United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- When it comes to using our First Amendment rights to protect our Second Amendment rights, there is one particular mistake that far too many Second Amendment supporters are making. This mistake could very well cost us our Second Amendment rights – and the hardest part is that those who are making the mistake can even be defiant about said mistake, even as it unintentionally harms the cause they are trying to defend.
At the start of the year, when I asked Second Amendment supporters whether they had accidentally helped Bloomberg, it touched nerves. But there is a reason this question had to be asked then, and a big part of that comes from understanding Bloomberg’s anti-Second Amendment group.
While Bloomberg’s willingness to drop lots of money – as much as $183 a vote for his third term as mayor of New York City according to the New York Times – is what he is well known for, all too often Second Amendment supporters don’t look deeper. That’s a mistake – it confuses the tactics he pursues with the overall strategy – and his objective. Bloomberg’s group relies on fear in order to get Americans to support massive infringements on our Second Amendment rights. It not only capitalizing on the fear that already exists among millions of our fellow Americans, it tries to stir up even more fear.
Now, Bloomberg was not the first to stir up fear – for that, we can look to the Violence Policy Center. What he did was provide the funding to enable anti-Second Amendment extremists to mass-market the fear. It was a brilliant move. When Americans can calmly and rationally look at the facts, they reject restrictions on Second Amendment rights.
However, all the facts and the historical background about Second Amendment issues are of little good when you are dealing with a mother who is freaked out about the possibility of a mass shooting at her child’s school. They want something done – immediately. Bloomberg, of course, has his anti-Second Amendment snake oil ready to go… and the freaked-out soccer mom has been conned into becoming a fierce opponent of our rights.
Of course, to close the sale, Bloomberg needs to have someone scary for the freaked-out soccer moms to oppose. This is where far too many Second Amendment supporters walk into the trap, sometimes with belligerently declaring their refusal to comply. The reasons why are simple: They don’t consider – or don’t care – about how their Second Amendment support comes across. They do not have solutions to present to a freaked-out soccer mom who wants some sort of concrete action to protect their kids. They use techniques that turn off potential supporters. Then, in an era of media double standards, they wonder why we are losing ground.
Worse, self-appointed Second Amendment commissars compound the problem by assuring them that it’s not their fault that new anti-Second Amendment legislation passed, or that anti-Second Amendment extremists are now in office – the real fault lies with the NRA or with “Fudds” or “compromisers” – and the answer is to be even more uncompromising and to even act as if armed conflict is around the corner. They seem to think that making that argument to a soccer mom already freaked out about her kids’ school being shot up is going to really help our cause. It doesn’t, and it is well past time to say that.
It’s a version of Second Amendment snake oil, and too many Second Amendment supporters buy it. Second Amendment supporters need to be able to reach a point where they can use reason and logic to present our case. Sometimes that means limiting the short-term damage, or using smart tactics.
Bloomberg’s anti-Second Amendment extremism relies on fear to move forward. The smart move is to ensure that we prove his fear-mongering to be nothing more than a lie.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.
Harold, let me tell you a little story. There was a time, long ago, when being honest, working hard, fearing God and trusting the government was the order of the day. Then, one day this small group of people began to cry out a warning that all those things we believed in wasn’t going to be enough to protect our God given rights. Wake up they said. But almost everyone felt the government wouldn’t do that to us. As we cogitated and discussed the problem, our rights were infringed. The government said, trust us, we aren’t after your guns this… Read more »
In 50 years we will either have won our 2nd war of independence or America will look like Venezuela or the Soviet Union immediately prior to its’ collapse. Personally I believe that Harold is that particular variety of fool where wisdom will forever elude him. All he does is find new ways to blame and insult the 3% of Americans who will not drink the koolaid; and double, triple, even quadruple down on his failed position.
