Wayne LaPierre is king of the douchenozzles.

Ok first off, full disclosure, I own a handgun. I was raised in a house that contained them and used rifles regularly as my father was an avid hunter. Everything dear old dad killed, we ate.

Now, with that said..I have always supported more gun and ammo control measures both statewide and nationally. With today's 30th anniversary of the botched assassination of Ronald Reagan, it's a good time to bring up how far backwards we, as a nation, have come and gone on the issue of gun and/or ammo control and how nutjobs like John Hinkley,Jared  Loughner, Seung-Hui Cho and millions of other wingnuts can so easily get handguns with huge clips that can hold thirty-fucking-rounds of human slaughtering ammo.

Recently, Obama penned an OpEd on gun and ammo control. He stated that he wanted to have a nice, sit down meeting with the fuckwads at the NRA.

Wayne LaPierre said no way will he attend such a meeting. Wayne is the chief executive asshole for the NRA. In fact, here is the money quote from him via a NYT writeup on the subject:

“Why should I or the N.R.A. go sit down with a group of people that have spent a lifetime trying to destroy the Second Amendment in the United States?”

Oh yeah Wayne, you aren't paranoid are you? You don't play politics either I bet you friggin disgusting bag of sheep shit.

But the truth is that yes, Wayne DOES play politics about gun and ammo control. This toiletbowl turd also accused Obama of wanting the meeting purely for political reasons.

The biggest problem with our laws regarding guns and ammo is that the national registry is about as useful as tits on a bullfrog when it comes to screening out the wingnuts. All three of the sick fucks I named above were as batshit crazy as they come..yet all three legally bought guns and ammo.

Wayne and his friends at the NRA are nothing more than greedy fucks that lie their collective asses off when it comes to even the smallest measures aimed at keeping the batshit crazy killers away from guns and those high capacity ammo clips that hold thirty-fucking-rounds of bullets.

If we are honest with ourselves the majority of elected Democrats also want to run the other way every time someone mentions gun or ammo control....for purely political reasons. The next big election is looming large on the horizon and nothing stirs the NRA crowd up more than a change, or threatened change, in gun or ammo control laws.

Thirty years ago today, the godfather of all Republicans was shot. Yet, even Reagan didn't want tougher measures enacted. It was Jim Brady, Reagan's Press Secretary who was paralyzed by the bullet he took that day, that pushed into law, stricter measures that the Bush Administration and Congress allowed to expire in 2004.

But back to Wayne.  He will lie and lie and lie to his NRA membership, but one thing Wayne hasn't been able to change is the way Americans as a whole feel about gun/ammo control measures. From the ThinkProgress link:

A poll in the aftermath of the Tucson shooting found that Americans agree with Obama's approach, finding that large majorities support stricter background checks. Recent polling also found that "over 80% of public - including over 70% of gun owners - in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Ohio and Virginia, support tougher laws to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people."

So, what does that tell you? What it tells me is that NRA members are very gullible and the nation as a whole is not.

But I guess it really doesn't matter as no one elected to national office or as a senator or congress critter is going to challenge the power of the NRA so that Americans will not have to fear a batshit crazy, gun-toting wingtard  showing up at their grocery store, college classroom, a federal park or any other place loaded down with an automatic or semi-automatic gun that can shoot and kill 30 humans within seconds of first squeezing that fucking trigger.

And that is wrong on many, many levels. It makes me madder than hell that politics is played by BOTH sides on an issue so important to the safety of Americans in public places.

Below is a trailer for the documentary called Living for 32. It is the story of Colin Goddard who was shot 4 times by the VA tech killer and how that horrific moment changed his entire life and made him a gun control advocate in memory of the 32 students killed by a nutter that could legally buy the guns that killed them.


Living for 32 - Trailer from Living for 32 on Vimeo.

We're Number One! In guns owned by individuals world-wide.

You might think this is as it should be, but it's not. When you consider that the United States only holds five percent of the worlds population, the fact that american civilians own 35-50 percent of the World's guns is sobering. This means that for every 100 civilian Americans, 83-97 own small arms.

