NRA Debuts 2016 Conspiracy: Hillary Clinton Is Coming For Your Guns

Media Matters

Right on cue, the National Rifle Association has unveiled its 2016 presidential election conspiracy theory with the baseless claim that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is harboring a secret plan to confiscate Americans' firearms. But Clinton has never endorsed such a plan and in fact has defended private citizens' right to own guns.

In a May 11 article published in the NRA's magazine and on its lobbying website, the gun group wrote, "Whether or not she understands the Second Amendment, Hillary Clinton disdains and distrusts that freedom," and claimed Clinton "wants control over every aspect of your right to keep and bear arms -- so she can deny it at will."

Clinton's own recent statements about "the right of people to own guns" meant the NRA was forced to juxtapose a series of old Clinton quotes -- some dating back to the late 1990s -- and hope that its readers would make implausible leaps of logic to buy into the conspiracy theory that a President Hillary Clinton would confiscate firearms. The NRA ran a similar fearmongering campaign about President Obama during the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections that also had zero basis in fact.

Larry Pratt Making Assumptions About the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Plan

Guns Won’t Stop Rape on Campus and Will Cause Other Problems

The Cavalier Daily

In the latest push for legalizing firearms on campus — something we have previously argued against — lawmakers in at least 10 states are arguing allowing students to carry firearms will protect them against the dangers of sexual assault. This is a veiled attempt at pushing a pro-gun agenda, and demonstrates a complete misunderstanding about sexual assault at colleges on the part of these representatives.

Perhaps the most obvious flaw in the gun lobby’s argument is that allowing campus carry would not exclusively put guns in the hands of potential victims — it would also allow assaulters to legally carry guns on campus. Potential rapists would now have a new tool in their arsenal with which to attack. 

But aside from this obvious lapse in logic, the idea that guns would affect rates of sexual assault demonstrates how little legislators understand the fundamentals of sexual assault on campus. College women, according to The New York Times, are typically assaulted by someone they know, making them likely reluctant to use a gun against their attackers. There is also the question of whether individuals will even have access to guns in an instance of assault — would a typical student realistically carry his or her gun to a party?

Even if the answer to that question is yes, this presents its own set of problems. With binge drinking at parties, the chance of gun accidents would be high. John Thrasher, president of Florida State University, is a vocal gun rights supporter who opposes guns on campuses. This is due to the death of a student in 2011 who was shot and killed when another student, showing his friends his rifle, shot the student when he didn’t realize his weapon was loaded. Add alcohol and the general recklessness of a college environment, and the potential for more stories in a similar vein is high.

The internal flaw of the gun conspiracy theorists

Or as David Aaronovitch's pointed out about Alex Jones: if he knows all this top secret truth, and is still alive, does that mean that it's all bollocks, or is Jones part of the conspiracy?


"You are the worst person I've ever interviewed...We have an idiot on the programme today,"

Anyway, like the idiot above, your premise contains an internal flaw:

"Mass shootings, in particular, are staged by the government to enable the swift enactment of draconian gun laws."

The US sees far more mass shootings, and gun violence in general, than any other DEVELOPED nation, yet gun laws have gotten weaker for the most part if anything.  Sure, there have been some gains in some states, but nothing like what happened in Australia, which is what you assert should have happened.  In fact, the laws enacted in Australia would be mild according to what you claim.

Instead, what we see is reality denial, with above idiot being one of the worst offenders.

I'll offer a counterquestion to your statement:  why should we give a fuck about your rights if you don't care about others?

You have given up your place at the table when you can walk up to a victim's family member and assert that their pain is somehow "false" or "fake".

You are the person who is unreal.

The Las Vegas Shooters, Jerad and Amanda Miller

How Wayne LaPierre Increases Gun Sales

My Key Strokes

The National Rifle Association is holding their annual conference in Indianapolis this year, and Wayne LaPierre is sounding more unhinged than ever. He sounds almost as paranoid as our quail-hunting former vice-president.

Perhaps the nation’s most visible gun rights advocate, LaPierre drew a stark picture of the dangers that he said plague the country and argued the government has failed to protect its citizens.