Harold, You are right that Bloomberg relies on fear. You are right to think that he appeals to “freaked-out” soccer Moms. You are wrong in thinking that acting passively or genteely will change the Soccer Moms’ feelings or adversely affect Bloomberg’s methods. You cannot change fearful peoples’ minds. They aren’t using their minds, they are in fight or flight mode and reasoning has left the building. Your reasoned methodology is a defensive one and as anyone can tell you, defense doesn’t make for a win, all it does is slow the loss. There comes a time when you have to… Read more »
12/1/1955 Rosa parks told bus driver James Blake to stuff it. We need more Rosa’s and a lot less Harolds.
THAT IS THE BEST COMMENT I’VE HEARD ON AMMOLAND!!
You, sir, win the internet!!
Harold AND Wayne!
Great reply Dave! I too am tired of losing slowly! I would add, if I may, that a large number (not all) of “fearful people’s minds” can be changed if they are educated to the fact they are being misled. However they need to get that information from someone they trust or respect. At least they will pause to listen because, as you correctly state, “they aren’t using their minds” but they DO indeed have minds. You correctly admonish Harold that his “methodology is that of defense”. But a great defense also allows for a precision offense. And a great… Read more »
Harold, There IS NOT ONE INFRINGEMENT of MY RIGHTS which is acceptable. As Americans WE HAVE HAD the RIGHT of DEFENSE of OURSELVES, BEFORE the Constitution was penned. The Second Amendment only REAFFIRMS and RESTATES OUR RIGHTS. The Second Amendment puts a binding RESTRAINT AGAINST governmental offices in America or on American controlled areas.
The Second Amendment RESTATES that WE, as Americans, have the RIGHT to POSSES and CARRY a weapon of OUR CHOICE to DEFEND OURSELVES.
These people who want to abscond with OUR weapons, have not learned THEIR RIGHTS – – – THEY MUST learn!!!
Go Away Harold. Yes you have a Right to speak. Even if it is stupid speak. Fear is and has always been the Great Motivator. Governments use it. Courts use it. Politicians use it. Criminals use it. Why you might ask. Because it works. The 2nd A is and was put in place to defend against fear. It was also intended as a message of fear. To anyone or any government which tried to use fear as a tool to disarm or subjugateThe People.Keep Your Powder Dry.
So, the self-appointed Second Amendment commissar gives us the Dilbert excuse: “The NRA didn’t do anything in Virginia, so the NRA didn’t do anything wrong in Virginia either.” LOL. Bloombergs firestorm in Virginia was met by the NRA’s noticeable absence. The NRA was busy with trying to keep Wayne LaPierre and his cronies out of jail and making sure everyone in the know at the NRA is on the payroll. There is a convicted felon working as LaPierre’s right-hand person and the Chief of Staff had 2 sexual harassment claims against him settled with NRA members’ funds. While Harold is… Read more »
Now 31.
No Harold, using our First Amendment Rights will not cost us our other enumerated rights. Our rights were purchased from tyrants on a battlefield over 240 years ago. They shall be defended on a battlefield. All of the noise in the polls and the courts is just a distant prep fire for the next American Revolution.
Harold need to grow a pair–He is the kind of person who has softly given up our rights little by little -JUST Like the NRA !!
Sure don’t want to see a different viewpoint.
@loveaduck
It would help if that different viewpoint wasn’t based on a lie.
That being said, I don’t agree with violating the first Amendment. It’s much better to instead show why that viewpoint is wrong historically, empirically, and realistically wrong. That’s why I took the approach I did with you, and why you have thus far avoided providing a legitimate response. 🙂
Read above. Now show me why I’m wrong historically, empirically and realistically. Especially the last one. If I accept your reasoning I’ll say you’re right and I’m wrong.
