White Men, Guns…And That Masculinity Thing

About 50% of the guns in the US are owned by only 3% of the gun owners.

Think about that. What if 50% of the cars were owned by 3% of the drivers? Houses with attached parking lots instead of lawns would not be totally uncommon.

When I used to shoot at local ranges as common site was of a white man who had been frightened into buying a gun to defend his home ( a statistical probability of a inner city gangbanger wandering out into the ‘burbs or rural areas to “rob de whidte folks” being on the order of winning the Powerball lottery) – acquiring his first, and probably only pistol. Fumbling with the damn thing during the Free  Hour” of range time, trying to hit a man sized target at 15 feet. Discovering it just doesn’t work like in the movies, where everyone but the “bad guys” is a crack shot. Few, if any of these guys ever realized that by the simple act of gun ownership, they had increased the chance that  someone in their house would be shot by something on the order of 2,000% Ten or twenty thousand times more likely someone would be shot in the house by a family member, than of said mythical black gangbanger out to rob only moderately better off poor white folks.

I know it is popular with the racist buffoons and their associated black conservative Lawn Jockeys to talk about the city “murder rate”.

Fact is –

In 2016, there were more than 38,000 gun-related deaths in the U.S. — 4,000 more than 2015, the new CDC report on preliminary mortality data shows. Most gun-related deaths — about two-thirds —in America are suicides, but an Associated Press analysis of FBI data shows there were about 11,000 gun-related homicides in 2016, up from 9,600 in 2015. The increase in gun-related deaths follows a nearly 15-year period of relative stasis.

Meaning 2/3rd of all gun deaths every year in the US are either accidental or suicide. If you break that down, nearly 27,000 folks – mostly white, died by suicide or accident vs 5,000 homicides committed by black folks, whose victims were over 90% fellow black folks, and 90% of the homicides were committed within 10 miles of an urban center.

So what is the real problem?

Manhood.

And specifically the manhood of the low educated white male Trump supporter.

The AR-15…Mas Murder Weapon of Choice

Why Are White Men Stockpiling Guns?

Research suggests it’s largely because they’re anxious about their ability to protect their families, insecure about their place in the job market and beset by racial fears.

Since the 2008 election of President Obama, the number of firearmsmanufactured in the U.S. has tripled, while imports have doubled. This doesn’t mean more households have guns than ever before—that percentage has stayed fairly steady for decades. Rather, more guns are being stockpiled by a small number of individuals. Three percent of the population now owns half of the country’s firearms, says a recent, definitive study from the Injury Control Research Center at Harvard University.

So, who is buying all these guns—and why?

The short, broad-brush answer to the first part of that question is this: men, who on average possess almost twice the number of guns female owners do. But not all men. Some groups of men are much more avid gun consumers than others. The American citizen most likely to own a gun is a white male—but not just any white guy. According to a growing number of scientific studies, the kind of man who stockpiles weapons or applies for a concealed-carry license meets a very specific profile.

These are men who are anxious about their ability to protect their families, insecure about their place in the job market, and beset by racial fears. They tend to be less educated. For the most part, they don’t appear to be religious—and, suggests one study, faith seems to reduce their attachment to guns. In fact, stockpiling guns seems to be a symptom of a much deeper crisis in meaning and purpose in their lives. Taken together, these studies describe a population that is struggling to find a new story—one in which they are once again the heroes.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HARD WORK?

When Northland College sociologist Angela Stroud studied applications for licenses to carry concealed firearms in Texas, which exploded after President Obama was elected, she found applicants were overwhelmingly dominated by white men. In interviews, they told her that they wanted to protect themselves and the people they love.

“When men became fathers or got married, they started to feel very vulnerable, like they couldn’t protect families,” she says. “For them, owning a weapon is part of what it means to be a good husband a good father.” That meaning is “rooted in fear and vulnerability—very motivating emotions.”

But Stroud also discovered another motivation: racial anxiety. “A lot of people talked about how important Obama was to get a concealed-carry license: ‘He’s for free health care, he’s for welfare.’ They were asking, ‘Whatever happened to hard work?’” Obama’s presidency, they feared, would empower minorities to threaten their property and families.

The insight Stroud gained from her interviews is backed up by many, many studies. A 2013 paper by a team of United Kingdom researchers found that a one-point jump in the scale they used to measure racism increased the odds of owning a gun by 50 percent. A 2016 study from the University of Illinois at Chicago found that racial resentment among whites fueled opposition to gun control. This drives political affiliations: A 2017 study in the Social Studies Quarterly found that gun owners had become 50 percent more likely to vote Republican since 1972—and that gun culture had become strongly associated with explicit racism.

or many conservative men, the gun feels like a force for order is a chaotic world, suggests a study published in December of last year. In a series of three experiments, Steven Shepherd and Aaron C. Kay asked hundreds of liberals and conservatives to imagine holding a handgun—and found that conservatives felt less risk and greater personal control than liberal counterparts.

