By Neal Boortz, from his website, an number of important observations on the revitalized push to outlaw our inalienable right to self-defense as embodied in the 2nd Amendment:
I’m stepping in from my retirement rehearsal to get a few words in about the Democrats and the push for gun control. So .. let’s make a few points:
1. Everyone with an IQ higher than a thermostat setting knew sooner or later that Obama was going to go after the 2nd Amendment with a push for more gun control. That’s why gun sales are at an all-time high right now. Democrats absolutely hate the idea that a private individual American can own a gun for the purpose of self defense. They really hate the idea that one of the primary reasons our founding fathers included the 2nd Amendment in our Constitution was a recognition of the fact that a free people always should have the means to defend themselves from a despotic government. Democrats are the embodiment of a despotic government. It is perfectly natural or them to fear an armed citizenry.
2. Democrats find it much easier to push a gun control agenda than they do to deal with issues of true and vital importance to our Republic. When we are mourning and burying 20 young children the emotions of the people are raw. It’s time to exploit those emotions for political gain. Americans, unfortunately, will never be this emotional about the fiscal disaster they face. And I’m not talking about this meaningless “fiscal cliff.” I’m talking about our nearly $1 trillion … that’s TRILLION … in unfunded liabilities and our current unsustainable level of spending. The highest in terms of our gross domestic product ever. But you’ve read all about this in the mainstream media, haven’t you? Oh, you haven’t? Well, I’m sure they’re preparing their in-depth stories right now.
3. This year 446 school age children have been shot in Chicago, and 62 have died. There has been NO push from the left for gun control resulting from the carnage in Chicago. Odd, don’t you think? By the way, Chicago has some of the most stringent gun control laws in the country. I’m sure you’ve seen these statistics on your favorite network television newscast, haven’t you? Wait! What?
4. The media will NEVER go to any great lengths to report on the use of privately owned firearms in self-defense. This is not part of the leftist agenda. There was a shooting in a mall in Portland, Oregon a few weeks ago that was reportedly halted by a private citizen with a concealed carry permit and a weapon. When the shooter saw the weapon he promptly shot himself. You didn’t hear that on your mainstream newscast, did you?
5. During a spate of school shootings in the late 1990s no less than three of those school shootings were halted by a civilian with a gun. One shooting was stopped after two students had already died by an assistant principal who had to run a quarter-mile to his car and back to get his gun. He couldn’t park his car on school property because there was a gun in it. Would someone be alive today who is dead and buried if that assistant principal hadn’t had to make his little half-mile run? You haven’t heard about those incidents in the mainstream newscasts, have you?
6. In the past week we have had two stories about a 14-year-old at home without an adult when a burglar entered the home. In one the 14-year-old knew where his dad’s gun was, and knew how to use it. The intruder was shot. In the other the 14-year-old had no means to defend himself. His father found his body when he came home from work at the end of the day. He had been shot. Have you read a juxtaposition of these two stories in your mainstream newscast? Didn’t think so.
7. Obama says he will introduce legislation to close “The Gun Show Loophole.” There IS NO gun show loophole. The federal laws pertaining to purchasing a firearm at a gun show are exactly the same at a gun show as they are anywhere else in this country. When a private individual sells a firearm to another private individual there is no requirement for a background check. When a licensed firearms dealer sells a gun to an individual a background check must be performed before the weapon is transferred. When a private individual at a gun show sells a firearm to another private individual there is no requirement for a background check. When a licensed firearms dealer at a gun show sells a gun to an individual a background check must be performed before the weapon is transferred. The operation of law is EXACTLY the same at a gun show as it is anywhere else. Therefore, as I said, there is no “gun show loophole.” Now I’m thinking that you haven’t heard this from your mainstream media outlet, have you?
8. The true purpose behind this “close the gun show loophole” idea is to make the sale and transfer of firearms between individuals impossible by requiring a private individual to conduct a background check before selling a privately owned gun to another individual. Private individuals do not have the legal authority to access the information necessary to perform the background check. This would mean that Americans could only obtain a firearm through a federally licensed firearms dealer. Consider the consequences. Has this angle been covered in the mainstream media? Uhhhhhh ….. no.
9. In response to the Sandy Hook shootings Obama will introduce legislation calling for more extensive background checks. A more extensive background check would have done nothing to prevent the deaths of these 26 people. The shooter underwent NO background check at all. That’s because he did not purchase the guns. His mother did. By all accounts his mother could have passed any conceivable background check. You’ve already seen this covered in the mainstream media, haven’t you? You haven’t? Golly! I’m just soooo surprised.
10. Obama wants an assault weapons ban. We had one of those and there is not one bit of empirical evidence that the ban saved one single life. Some weapons are designated as “assault weapons” simply because they look like they should be carried by a soldier, even though they are less powerful than your average hunting rifle. Can you tell me why putting a hole in the stock of a gun for your thumb, or making the stock out of grey plastic, should make it illegal?
The problem we face in this gun control debate bears so many similarities to the problems we face in much of our national political discourse. The media has chosen sides, and having chosen sides, blocks contrarian information so the public will not have the details necessary to make informed choices.