@loveaduck And there lies the problem, “If I accept your reasoning…” You should not be accepting anyone’s reasoning, what you should be accepting are evidence based facts. You want to transform this into a battle of opinions, but that is not how truth works. You can choose to reject facts and truth just because you disagree with the reasoning, but if you do you are still wrong. Your perception of reasoning has ZERO influence on determining reality. I have been pointing out where Harold has attacked actual second amendment defenders in the past and present, often paraphrasing or juxtaposing his… Read more »
@loveaduck Part 2. Hopefully you have seen my reply from last night by now. I wanted you to be able to read direct quotes from Harold from over the course of this year before going further. You specifically asked about the “Historical” aspect, so I will cover more on that here. Much of this started last year with the corruption and betrayals going on within the NRA. Those of us who were speaking out against what was going on for a few years previous(I myself became very vocal about it online around 2014, though my dislike began many years before)… Read more »
Rev: I too doubt he will respond, but if he does I’ll lay you ten to one odds it will be with a sexual attack. It’s the way their type of brains work. He won’t be able to avoid it, unless he just bites his tongue and pouts.
IMO…. naturally.
Rev. I just copied and saved both of these comments for posterity. I hope you don’t mind. If you do, tell me and I’ll delete them. Otherwise, if I ever reuse them, I’ll make certain to give you full credit as the author. BTW, nice calmness in the face of a totally unreasonable attack. How in the H E double toothpicks are you supposed to prove someone wrong about their opinions? In fact, that’s an old joke, back from when I was in college in the 80s: ” I did so bad on that test, I got a question wrong… Read more »
@Knute Knute I don’t mind at all. In all honesty, it is nothing more than common sense and being willing to set opinions aside to look at and read a person’s actions instead of blindly listening to disingenuous posturing which is nothing more than verbal “sleight of hand”, or in this case tongue. As for my calmness, if you were to meet me in person it would not surprise you that is how I come across even when I verbally destroy someone(an example being some of my condemnation directly to Harold on his articles) or when my writing reaches for… Read more »
Censorship is what the antis do. Let’s us not let them drag us down to that low a level.
“Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty… but the pig enjoys it” -Mark Twain
@Knute Knute
Especially when it so much more fun to watch their brains implode when they cant out argue you (As long as you avoid making opinion based arguments).
Personally, I don’t want to see anyone censored. I really really want to know exactly who the idiots are, and the more they talk the more I have to use against them.
Thank you for sticking with a constitutional argument. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas.
Selling more of your specious reasoning on why we should soften our positions? It all sounds good until you get to your ridiculous conclusions and paint no-compromise RKBA supporters as stubborn idiots who don’t know how to speak to others. Facts and logic, yes. Let’s hold hands and maybe just ban some stuff, no.
Harold, please go away.
@TD – Unfortunately there is some truth to what Harold says. Think of that young idiot who open carried his AR in a Walmart shortly after the El Paso shooting. He did nothing wrong, but the impression he made caused many to fear gun owners, moved many from across the political spectrum just a little bit left, and provided Walmart an opening for virtue signaling by banning open carry in their stores nation wide. The young man’s foolish display should have been a non-event, but it along with many less dramatic gun right’s supporters activities are displayed by media in… Read more »
Harold routinely, sometimes multiple times a week, counsels the gun community to back off a smidge. He might be providing an alternative view, but not any alternative solutions. We are already the champions of facts and logic, and I reject the sentiment that the no-compromise camp is a bunch of stubborn idiots that have the wrong idea of how to go about their business. The track record of the let’s-make-a-deal camp over the last century says otherwise.
If only we could get another pro-2A judge on the Supreme Court.
Hope Ginsberg just dies away–only reason the old rag stays in the court is the hope for a liberal Democrat to be elected president.
Well, as soon as that old hag RBG drops off, we’ll get one!! WON’T BE LONG NOW!
Harold you have really, really, really strange ideas!
Truth! Harold’s thinking is simply foreign to free Americans!!
Wrong again, Little Harold!! Bloomberg’s agenda moves forward not because of the messaging but because the Left is systematically seizing political control, mainly through legal maneuvering designed to nullify conservatives’ electoral power. Not by swing votes, but by redistricting, and expanding ballot access tactics like forcing states to restore bad registrations and ballot harvesting (even though this is a felony in many states). This was just done in Kentucky where hundreds of thousands of INVALID REGISTRATIONS that had been LAWFULLY REMOVED AS REQUIRED BY STATUTE were by judicial fiat forced back into the system!! AND EVERY REGISTRATION PUT BACK ON… Read more »
Correct. The folks who are doing the yeoman’s work on this issue is Judicial Watch. That crew has won 9 of 14 law suits in California alone to get voter rolls cleaned up. Los Angeles County alone is purging 1.4 million invalid names. That is the seed corn of massive voter fraud. You make great points. Well done.
