By David Codrea
USA – -(Ammoland.com)- “A group of Oregon State University researchers recently concluded gun violence prevention groups in the United States are ‘middle-of-the-ground’ in ideology,” the Corvallis Gazette-Times parrots unquestioningly. “This surprised the professors as it contradicts some depictions of gun violence prevention groups as ‘anti-gun,’ they said.”
“The researchers spent two years studying national and regional gun violence prevention groups and concluded they are motivated to reduce death and injury by firearms, but that they want to do so while reserving the right to own guns,” the article assures readers.
So they all have big “buts”? You know, I believe in the Second Amendment but…
In other words, (if you’re willing to turn a blind eye to the end game gun ban goals) all the Bloomberg Moms and Bradyites want are “common sense gun safety laws” and “reasonable regulations.” Which are demonstrably code words for: opposing the bearing of arms; ending private sales; bankrupting the firearms industry; imposing prior restraints; banning the very types of weapons needed by a citizen militia; ignoring due process; and treating freedom like a disease…
Left unadressed is why the most effective “gun violence prevention” seems to be an armed response.
The selected example the authors gave of a being “’in the middle’ of the gun debate” is telling:
“[O]ther constitutional rights have restrictions, the researchers said. “You can’t yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theater …That is a restriction on the First Amendment right to free speech.”
Oh bull. Not that ridiculous and tired old strawman again. Of course you can — there are no prior restraints. It’s just that there had better be a fire. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ conveniently misstated quote was:
“The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic.” [Emphasis added]
You can’t open fire in a crowded theater either, at least not unless it’s also legally justifiable. No one but a deceiving gun-grabber would try to get people to think otherwise.
And that leads us to question if the “researchers” are truly unbiased fact-finders, or if they might have indications of personal biases and motives that merit further scrutiny of their conclusions (rather than just blindly swallowing what the Gazette-Times regurgitates on their behalf).
The title of the “study” in question:
“Addressing the Wicked Problem of American Gun Violence: Consumer Interest Groups as Macro-social Marketers.”
“Wicked”? Bursting right out of the starting gate with virtue signaling hardly suggests room for acknowledging when the application of violence with a firearm (or its deterrence) might be “righteous” and “beneficial.”
Featured author Aimee Huff’s credibility for fair-mindedness would be less susceptible to skepticism if she didn’t use her Twitter account to retweet a link from a Hillary Clinton donor calling President Trump “a megalomaniac”; to applaud Facebook and other sites for banning gun ads; to promote slick Saatchi and Saatchi propaganda spots from “Evolve”; and to promulgate as legitimate another “PSA” that my 2015 FOIA request proved specified “actors” on the filming permit.
Might Ms. Huff have some predispositions on the subject?
Her co-authors are also marketing wonks: Michelle Barnhart, Brandon McAlexander and James McAlexander.
By presenting such “researchers” as the arbiters of what is moderate, it makes opponents seem unreasonable and extreme, which is the goal. Having that message crafted by professional marketeers means we’re being fed selected information by people who areusing their skills to influence, to manipulate and to promote a disarmament agenda.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating / defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament.
In addition to being a field editor/columnist at GUNS Magazine and associate editor for Oath Keepers, he blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
You may not falsely yell fire in a crowded theater, but they don’t duct tape your mouth closed when you enter to prevent you from doing so, they just punish you after the fact. These anti freedom liberals want to punish honest firearms owners before any crime is committed.
Anyone slightly to the right of Mao is a centrist to these gun banners. They absolutely want to ban guns, but losing multiple national elections due to the gun issue and the polls showing a 180 degree turnaround since the 90s on gun rights has forced the cultural marxists to hide their true thoughts out of political necessity.
This “study” is obviously weak propaganda. Follow gun control groups directly, record their rhetoric and internal chatter: it’s everything you’d expect, but the hard record of it helps whenever they try to rebrand themselves as “moderate”.
Wrote the left coast off a long time ago. Much like Illinois and much of the Northeast. Remember the revolution that founded this nation was fought to defeat this kind of suppression and subversive ideology.
Another sad example of the direction we are headed here in Oregon. I graduated from OSU many years ago, when it was a much different place. Prior to the hostile leftist takeover. I was once proud of my alma mater. Now it is just another sinkhole of so-called higher education. Believe it or not, the University of Oregon in Eugene is even more liberal than is OSU. Truly a sad state of affairs. Even though we are on a dark path, I do still believe that the true Oregonians will fight to keep our state from becoming as f-ed up… Read more »
“Our side” is always moderate. “Their side” is always made of dangerous radicals. Jim Carville wrote We’re Right, They’re Wrong: A Guide Book for Spirited Progressives in 1996, and doubled down with We’re Still Right, They’re Still wrong, the Democrat’s Case for 2016. “We’re right, we’re moderate, there is no room for honest men (and women) to disagree with us.” That is what the left thinks, especially about gun control. Once you realize that is their rule of debate you realize this paper is something they had to publish. There was no place else for them to go. Supporters of… Read more »
Another sad example of the direction we are headed here in Oregon. I graduated from OSU many years ago, when it was a much different place. Prior to the hostile leftist takeover. I was once proud of my alma mater. Now it is just another sinkhole of so-called higher education. Believe it or not, the University of Oregon in Eugene is even more liberal than is OSU. Truly a sad state of affairs. Even though we are on a dark path, I do still believe that the true Oregonians will fight to keep our state from becoming as f-ed up… Read more »
I wonder if these “researchers” considered, in their quest for “truth”, a few well known incidents of extreme gun violence in the recent past: How about the clown who opened fire in a theatre in COlorado.. a Certified Defenseless Victim Zone, carefully chosen precissely because it WAS, under psych care with pleas for law enforcement to act on strong indications this guy had villent leanigns, with firearms purchased in compliance with things like background checks, no gun show loopghole used, tramsported in clear violation of state laws, etc etc How about the pair of mozzies, recent imports from some sandhole,… Read more »
UNA COSA,ES PERFECCIONAR EL MODO EN QUE SE DEBE VIVIR DENTRO DE LA SEGUNDA ENMIENDA,Y OTRA MUY DISTINTA ES NO ESTUDIAR COMO ES DEBIDO LA REALIDAD,Y TERMINAR ABOLIENDO Y PROHIBIENDO EL ESPÍRITU DE LA 2a.ENMIENDA.NADA ES PERFECTO TODA LA VIDA,PUESTO QUE REQUIERE ADECUARLO A LOS TIEMPOS,PERO IR DIRECTAMENTE A PROHIBIR ,ES INHABILITAR AL CIUDADANO A EJER CER SUS PLENOS DERECHOS.
SMH – OSU is in notoriously liberal Oregon (almost as far gone as Washington State) – as Dave points out, there is a palpable bias on the part of the ‘researchers’. Never mind that they absolutely REFUSE to state which of the currently existing ‘gun control’ laws are not predicated on ‘reasonableness’ or ‘common sense’. And NONE of them target (pun intended) criminals, their proposals always seek to restrict the rights of law abiding Citizens.