This wasn’t about familiarity with real-world guns—gun ownership and experience did not affect results. Instead, conservative attachment to guns was based entirely on ideology and emotions.

WHO WANTS TO BE A HERO?

That’s an insight echoed by another study published last year. Baylor University sociologists Paul Froese and F. Carson Mencken created a “gun empowerment scale” designed to measure how a nationally representative sample of almost 600 owners felt about their weapons. Their study found that people at the highest level of their scale—the ones who felt most emotionally and morally attached to their guns—were 78 percent white and 65 percent male.

“We found that white men who have experienced economic setbacks or worry about their economic futures are the group of owners most attached to their guns,” says Froese. “Those with high attachment felt that having a gun made them a better and more respected member of their communities.”

That wasn’t true for women and non-whites. In other words, they may have suffered setbacks—but women and people of color weren’t turning to guns to make themselves feel better. “This suggests that that these owners have other sources of meaning and coping when facing hard times,” notes Froese—often, religion. Indeed, Froese and Mencken found that religious faith seemed to put the brakes on white men’s attachment to guns.

For these economically insecure, irreligious white men, “the gun is a ubiquitous symbol of power and independence, two things white males are worried about,” says Froese. “Guns, therefore, provide a way to regain their masculinity, which they perceive has been eroded by increasing economic impotency.”

Both Froese and Stroud found pervasive anti-government sentiments among their study participants. “This is interesting because these men tend to see themselves as devoted patriots, but make a distinction between the federal government and the ‘nation,’ says Froese. “On that point, I expect that many in this group see the ‘nation’ as being white.”

Investing guns with this kind of moral and emotional meaning has many consequences, the researchers say. “Put simply, owners who are more attached to their guns are most likely to believe that guns are a solution to our social ills,” says Froese. “For them, more ‘good’ people with guns would drastically reduce violence and increase civility. Again, it reflects a hero narrative, which many white man long to feel a part of.”

Stroud’s work echoes this conclusion. “They tell themselves all kinds of stories about criminals and criminal victimization,” she says. “But the story isn’t just about criminals. It’s about the good guy—and that’s how they see themselves: ‘I work hard, I take care of my family, and there are people who aren’t like that.’ When we tell stories about the Other, we’re really telling stories about ourselves.”

HOW TO SAVE A WHITE MAN’S LIFE

Unfortunately, the people most likely to be killed by the guns of white men aren’t the “bad guys,” presumably criminals or terrorists. It’s themselves—and their families.

White men aren’t just the Americans most likely to own guns; according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they’re also the people most likely to put them in their own mouths and pull the trigger, especially when they’re in some kind of economic distress. A white man is three times more likely to shoot himself than a black man—while the chances that a white man will be killed by a black man are extremely slight. Most murders and shoot-outs don’t happen between strangers. They unfold within social networks, among people of the same race.

A gun in the home is far more likely to kill or wound the people who live there than is a burglar or serial killer. Most of the time, according to every single study that’s ever been done about interpersonal gun violence, the dead and wounded know the people who shot them. A gun in the home makes it five times more likely that a woman will be killed by her husband. Every week in America, 136 children and teenagers are shot—and more often than not, it’s a sibling, friend, parent, or relative who holds the gun. For every homicide deemed justified by the police, guns are used in 78 suicides. As a new study published this month in JAMA Internal Medicine once again shows us, restrictive gun laws don’t prevent white men from defending themselves and their families. Instead, those laws stop them from shooting themselves and each other…(More)

 

The NRA Under Investigation for Laundering Russian Money for the Chumph

We already know that Putin was funneling money into the Chumph campaign through Russian Pension accounts here in the US. Russian organized crime related figures receive “pensions” from the Russian Government to funnel as individual contributions into Republican political coffers. Fairly sizeable “donations” were made to the Chumph campaign through this money laundering scheme.

It is also suspected that nearly $100 million in “dark money” was laundered through Putin Mob figures into the Chumph’s campaign accounts through the “Citizens United” cutout crated for that purpose by the white-wing SCUMUS.

Now. it is suspected the NRA may have been laundering money for the Russians into the Chumph accounts as well.

Dirty money all over the place.