For seven years now, a Swedish group has released their annual report on small arms ownership around the world and the consequences to the public and the world at large. This report is funded by various nations from around the world and it is internationally respected.What this report from 2007 tells us about American's and their guns is this:

 With less than 5 per cent of the world’s population, the United States is home to roughly 35–50 per cent of the world’s civilian-owned guns, heavily skewing the global geography of firearms and any relative comparison (see Table 2.3). Of some eight million new firearms manufactured annually around the world, roughly 4.5 million are bought by the people of the United States (US ATF, 2000, p. 1). With this sustained and unsurpassed level of routine gun-buying, American civilians will become even more dominant in global gun ownership. Therefore, any discussion of civilian gun ownership must devote disproportionate attention to the United States, if only because of the scale of its gun culture.

Exceptional civilian gun habits in the United States distort impressions of global trends. Without the US share, the global civilian total falls from 570–730 million to roughly 320–440 million civilian firearms, and instead of outnumbering military firearms by three or five to one, civilian weapons would outnumber their military counterparts by two or three to one. (Emphasis mine)

After the United States, a few disproportionately armed societies stand out. Only Switzerland and Yemen begin to approach American levels of gun ownership, and both of these cases are clouded by great doubt (see Boxes 2.3 and 2.5). Others also stand out, such as Germany, Finland, France, Iraq, and Serbia. But civilian ownership tends to be more even among other large gun-owning societies, where ownership rates of 5–15 per 100 residents are common.

Table 2.3 in Chapter 2 lists, in descending order, the most gun-toting nations around the world. The U.S. dwarfs the competition. Yemen, in 10th place and with a population of only 19 million, comes in second to the U.S. in the number of small arms owned per 100 citizens. The U.S. population is around 300 million.

The yearly reports are incredibly comprehensive. In other words, they are friggin huge and in-depth. This Press Release from a past year will give you a general over-all look at the state of the world with regard to civilian and military small arms, so that might be a good place to start if you want an overall view. The online magazine Foreign Policy has today released a 9 page writeup about these reports as well, so I can highly suggest that for 'lighter' reading.

The NRA is fond of skewing the numbers of some of these reports to fit their own agenda. For example, they get a woody over the fact that Sweden actually requires automatic gun ownership of a certain segment of it's civilian population and that they also has one of the lowest homicide by gun rates in the world. But just listing those facts alone does little justice to the Swedes and how they approach guns and civilian gun ownership. From the Foreign Policy piece which uses the data from these reports:

But Switzerland's attitude toward gun ownership is a far cry from that of the United States.

All Swiss men are required to undergo military training, and between the ages of 21 and 32, they are considered to be front-line troops and issued M-57 assault rifles and 24 rounds of ammunition to keep in their home. Once discharged, they are allowed to keep the weapon, or if they prefer, trade it in for a bolt rifle. Women aren't required to own guns, but it's strongly encouraged through government-sponsored training programs.  

In 2001, there were about 600,000 automatic rifles and 500,000 pistols kept in Swiss homes. There are few restrictions on the buying of weapons, and the government even sells off its surplus to citizens when new models are purchased. Many Swiss belong to shooting clubs, and marksmanship competitions are popular activities. A number of cantons have laws against carrying guns without a permit, but it's not unusual to see off-duty reservists toting their assault rifles in public.

The country did a bit of soul-searching in 2001 after a disgruntled Swiss citizen opened fire in a regional parliament building, killing 14 people, but the Swiss don't seem likely to part with their firearms any time soon. In most years, gun crime rates are so low that statistics aren't even kept. (Emphasis mine)

The gun culture in all nations differs, depending on the economic, socio and political climates. Whether the country has an ongoing civil war, like many parts of Africa, has a massive effect on civilian gun deaths numbers as well.

But the United States does not have an ongoing civil war. Culture Wars..oh yeah, we got that in spades, but we are not at war within our own borders, like say, Sudan for instance.

One of the Culture Wars we have is with the NRA leadership and their lobbying for less civilian gun control regulations. As a gun owner, I want to be able to own a handgun. But that said, I do not believe we need to own large capacity clips that hold 30 friggin bullets. Only law enforcement and the military should have access to such heinous people-killing mechanisms.

As Mad Mike put it this week, the time has come for America to insist on mental health evaluations when civilians want to purchase any type of weaponry.  Including this type of evaluation into the process of gun purchasing will keep individuals rights to own guns alive, while weeding out the VA Tech type killer and the Jared Loughner's in our population who's only goal is to kill has many innocent people in as short a time as possible.

