 posted on 12/04/2012 5:49:47 AM PST by Thorliveshere
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To: Thorliveshere
I also think zombie entertainment has really kicked up the interest, too.... as silly as that sounds.

Indeed, a cottage industry has sprung up to support the "zombie" stuff.

It's an interesting niche that's been carved out. Remember when the usual group of idiots raised hell over paper silhouette targets that were too "realistic"? Well, as long as you use some green ink or dye, you can even go 3-D and make 'em *bleed*.

I can see why these are sold out everywhere, despite selling for nearly $80 apiece.


15 posted on 12/04/2012 6:48:08 AM PST by Charles Martel (Endeavor to persevere...)
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To: driftless2
I’m not turning mine in. It would be another civil war.

This isn't Australia, Americans will not turn in their guns when their beloved President says to. Then when we don't, BTW 100% of gun owners I know will not comply to that dictate, he will send out the troops, well they won't comply so then they will send in the UN troops to what, go house to house asking pretty please for all our guns?

Can you imagine what would happen if you saw a UN Troop transport vehicle pull up in your neighborhood and a bunch of blue helmet internationalists get out and begin knocking on doors? Pwease can we have your guns Mr. and Mrs. America?

16 posted on 12/04/2012 7:19:32 AM PST by thirst4truth (www.Believer.com)
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To: lentulusgracchus

“We need a constitutional convention...”

We don’t do well at prevailing in elections. What would we do at a Constitutional Convention? Argue with each other while a united front of Libs defeats us in detail?


17 posted on 12/04/2012 8:42:40 AM PST by KrisKrinkle (Blessed be those who know the depth and breadth of their ignorance. Cursed be those who don't.)
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To: neverdem

He missed the oldest reality show that’s done the most to demystify guns to the general public: Myth Busters. They test lots and lots of gun myths, debunking almost all of them. And in the process, by taking a very business like attitude, they show guns to be tools, potentially dangerous tools true, but also fun tools, and most importantly containing no mystical powers.

And sadly Top Shot has been canceled. At least the last I heard. Unfortunate, with 4 seasons under their belt they were perfectly set for a tournament of champions. At least they did Atlatls in their last season, I really wanted to see atlatls in action.


18 posted on 12/04/2012 8:52:33 AM PST by discostu (Not a part of anyone's well oiled machine.)
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To: Charles Martel
Today, the word ZOMBIE is a PC euphemism for a worthless slacker who believes he deserves what YOU have have worked for.
19 posted on 12/04/2012 9:05:22 AM PST by Ruy Dias de Bivar (The parasites now outnumber the producers.)
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To: neverdem
While I agree with the TITLE of this thread; I do not feel it is the FOLLOWING that should get the credit:

To my surprise the most powerful guardians of the Second Amendment have come not from law schools but from cable television network programming meetings. I believe that reality television shows based on firearms have exposed millions of Americans to the safe use of firearms for sports, for target shooting and simply for fun. By making the widespread ownership and use of firearms acceptable and normal to millions of people who have never touched a gun, these shows have unwittingly saved the Second Amendment.

It is the Doomsday PREPPERS that has finally awakened the masses to what is GOING to happen!!!

NO one is going to save you butts from the future marauding zombies but yourself; and you'd BETTER have some way to do it!

20 posted on 12/04/2012 3:10:49 PM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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