This gets better – the Russian who is accused of laundering the money is also under investigation in Spain.

The Russians own his ass.

Bombshell: Mueller team investigating whether NRA funneled Putin-linked Russian money to help Trump campaign

The FBI is investigating whether a top Russian banker with ties to the Kremlin illegally funneled money to the National Rifle Association to help Donald Trump win the presidency, two sources familiar with the matter have told McClatchy.

FBI counterintelligence investigators have focused on the activities of Alexander Torshin, the deputy governor of Russia’s central bank who is known for his close relationships with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and the NRA, the sources said.

It is illegal to use foreign money to influence federal elections.

It’s unclear how long the Torshin inquiry has been ongoing, but the news comes as Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s sweeping investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including whether the Kremlin colluded with Trump’s campaign, has been heating up.

All of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity because Mueller’s investigation is confidential and mostly involves classified information.

A spokesman for Mueller’s office declined comment.

Disclosure of the Torshin investigation signals a new dimension in the 18-month-old FBI probe of Russia’s interference. McClatchy reported a year ago that a multi-agency U.S. law enforcement and counterintelligence investigation into Russia’s intervention, begun even before the start of the 2016 general election campaign, initially included a focus on whether the Kremlin secretly helped fund efforts to boost Trump, but little has been said about that possibility in recent months.

The extent to which the FBI has evidence of money flowing from Torshin to the NRA, or of the NRA’s participation in the transfer of funds, could not be learned.

However, the NRA reported spending a record $55 million on the 2016 elections, including $30 million to support Trump – triple what the group devoted to backing Republican Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential race. Most of that was money was spent by an arm of the NRA that is not required to disclose its donors.

Two people with close connections to the powerful gun lobby said its total election spending actually approached or exceeded $70 million. The reporting gap could be explained by the fact that independent groups are not required to reveal how much they spend on Internet ads or field operations, including get-out-the-vote efforts.

During the campaign, Trump was an outspoken advocate of the Second Amendment right to bear arms, at one point drawing a hail of criticism by suggesting that, if Clinton were elected, gun rights advocates could stop her from winning confirmation of liberal Supreme Court justices who support gun control laws.

“If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks,” Trump said at a rally in August 2016. “Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know.”

 

Faux News Lies About Mass Shooter in Vegas

The Police are collecting information on the murderer in Las Vegas. A lot of things are unknown at this point. . At least one of the weapons found with the shooter inn the Hotel room was converted to full automatic. The likely culprit is an AK-47 variant Police found on a tripod mount. Automatic weapons are only legal in the US for a civilian to own with a special license from the ATF. At this point, and until they get the guns studied in their lab, they don’t know if the 10 guns found in the hotel room were modified. There has been no statement on the shooter having a special license to own automatic weapons. Ownership without a license is illegal.

Faux New’s assertion that all of the guns owned by the killer were “legal”…

Is a lie.

Nice to see Deppidy Lawn Jockey has found part-time work though.

 

 

At Least 50 Dead to the NRA Altar

If you do a search of the Internet it really isn’t that hard to find parts to make an automatic weapon. Indeed, the only thing that prevents more people from owning them legally is a tangles and expensive net of Federal Regulations. Once again the guns everywhere for everyone crowd gets their desired result.

This mass murderer appeared, at least from the sound of the rounds to have had a modified AK-47 type weapon.

The victims this time were Country Music fans, a group that stereotypically would be considered pro-gun. Although any American should consider the slaughter of innocent people, doing nothing worse that partying and listening to some music – morally repugnant at any level.

Two things interesting about this – One, the Chumph is flying in tomorrow, something he didn’t do for Puerto Rico – because statistically the victims of this horrific act will be almost all white.

Second, the MSM is already “whitewashing” the killer. “He never did anything wrong.” “He never showed any indication of being troubled.” “He was your average guy” “His girlfriend and brother never suspected a thing.”

Yeah – “It  was a total and complete surprise”…If you ignore the fact that guys just like him commit mass murders with guns, every few months in this country.

And “Concealed carry”? You fucking Glockity-Glock is useless against a guy with a high powered machine gun better than 150 yards away. It is why all out soldiers carry rifles, instead of cap guns. Might as well hang a sign on your chest -“I’m too fucking stupid to shoot.”

How much you want to bet, Republican’ts in Congress don’t do a damn thing about gun laws?

And yeah, I am pro-gun…Just not pro-insanity.

 

BLM LA Responds to Hate Filled NRA Ad

Hat tip to “The Advise Show” a Youtube Channel out of Houston…

 

NRA Racism in Silence on Philandro Castile Murder

If the you believe the NRA isn’t  bastion for bigots and racists…Check their non-response to the Second Amendment case of Philandro Castile.