“If we just play nice they will leave us alone”.
Well that has certainly worked well so far (yes sarcasm).
These people don’t care a lick about logic, tradition, history, founding documents, or whether they hurt our feelings. Ultimately the final answer is nullification. WE WILL NOT COMPLY, and neither will many of our sheriffs, legislatures, and county commissions.
Several times now , Harold calls strident advocates for our rights -commissars.
Harold reminds me of a capo . The jew in the Nazi concentration camp that assists the Nazis in torturing,starving and killing his fellow jews with the belief the Nazis will let him live.
USA, I think that was a bit unfair.
Ammoland publishes all sides of issues, that hardly makes it an indoctrination center, a bastion of the 1st and 2nd Amendment would be more like it.
The irony is that we, on the pro-2A side, have taken over the abandoned liberal view of disagreeing with everything that our opponents say, but fighting for their right to say it.
Or maybe I just misunderstood the oath I took.
Fu@K compromise, we already did in 1934, 1968, 1994 and 2019. No more. Time to wipe that illegal legislation off the books. Harold, if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. The Second Amendment isn’t about feelings.
I have my way, you have yours. As for me, whenever someone asks me why I have an open carry on me, I don’t get drawn into a philosophical debate. I instead tell them that they are that much safer because I am licensed to carry, and that if anything should go wrong, I’m looking out for them. All of which is true. Many times I have seen concern become a smile in these situations. When I choose to open carry, I have learned to display my permission if the form of a badge on my belt loop next to… Read more »
“Today We need a nation of Minutemen ; Citizens who are only not prepared to take arms,but citizens who regard the preservation of Freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom” John F. Kennedy 29 January 1961 “If ye love wealth better than Liberty, The tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of Freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsel or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands that feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,and may posterity forget that you were… Read more »
I’m thinking that Harold is very very very very low in testosterone. Maybe he is missing the testosterone producing element in his body. You know..BALLS?
Well, he does look like he lives in San Francisco. Just saying.
So, we must self infringe on our own rights to make sure the fear tactics of the left that infringe on our rights won’t make soccer moms vote for people and support laws that will infringe on our rights?! Wow! Isn’t that how we got in this situation in the first place? Appeasement in not a fighting strategy Harold, it’s a failure everywhere it’s been tried. And still is. Over 20,000 Gun infringements across America now and counting, how many more would you suggest before we start fighting back and say no more? Out of sight, out of mind is… Read more »
Yes, I have found range time is a great way of converting those on the fence. Fun always trumps fear, aka the anti-rights, rabid rants.
Very interesting however when the Gov of VA plans on asking the state legislature to ban everything except single shot weapons, just what am I supposed to do when they tell me to turn in my firearms? Respond with logic or reasoning.? You sound like the Jews in Germany in 1939.
Harold would not be one of the Jews….. No, he would be one of the citizens living just over the wall outside of Auschwitz, asking “What’s that smell?” and trying to pretend they didn’t know what was going on.
I’m guessing “Harry” doesn’t even own a firearm, let alone a “scary black rifle”.
I’ll bet he doesn’t even look at the comments “he” elicits from PATRIOTS…
Make a perfect fit for the NRA. A sheep in sheep’s clothing…
Harold is just the Devils Advocate. If we were to petition him out of this medium we would not be any better than all the Leftists that suppress every idea they disagree with. We can not fall victim to making decisions as a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility.
Harolds point of view should be debated if he ever grows a pair and replies to any of the postings here. We should debate his views and demonstrate why is he wrong and how should the 2A fight should be carried out.