If the NRA can not sanction this type of evaluation, we need to demand an explanation from them. We need to insist on a straight answer from them, not any ridiculous strawman arguments that detract from the serious need to control who owns weapons of mass destruction and their mental stability.

We also need to control ammo and large capacity clips. That a minuscule amount of gun owners use these clips for their target practice exercises does not lend credibility to allowing anyone outside the military or law enforcement to possess them. If they get heartburn because they have to stop and reload, that's too effn bad. The safety of the overall population is more important than their personal desires to have the ability to blow off thirty friggin rounds in a matter of seconds.

Lives depend on what we do, or if we as Americans do anything about sensibly regulating our love affair with guns. It's an addiction that affects thousands of innocent people every year when we turn a blind eye to who can buy them and what level of firepower we allow civilians to possess.

We are all guilty of murder if we do nothing or allow the NRA to control the national conversation on sensible and responsible gun ownership. Reinstating the federal gun law that was allowed to expire is a good start. The fact that many NRA members disagree with the NRA's leadership stance on responsible gun ownership laws tells us all something important...that the NRA leadership is driven by the gun manufacturing lobby and nothing more.  

NRA begins swiftboating Obama

The NRA has stated they will spend roughly $40 million dollars to defeat Obama. We can read that as code for a gigantic swiftboating campaign.

They have begun by lying their collective asses off about his second amendment position. The graphic below, courtesy of Politico, is the back of a wallet-sized card the NRA is handing out, evidently so their neanderthal supporters can rip it out and start ticking off all the falsehoods about Obama at a moments notice. Notice number 10- Wouldn't one think Weathervane McCain would do the same? Of course its position on the card is tantamount to push-polling tactics.

Factcheck.org has the bald-faced lies up on their site and debunks the blatant lies and half-truths. Check it out.

The NRA has gone so far as to actually print up a flier using Obama's logo and color scheme, as well as his font. That gem is below:
click graphic for larger version.

Next up, we have the ads they are going to run nation-wide using two assholes named Kurt and Karl Rusch. Krazy Karl claims to be a veteran and a staunch knuckle-dragging, card-carrying NRA member. They are short ads thank god, so check them out below.



Kurt is a real gem isn't he?



Ah yes, veterans, patriotism and a scary black man who wants to take all the guns away from white folks....all in one sixty second commercial.

Obama has his policies and plans for guns and the second amendment here and here. The NRA isn't even fucking close m'dear reader.

Swiftboating works for the reichwingers....it's a shame that a cross-section of the American voting public buys into them. I was a card-carrying member of the NRA until they got all political and full of bullshit and bravado.

I own a handgun and have my entire adult life, I was taught to shoot and handle them as a young adult by my father who had what some might consider a damn arsenal. I believe in our second amendment right to own guns.

But I swear to Buddha, I am so sick of this type of campaigning...I could go postal on the asshole that thought this friggin crap up and I wouldn't even blink a brown eye as I squeezed the trigger. Yes, I am that pissed..

Tags: Swiftboating Obama, NRA, NRA Swiftboats Obama

SCOTUS rules in favor of gun owners in DC

As a gun owner and a progressive, I have mixed feelings about the ruling today. While I do think the NRA is full of shit on most issues or the non-issues they turn into issues, I believe there is a fundamental right to bear arms. That said however, I do not believe that people need arsenals or automatic weapons.

Evidently there was a dust-up during the reading of the ruling today between Scalia the turd who read the majority opinion and Justice Stevens who read the dissenting opinion. From the BLT link:

"Do not accept the summary you have just heard," Stevens said at one point. Earlier, Scalia told spectators they had to slog through 154 pages of opinions to really understand the Court's position. And Scalia said it was "particularly wrongheaded" for dissenters to rely on United States v. Miller, the 1939 case that marked the last time the high court ruled on the Second Amendment.

When Scalia was reading his own opinion Stevens occasionally shook his head in disbelief. And Stevens jousted back. With emphasis on the word "genuine," Stevens said that "a genuine judicial conservative" would not have inserted the Court into the "political thicket" of the gun rights debate as Scalia had done.