 

Republican Vote For Another Virginia Tech Massacre

Twenty-three year old Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people on the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, before taking his own life. Cho had been ordered by a court to seek mental health help, and had a history of bizarre behavior and violent threats. Cho picks up a Walther P-22 pistol he purchased online on February 2 from an out-of-state dealer at JND Pawn shop in Blacksburg, across the street from Virginia Tech. Cho purchases a 9mm Glock pistol and 50 rounds of ammunition from Roanoke Firearms for $571. On April 16, 2007 hco murdered 32 people at Virginia Tech.

Now Republicans want to open the “Crazy Peple” loophole up again at the behest of the NRA.

Senate Does NRA’s Bidding, Lets 75,000 Mentally Ill People Buy Guns

Republicans voted to end a policy that sends the names of people unable to work because of ‘severe’ impairments to have their backgrounds checked.

Wednesday morning, the Senate decided to join their brethren and sistren in the House of Representatives and vote to place guns in the hands of people too mentally unstable to manage their own bank accounts. Really.

With every Republican and a few mindless Democrats joining them because “please don’t hurt me, voters, already supporting my opponent” seems like sound strategy, the Senate gave its imprimatur to H.J. Res. 40. This will rollback the Social Security Administration (SSA) policy begun under President Obama to share with our NICS background check system the 75,000 individuals who are unable to work because of “severe mental impairment” and an inability to manage their own Social Security benefits.

No worries—here’s your AR-15!

You might think to yourself, given that we’ve just learned that the Trump Campaign had regular get togethers with Russian intelligence to share secrets and play Twister last year, that the Senate might have something better to do with its time. You might also think that Republican legislators who pretend to support better mental health after each mass shooting would gag at the irony piled upon hypocrisy of passing legislation such as this. But then you’d have to have never observed the people running the majority in both our House and Senate.

When folks out there—usually those who have busy lives and understandably just want Washington to solve our major problems—ask “why can’t both sides just work together and get common sense, moderate legislation passed?”, this is your answer. This is why.

For there’s a legitimate debate to be had about many gun laws proposed by those, like me, who think we need much stricter regulation. It can honestly be contested whether someone who has passed a background check should have the right to an assault weapon, or whether that’s too much military firepower for citizens to possess in a democratic society (my position). There can be legitimate arguments also about how loose or stringent we should make concealed carry laws for legal gun owners. I’d argue that without proven need, a written test and serious time on the range, it’s a no go, but others can make legitimate cases for other positions.

There, however, is no legitimate argument for not requiring that people purchasing firearms do what private babysitting services ask of their employees: a comprehensive background check. Why would any sane society not do every single thing in its power to prevent those who have proven criminally violent or incapable of taking care of themselves from getting their hands on weapons that kill?

 

Murder Numbers Explode in Stand Your Ground States

So called “Stand Your Ground” laws are nothing more than a license and incentive to commit murder.With the massive rise in hate crimes propelled by the Chumph’s hate speech and election – we can expect a lot more gunfire on the nation’s street corners. The reason the NRA was such a staunch supporter of the Chumph – is you can sell more guns as Americans kill each other on the streets in an internal war.

Trayvon Martin’s murder was enabled by Florida Laws.

Spike in murders seen after Florida ‘stand your ground’ self-defense law: study

Florida saw a significant spike in murders after enacting a “Stand Your Ground” law allowing people to use lethal force in self-defense in public or on private property, international researchers said Monday.

The southern state’s 24 percent rise in homicide from 2005 to 2014 stood in sharp contrast to nationwide homicide rates, which have been declining since the 1990s, according to research published in a special issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine.

“This study highlights how Stand Your Ground is likely to be a cause of the rise in Florida murders, and provides crucial information which may influence future decision-making that affects wellbeing in the US and abroad,” said co-author Antonio Gasparrini of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Florida in 2005 became the first US state to broaden protections for those who use firearms for self-defense. A number of other states have since followed suit.

Before 2005, Florida state law said people could use firearms or other lethal force against home intruders if they believed they faced an imminent threat of death or serious injury.

The 2005 law, signed by then governor Jeb Bush, extended the law to provide individuals with immunity “for using lethal force to defend themselves in public places, as well as on private property.”

Homicides linked to firearms rose 31 percent from 2005 to 2014, researchers found, compared to the previous sampling period from 1999-2004.

Overall, homicides in Florida for the decade after 2005 rose 24 percent, the study found.