“We know that in the world that surrounds us there are terrorists, home invaders, drug cartels, car jackers, ‘knock-out’ gamers, rapers, haters, campus killers, airport killers, shopping mall killers, and killers who scheme to destroy our country with massive storms of violence against our power grids or vicious waves of chemicals or disease that could collapse as a society that sustains us all,” he said.

“So I ask you this afternoon: do you trust this government really to protect you and your family?” he continued. “We’re on our own. That’s a certainty.”

LaPierre got so worked up there that basic grammar broke down for him. I don’t know quite what to make from such heated rhetoric. Is it some kind of sign of desperation? Do the people who travel to NRA conferences really need to be sustained on this level of high-octane bugnuttery?

Notice the incredible inversion of reality, where campus killers and shopping mall killers and airport killers are less a threat because they’ve legally purchased semiautomatic weapons despite being insane than they are an excuse for the rest of us to purchase semiautomatic weapons for our own defense.

Notice that the argument is not that we need to be armed to serve in a well-regulated militia but to prepare for the complete breakdown of modern civilization.

We must be prepared for “vicious waves of chemicals” that will no doubt be unleashed on the unincorporated hamlets of red state America rather than in our densely-populated cities.

On TTAG It's Unanimous: You Need to Home Carry…Even In the Shower

TTAG provided a wonderful post in which a gun enthusiast/expert demolished all the objections to home carry - even in the shower.

2. I don’t like to feel like I’m being overly paranoid.

My view: Preparedness is not to be confused with paranoia. Paranoia is based on fear; preparedness is based on avoiding and mitigating negative outcomes.

Charles5 says:

March 17, 2014 at 19:30

My wife and I don’t carry IN the shower per se, but we do have a cabinet directly next to the shower and on top of the cabinet (about 6.5 ft tall) we keep a Stainless Smith and Wesson 686 Plus, loaded with .38 Special +P. It isn’t visible from the door because it sits below a three inch high molding around the top of the cabinet. I cut a gap in the side facing the shower so we don’t have to reach up and over the molding and it takes a nano second to reach up and grab it. I keep it rubbed down with oil every few weeks and I haven’t had any trouble with rust forming. We also have the alarm panel in our bedroom near the bathroom door. Whenever we are home we have the doors locked and the alarm set for home. If my wife was in the shower and anyone broke in, she would hear the beeping even before the alarm sounded after the 30 second wait for entry. I have also trained her to lock the bedroom door when she is taking a shower. Now, we don’t have any kids yet, so some of this will have to be modified for children, but I think it works well for now.

Reply

Overweight, Out-of-Shape Gun Nut Explains Why He Carries Three Guns

The REAL Reason I Carry Three Guns

Robert Farago followed this post up with another, equally fascinating: Why The Rabbi Carries Three Guns, And I Carry One

This is the Rabbi talking - he's the guy in the video pretending to kill imaginary bad guys:

I carry a back-up pistol, accessible to my support hand because I know through study of both real and simulated gun fights, there is a strong probability of getting shot in the dominant hand/arm.  In fights, adversaries focus on the threat and in gunfights, that’s the gun hand. With the eyes focused on the gun, the body and thus the aim point focuses there as well.

One reason a back-up may be needed: the primary gun may be disabled by being hit by a bullet, see above, or can jam for a multitude of reasons, such as being rolled around in the dirt during a fight, or simply a worn magazine spring. Additionally, guns, like all mechanical devices break, just because.

A back-up gun is also important if your primary gun gets taken in a gun grab.  Many altercations start as a physical fight.  If the gun is inadvertently discovered during the tussle, it may be grabbed from you. Likewise, it may be taken from you if deployed at the wrong time.

My third gun is on my ankle for two reasons. Through training, I know that accessing a belt-borne firearm, can be very difficult, if not impossible, if the fight goes to the ground–again a good likelihood. There are a few techniques that allow a draw from an ankle holster when your belt holsters are not able to be reached.  Ankle holsters are also very good for use in the car since they are not encumbered by a seat-belt.  Just like one type of gun, or one style of holster may not be perfect for all occasions, one carry location may not suit all needs either.

Lastly, having three guns allows me to give one to someone else (who is mistakenly, not carrying) in a emergency and still have a back-up.

What Was the Motive Behind Paul Anthony Ciancia's Actions at LAX?