What I gather is that this ruling is pretty complicated. The NRA has already stated this ruling sets precedence and they will now challenge other types of gun restriction laws in other cities and states. To be sure, the DC gun law was the strictest law on the books anywhere in the U.S. But the NRA's goal is to overturn any and all gun laws, including those which ban automatic and semiautomatic rifles.

Thats where the NRA and I part ways. Semi and automatic rifles were created for one reason; to kill humans a quickly as possible. You won't see hunters using either of those types of weapons when they are game hunting and even my father thinks no one needs to own semi or automatic guns. Good ol Dad and I finally agree on something..stop the presses!

Huckabee jokes about assassinating Obama

Assassinating anyone isn't funny. Ever. From AP, these words came out of his mouth:

"That was Barack Obama. He just tripped off a chair. He's getting ready to speak and somebody aimed a gun at him and he — he dove for the floor."

Even the NRA crowd, where he delivered the line, didn't laugh. Sick Fuck.

Graphic by Dark Wraith

Lifelong hunter and tv show host trashed by NRA

Look, my family has a long history of hunting. I didn't eat store bought meat until I was 8 or 9 years old. But this story is total bullshit:

SEATTLE - Modern hunters rarely become more famous than Jim Zumbo. A mustachioed, barrel-chested outdoors entrepreneur who lives in a log cabin near Yellowstone National Park, he has spent much of his life writing for prominent outdoors magazines, delivering lectures across the country and starring in cable TV shows about big-game hunting in the West.

Zumbo's fame, however, has turned to black-bordered infamy within America's gun culture -- and his multimedia success has come undone. It all happened in the past week, after he publicly criticized the use of military-style assault rifles by hunters, especially those gunning for prairie dogs.

Going after any animal with a friggin assault rifle isn't hunting..its killing. My father has hunted with everything BUT an assault rifle, he even uses a bow and arrow at times.This man spoke out on principle and the NRA has crucified him and fucking bragged about it. They say anyone should expect this kind of response if they try to take away their rights to own and use an assault rifle. FUCK THAT SHIT, you people are fucking out there. Its pathetic and fuckwitted. It has nothing to do with hunting..notta damn thing. Everyone is allowed a POV on ANYTHING. For this man to be ostracized for his POV is outrageous..but it shows you the length and breadth these fucking idiots will go. Reminds me of the damn pro-lifers that found it acceptable to attack women and bomb clinics.

NRA pulls a shit move over assault weapons ban by Columbus OH city council

The chihuahua represents the city council of Columbus..if you didnt figure that out by now..

These fucktards are tossing around their weight as usual, and this time they are being real shitty about it..they are rubbing the city's nose in the fact that they just cancelled a convention, worth millions to the economy i might add, because the city council adopted a law banning certain types of ASSAULT RIFLES..the key word here is "assault"..its not a hand gun, or a hunting rifle..its a fucking assault rifle..one that is made only to kill people with lightening quick speed..I quote directly from the NY Times article here :"Thanks to the Columbus City Council, 65,000 people will not be coming to your wonderful Greater Columbus Convention Center in 2007," Wayne LaPierre, the rifle association's executive vice president, said in a news conference here. "The only thing the City Council can expect out of their decision is the gratitude of those businesses in the city we go to instead."

WHAT A FUCKING PRICK YOU ARE WAYNE..let me get this straight..you support any gun no matter what the use? your a sick fucker dude.you and your merry band of moronic bastards need to be held at gun point.specifically assault weapon gunpoint by some thug that wants your Lexus or your wallet or just YOU asshole..

The republican controlled Senate let the Clinton law regarding assault weapons expire last September..Columbus was merely attempting to plug the hole created by those nice guys in the Senate. The freaks at the NRA have managed to lobby 40 states to inact laws that wont allow cities within those states to pass their own gun laws..i believe in states rights but i also believe in city's being able to make their own laws too..its a double edged sword here, but on this one issue I say you can never have enough laws outlawing guns used for things other than sport..i grew up in a home where i never ate store bought meat until i was 10 years old..i believe in the right to hunt and protect yourself in your own home..or car even..but you do not need a fucking assault rifle to do any of those things...

the link to this madness is embedded in the title..