The nightclub shooting in Orlando, where 49 people were killed — making it the worst mass shooting in modern US history — happened in June 2016 and was not included in the study.

“The findings are strong evidence that… this change to the law in Florida led to deaths that otherwise would not have occurred,” said study co-author Douglas Wiebe at the University of Pennsylvania.

“We need to think about the implications of these findings and Florida should consider reversing this decision that appears to have increased the use of lethal force.”

All demographic groups were affected by the increases in homicide rates.

The largest proportional rises were seen in the 20-34 age group (which went up by 31 percent) and among the white population (which rose by 28 percent), the study said.

A 20 percent increase in homicides was found among African-Americans.

For comparison, researchers looked at homicide rates in four other states — New York, New Jersey, Ohio and Virginia — that had not enacted a Stand Your Ground law over the same period of time and found no increase in homicide rates.

Suicide rates in Florida were also unchanged, suggesting that other events such as the global financial crisis of 2007-9 was not the major factor associated with the rise in homicides in Florida….More Here…

 

Stuck on Stupid – Gun Nuts and Clinton

The NRA has trolled gun nuts into believing if Clinton wins she will take away their metal manhood. After all, it’s the only scintilla of manhood many of them have left.

A situation which makes things a win-win for the gun sellers.

If Clinton wins, all the old white guys buy guns to form Militias to protect their god given right to mass murder, and supposedly protect themselves against the big bad Gub’ment..

If Trump wins, Minorities buy guns to protect themselves from domestic terrorist and KKK white guys with guns – and the Trump dictatorship.

In my area, the NRA is flooding the airwaves with pro-Trump ads. This is a rural area, and gun ownership is normal. The majority of the households here own a hunting rifle or shotgun. Your small caliber AR-15 is pretty useless for hunting game, although there are nutcases out there who will try it with some limited success.

Apocalypse now: Gun buyers stockpiling firearms ahead of Election Day

The nation’s largest gun manufacturer prepares for a post-election surge in demand in the event of a Clinton win

With just days left before American voters decide who will replace President Barack Obama, many in the nation’s gun-owning public seem to be preparing for a dystopian future of jack-booted liberal government thugs prying guns — as thepopular slogan goes — from their cold dead hands.

On Wednesday, executives at the country’s top firearms manufacturer said they’re adequately prepared to meet demand from a post-election gun-buying surge if Democrats make significant gains in Congress and Hillary Clinton wins the White House.

“If you look back at what happened eight years ago [Obama’s first election victory] there was, in my opinion, a surprising number of people who were actually surprised by the outcome [of the election] at the last minute and then scrambled, you know, through November to try to get any product,” Michael Fifer, CEO of Sturm, Ruger & Co., said in a conference call about his company’s strong third-quarter earnings. “We have done extensive contingency planning for any combination of who wins the White House, who wins the Senate, who wins the House.”

The Connecticut-based company reported a 66 percent increase in profit, to $20 million, on a 33 percent jump in sales, to $161 million, in the three months ending Oct. 1, compared to the same period last year. Sturm Ruger firearms production rose 20 percent in the first nine months of the year while the company has upped internal and wholesale distributor inventories of its weapons by about 74,000 units in the third quarter in anticipation of a post-election surge.

“Inventory growth of certain products at distributors may have been amplified in anticipation of a possible post-election surge in demand,” Sturm Ruger’s Chief Operating Officer Christopher Killoy said in the call. These “certain products” include the company’s Ruger AR-556, a “modern sporting rifle” (AKA an assault-style semiautomatic rifle), and its Ruger LC9s compact pistol, popular among gun owners with concealed-carry permits. What isn’t in heavy demand right now, according to Killoy: Ruger’s basic bolt-action rifle commonly used by hunters and sport shooters.

Regardless of who wins on Tuesday, America is well on its way to a record year in gun sales.

According to the latest report released Monday by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, October background checks leaped 18 percent to 2.33 million compared to October 2015. These checks have jumped 26 percent this year, to 22.21 million.

With two months left and a lot of seasonal holiday gun buying yet to go, this year will shoot past last year’s all-time high. The number of federal criminal background checks act as a reliable proxy measure of the pace of gun sales, but they do not reflect the actual number of guns sold.

“It’s really unprecedented what we’ve seen,” Andrew Patrick, spokesman for the D.C.-based Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, told Salon. “Usually NICS checks dip in the summer months and then pick up again starting in October and rise to the holidays and then come back down.”