According to KTLA, in the days leading up to Friday’s LAX shooting, Ciancia sent a series of “angry, rambling” text messages to family members, including one to Ciancia’s younger brother that made Ciancia’s father think his son was suicidal. 

“Their younger child got a text message from Paul stating that there were some comments in there about his well-being and he wanted to possibly take his own life,” Chief Allen Cummings told reporters. Ciancia was apparently disgruntled about the Transportation Security Administration, saying in a note that they had violated his constitutional rights. He apparently referred to himself as a “pissed-off patriot.” 

According to HLNTV, Ciancia had material on him that expressed anti-government and anti-TSA sentiment. He also may have been a believer in The New World Order, generally considered a conspiracy theory in which a group of elites are thought to be forming a one-world government.

I blame Orlin Sellers and all the other arm-chair government haters who spout their poison continually which every once in a while motivates some deranged young man to act.

Texas No. 1 in Gun Purchase Applications

Mercury News

Texas is leading the nation in the number of people seeking federal permission to buy guns.

Federal statistics reviewed Friday by the Houston Chronicle ( http://bit.ly/17FYwPP) show 1.2 million people in Texas through the end of September filled out applications for background checks.

At that rate, last year's record 1.4 million requests will be surpassed by the end of 2013.

"The gun business is doing well," Rob Elder, head of the Houston division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said.

He said number of requests could increase his agency's workload, but he said most purchasers are law-abiding citizens seeking firearms for legitimate purposes.

The figures don't equate to the number of purchases but represent people who have asked to buy from a federally licensed dealer.

One Houston gun store owner, Jim Pruett, told the newspaper President Barack Obama motivates gun buyers.

"Any time he talks about gun control, it drives people crazy and they go and buy guns," he said.

Armed Citizen Project Should Provide Treadmills instead of Shotguns

Paranoid Fanatic with Giant Amygdala Gives Carry Advice

They love this guy on TTAG because they all enjoy a bigger than average amygdala too.

 "The I-phone makes a pretty good impact device." he said with an uncharacteristic smile.

Cenk on the Michigan Anti-Sharia Law

For the Semper Paratus Crowd

via Before It's News Three items you can use when the SHTF.

1. Mini-prybar

If you’re on the run or bugging out, you can use it for breaching obstacles, gaining entrance to a door or even getting out of a trapped car.

I have mine wrapped in 550 paracord and it’s a beast of a self dense tool as both ends are brutally sharp and will seriously jack someone up!

2. Universal Handcuff key

As controversial as it may seem to some, you want to be able to escape from handcuffs if you need to.

I use the one from Magna Light and I’ve sewn my pants tag partially closed so it creates a snug pocket to hide this key.

If you’re ever handcuffed behind your back (as in say a home invasion, hostage situation, etc.), you can easily get the key and unlock yourself or hand it off to someone else to unlock you.

3. Security Officer's Badge

The thing about thugs is that they know that the stakes are much higher if they attack a police officer.

Now, I’m not saying to impersonate an officer, but let’s say you get trapped in a riot as a result of a demonstration that went horribly wrong.

Assuming that police aren’t the target of the demonstrators, having a badge that looks like an officer’s badge could ward off attackers who think you’re just another easy mark as they rampage through the area.

You just take out the badge and tell them to “Back off! Just go your way and I’ll go mine and neither of us need to make this an issue. Got it?” and then back out to safety as you assume their agreement.

If that still leaves you with any doubt about the author's level of obsessive paranoia, get a load of this.

In fact, I actually carry 29 URBAN SURVIVAL RESPONSE ITEMS on me at all times!

What do you think? Is that normal? Is it me?

I realize people have been caught up in tricky situations, but how likely is it really. This kind of thinking is even worse than the concealed-carry justification. Maybe this guy is in the Robert Farago category. He preaches the need for home carry so you never have to have a foot race to your gun safe with the bad guys.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

For the "Semper Paratus" Guys

via Boing Boing

If you're the sort of person who worries about having jackboot thugs breaking down your door and taking your laptop, you might consider this "Media Artist Contingency Plan," which helpfully marks off the spot you should aim your high-speed drill if you need to nuke your hard-drive in a hurry. Of course, full-disk encryption is a little less messy and more reliable (though perhaps also a little less stylish and dramatic).