Part of this growth came in the wake of the June 12 Orlando nightclub massacre and the July 7 sniper-style murders of Dallas police officers. Some Americans typically rush buy guns in the wake of multiple-homicide shootings out of fear of the government’s response to these tragedies. But the NICS data show the jump in demand this year began well before the shootings, a strong signal that gun owners are buying out of concern over the results of the election.

The National Rifle Association has been on the defensive, too. Even as Trump has struggled to raise campaign funds, the NRA has broken its record on political campaign spending to try to get Trump elected. The pro-gun group also has spent on state races, including nearly $2 million to keep incumbent Republican Sen. Senator Richard Burr in office in a tight North Carolina race. Burr plunged himself into hot water this week by joking that a photo of Hillary Clinton should have a bullseye on it, an echo to a similar remark made by Trump in August that allude to acts of violence against a presidential candidate.

While guns sales are skyrocketing, a small number of Americans are likely playing an outsize role in gun sales. A Harvard-Northeastern University survey released last month suggests that almost half of the country’s civilian gun stockpile is brandished by only 3 percent of the population. So what’s going on with these collectors?

“It’s stockpiling,” Patrick said. “Some people probably think they’re going to have to rise up against the government. I don’t know, but that language and that rhetoric are out there.”

 

 

GOP lawmaker: Halting gun sales to terrorists solves nothing

Another NRA owned whack job killing innocent Americans…

GOP lawmaker: Halting gun sales to terrorists solves nothing — unlike saying ‘radical Islam’

An NRA-funded Alabama Republican defended his vote against a ban on gun sales to suspected terrorists shortly before a gunman who had twice been investigated for terrorism links massacred more than 50 people at a gay nightclub.

U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Alabama) criticized a proposed amendment three weeks ago to a 2017 funding bill bill that would prohibit firearms sales to individuals listed on the federal terrorist watch list, saying it would be a superficial solution, at best,reported AL.com.

The ban might sound reasonable, Aderholt said, “but like many liberal solutions, they are only skin deep.”

“The reality is many people find themselves on the terrorist watch list by mistake,” the lawmaker said. “Something as simple as a mix up of a birth date can put someone on the list and the process to remove a name can take months or even years.”

Omar Mateen, the 29-year-old gunman, legally purchased a military-style rifle and handgun in the last 12 days, after he had been investigated twice by the FBI and listed for a time on the terrorist watch list.

Aderholt blamed the mass shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub on President Barack Obama and “political correctness,” and then begged the media and Democrats not to politicize the massacre.

“I was sad to hear about the terrorist attacks in Orlando, on American soil,” Aderholt said. “This and other attacks we have seen, prove that we do not have the luxury of debating the political correctness of ‘radical Islam.’ We need to focus on these and other terrorists and do whatever it takes to identify and hunt down those who would do us harm.”

Aderholt, who received $2,500 from the NRA during his 2014 campaign, said “it was disheartening” to hear the president and the media suggest that stricter gun laws could prevent mass shootings.

“Terrorists by their very definition are criminals and will find a way get their hands on guns,” he said. “What the president is proposing would take guns away from the very people who would defend themselves.”

“That said, it is too soon to inject politics into the discussion. The White House and Congress should focus on the task at hand – protecting the homeland,” Aderholt added.

 

Hatband Too Tight?

There is something about big Cowboy Hats and gun oil that must cause an onset of early stupidity. I lived in West Texas for a bit, and met one of the last real Cowboys. They are variously called Range Riders or Tick Riders, and they are the real deal riding the harsh desert country along the US-Mexico Border, rounding up cattle to prevent the spread of a deadly insect across the border. Took a while to get him talking, as these guys are used to being out on the trail, alone, for long periods. But he told some spellbinding stories about being out on the desert, and the things he had seen. And yeah – they still carry their trusty six-shooters, because semi-autos tend to jam when exposed to the day to day dust and weather.

Lot of the most vocal Rhinestone Cowboys, all dressed up in brocaded shirts with malappropriated Native American imagery, the requisite string tie, and giant hat – are pretenders.

Charlie Daniels, who otherwise is a great Country Music musician stars in this commercial. Things get amusing in the first 10 seconds with the claim that President Obama is a “flower child”. Why? President Obama has killed more terrorist than the last 4 Presidents…Combined. So I can’t see why any “ayatollahs” are afraid of a bunch of clowns with too big hats, with too small a brain, and 6 shooters…While they are busily scanning the sky for the next visible, and highly noisy manifestation of hell and damnation dropped on their behinds from a guy at a desk, 8,000 miles away.

About the only thing these clowns terrorize is America, with their ceaseless threats of violence and gun toting.

 

Shootout at the OK Corral — Guns at the Republican Convention

3000-4000 crazy people with guns in hotly contested political convention…What could go wrong? Throw in limitless supplies of liquor…And it’s your average Girl Scout Bake Sale!

Open carry at the Republican National Convention?

A petition for the open carry of firearms at the Republican National Convention has amassed more than 42,000 signatures as of Monday afternoon.

The convention is scheduled to take place in Cleveland from July 18 to 21 at the Quicken Loans Arena, which bans all weapons on property. While Ohio allows open-carry, the venue’s ban is permitted by state law.

The petition’s author, known as N A, finds fault with the policy, calling it “a direct affront to the Second Amendment.” Pointing to an article that ranks Cleveland among the United States’ most dangerous cities and mentioning “the possibility of an ISIS terrorist attack,” the author said the Republican National Committee and the Quicken Loans Arena are putting people at risk.

“Without the right to protect themselves, those at the Quicken Loans Arena will be sitting ducks, utterly helpless against evil-doers, criminals or others who wish to threaten the American way of life,” the petition reads. “All three remaining Republican candidates have spoken out on the issue and are unified in their opposition to Barack HUSSEIN Obama’s “gun-free zones.’”

The author then called on the Quicken Loans Arena, the National Rifle Association, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the Republican National Committee and the GOP presidential contenders to act.

None of the individuals named in the petition immediately responded to a request for comment from NBC News.

On the Sunday morning talk shows, Trump declined to discuss the petition at length.

“I have not seen the petition,” Trump said on ABC. “I want to see what it says. I want to read the fine print. I have to see what it says. I’m a very, very strong person for Second Amendment. I think very few people are stronger. And I have to see the petition.”

When host Jonathan Karl asked Trump to put the specific petition aside and delineate more broadly about the notion of delegates carrying firearms at the convention, Trump refused to consider the prospect.

“I don’t want to forget the petition,” Trump told Karl. “It’s the first I hear about it — of it, and frankly, you know, nobody is stronger on the Second Amendment than me. But I would like to take a look at it.”

A federal spending bill apportioned $50 million to Cleveland to help with the cost of convention security, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The paper reported that the city has proposed using part of the funds to purchase 2,000 sets of riot gear.

Although the City of Cleveland would not comment on operational security matters, it said in a March 18 statement that it looked forward to a successful convention while “working with our federal, state and local security as well as our business partners.”

Cleveland needs to spend the $50 mil on a dozen or so Armored Cars and about 100 “Ma Deuce” 50 Cal Machine guns to surround he convention center…

So none of the miscreants escapes.

ISIS hardly wants to attack these morons and lose all their advertising material.

 

The Child Soldiers…Of Iowa

Welcome to the Third World of children carrying high powered weapons.

Iowa Lawmakers Approve Bill That Would Let Kids Have Handguns

Children of all ages in Iowa would be able to lay down their toy guns and pick up the real thing under a bill that passed the state House of Representatives.

The measure approved Tuesday by 62-36 vote would allow children 14 or younger to possess “a pistol, revolver or the ammunition” under parental supervision. It now heads for the state Senate.

“We do not need a militia of toddlers,” state Rep. Kirsten Running-Marquardt (D) said on the House floor. Running-Marquardt, joined by other statehouse Democrats, said she balked at a bill that “allows for 1-year-olds, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds to operate handguns.”

Statehouse Republicans, including the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jake Highfill, said the the legislation was an issue of parents’ rights designed to correct “an injustice in Iowa code” that now forbids children 14 and younger from handling pistols.

Highfill said his measure would bring the law on children’s use of handguns in line with regulations for shotguns and rifles, which don’t restrict the age of children using them under parental supervision. Current Iowa law makes it a felony for a parent or guardian to allow a child younger than 14 to handle a pistol. Older children may do so with supervision.

“Allowing people to learn at a young age the respect that a gun commands is one of the most important things you can do,” Highfill told The Washington Post on Wednesday. The alternative, he said, is “turning 18 with no experience.”

Parents, Highfill noted, must be at least 21 years old and would have to maintain “visual and verbal contact” with the armed child.

“Logically, this bill is completely ridiculous,” said Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D).

“We can’t legislate good parenting … but we can protect our children,” said Rep. Mary Mascher (D).

“While most parents would not allow their 2-year-old to wield a revolver, we pass laws for those parents who lack the parenting skills needed to protect their own children,” Mascher said, citing seat belt, smoking and car seat laws.

Mascher cited the case of a 9-year-old Arizona girl who in 2014 accidentally killed her shooting instructor with an Uzi. The girl said she felt the weapon was too much for her and hurt her shoulder, according to the police report.

Rep. Art Staed (D), who said he’s a hunter who supports the Second Amendment, said the legislation is a public health threat and not gun rights issue.

“I would not allow my children to have access to guns,” Staed said.

 

Right Wing Porn Results in Shooting at Benghazi Movie

A moron attending the Right-Wing lie fest movie critically shot another movie goer while masturbating his metal manhood in Renton, Washington. It is unfortunate he didn’t blow off his Johnson, with his man meat rattling around in the barrel of that small-bore 22 caliber.

Moviegoer critically wounded after drunk’s gun fires during ’13 Hours’ Benghazi film

A Washington woman was critically injured after being shot in the chest when a man fumbled with his gun during a showing of the Benghazi movie “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi,” according to local news outlet KOMO News.

According to authorities, the 29-year-old man who dropped the gun appeared to be intoxicated as he entered The Landing theater in Renton, but bolted after the gun went off.

“It got about 15-20 minutes into the film and I believe the lady in front of us that got shot was actually talking to her husband or significant other and that’s when we heard the loud pop,” explained one witness, who asked not to be identified, adding that he was  sitting 3-4 rows behind the man when the gun went off.

Another witness, who also asked to not be identified, stated, “There was a gunshot and we thought it was a light bulb exploding in the theater, so no one really reacted.”

Following the shooting, multiple witnesses saw a man get up quickly and leave through an exit.

The unidentified woman was taken to a nearby hospital where she is listed in critical condition.

According to police, “Preliminary accounts indicate that an intoxicated suspect entered one of the theaters and was fumbling with a handgun he had in his possession when it went off, striking another patron seated in front of him.”

Police state that  they received a 911 call from the shooter’s father Thursday evening telling them his 29-year-old son was distraught and that he admitted he had dropped the gun.

“According to him, he said he dropped the gun and it went off. We have witnesses that say he came into the theater and appeared intoxicated. He went in and took a seat in theater number nine and was fumbling with a pistol when it went off and struck someone sitting in front of him,” said David Leibman of the Renton Police Department, adding that the man is currently in custody.

 

NBA Steps Up on Gun Violence

The NBA isn’t exactly the racist right’s favorite league or sport – but it is for millions of normal, sane adults and kids. In what appears…FINALLY…a movement to start putting the brakes on some of the craziness and insanity about guns – perhaps the NRA’s days of carrying guns to PTA Meeting, school sports events, and Churches are numbered.

NBA Stars Steph Curry, Carmelo Anthony And Chris Paul Call For An End To Gun Violence

They’re appearing in ads set to air during NBA games on Christmas.

The spots will begin airing during five NBA games on Christmas, when the league draws large audiences. The ads are part of the latest push by Everytown, dedicated to raising awareness of gun violence and advocating for reforms like expanding mandatory background checks and closing the “gun show loophole.”

The group has also worked with celebrities like Julianne Moore, Amy Schumer and Sofia Vergara to call for legislative action, but many of its best advocates are those who have suffered gun violence themselves or in their families.

For one of them, the NBA’s involvement is especially meaningful.

Richard Martinez started advocating for gun control measures in 2014, after his 20-year-old son, Christopher Michaels-Martinez, was killed in a mass shooting in Isla Vista, California.

As he told The Huffington Post, his son loved basketball.

“I don’t think ‘loved’ is even the right word,” Martinez said, recalling that his son played basketball throughout his life and, as a kid, participated in a basketball camp run by NBA legend Michael Jordan.

“He would be thrilled that these players are doing this. He was a great fan,” Martinez said.

Since his son’s death, more mass shootings have occurred, and Martinez said that every time, he has the same response.

“I have a visceral reaction because I know how they’re feeling,” he said, referring to the loved ones of those killed. “I know what it’s like to miss your loved one every day. People tell you to get over it, and you don’t.”

Martinez hopes that the basketball fans who see the ads recognize the devastating regularity of gun violence in America and “the appalling toll of gun violence on American life.”

“People see the news and forget,” Martinez said. “We need to do better, we can do better. We owe it to our kids. It’s a choice to do nothing. I don’t accept that it has to be this way in this country.”

The holiday season is a particularly painful time for Martinez, as his son would have turned 22 years old on Wednesday. Last year on Chris’ birthday, Martinez bought a cake and played basketball while wearing one of Chris’ favorite shirts. This year, he hopes to once again do something that Chris would have enjoyed, like going to see the new Star Wars movie.

“Maybe I’ll watch some basketball,” Martinez said.