On this I don’t see him as wrong. He’s right on point. I’ve seen those reactions when I’ve open carried and I live in a gun owning town.
@duck, Hmmm, here if you are carrying open, everyone presumes that you are going to a barbecue.
@loveaduck You do have the right to be Wrong. Harold is not on point. He’s using a fictional hypothetical(make believe mom) to facilitate a lie. The lie is that Gun owner who follows the Constitution and does not comply with illegal laws is the problem, and as per his title “Will cost us our rights”. I called you on this before, on another one of Harold’s articles on which you chose to be a Pierre Delecto for him. You chose not to answer what was asked of you, and that was now two days ago. Yet here you are trying… Read more »
Those people have the public’s ear. Engaging them, to a point mind you, makes sense. Right or wrong on some things, Harold is stating what he sees as the right way to handle our fearful fellow citizens. That doesn’t mean “packing it in” on our rights. I am very pro 2A but when I think it’s the best way in a given situation, I soft peddle things until I see that person open up a bit. If they don’t, well, screw ’em. And I really don’t need your particular approval to use my own mind. Twenty years in the uniform… Read more »
@loveaduck Nice try…. My approval to use your own mind? Never said you did. What I said was you have a right to disagree with reality, facts born out by evidence. The idea that you are attacking me by claiming I somehow forbid you from an opinion or from thinking for yourself is a lie. I merely explained why you are wrong. 🙂 Engage, but only to a point where they reject reality. The minute they reach that point engaging them further accomplishes nothing. Funny enough you admit that. Harold isn’t doing that. That is why I told you he… Read more »
Will, Are you channeling FMJ? I think you are! I can just about hear Gunney.
Then you should also get into this. Unless you already have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R05JoavbfrU&list=PLBF6D9F34F602FC3B
No. I finished grade school, Will.
No, and I often disagree with him. Sometimes I don’t. It’s called an independent mind. It happens when you grow up in a family that goes over the news at the table and encourages questions. Oh, my Dad would make Attila the Hun seem like a Democrat.
loveaduck, Lord, for a moment there I was wondering if you were my daughter trolling me. Sure sounds like her and I get the Attila thing all the time.
Hold on. I’ll check under my foreskin.
Harold, I’ve got to ask you dude, just what is your final point of no return, for finally, actually not complying with confiscation laws? Will you decide to not comply when they come for your weapon at your front door? You keep telling the legal means to defend the Second Amendment, but that takes lots and lots of money, which the average gun owner does not have! You don’t seem to want to address that point at all in your articles! Why not? I’m not here to rant and rage at you I just want some honest answers. You keep… Read more »
@Neanderthal75 – May want to reread Harold’s article. He did not say that he would comply. He only says that yelling that you are not going to comply can be counter productive. I strongly suspect that the majority of AR owners are not yelling or otherwise announcing that they do not intend to comply, they simply won’t. This may well be a situation where exercising your 1st amendment rights could cost you your second. Those who have firearms and are quiet about it will likely never be identified, while those loudly proclaiming their non-compliance are putting themselves on lists to… Read more »
@Finnky
So blaming the homeowner instead of the burglar breaking down the door because the homeowner shouted “Hey, you cant come in here!” is the answer?
That is a juxtaposition of exactly what Harold’s argument is. Before you take your thought farther, is that really the position you want to agree with and try to defend in a debate? I have much more I could say, and I guarantee you wont want to answer the questions I have for you based on what you just wrote.
What will lose us our Rights is the continuous knee-bending and genuflecting to governmental tyrants by the American people. We have a Coup d’état against a duly-elected, sitting president and there are NO angry Americans at the capitol demanding it stop. Yet, there ARE angry communist democrats protesting against the president, the Constitution and our guns. But, what makes many American gun owners angry and complain about? A plastic toy ‘bump-stock’ made for limp-dik Rambo wannabes. The Founding Fathers left us a free country. Cowardly and ignorant Americans will surrender it to the communist democrats. After all, only 43% of… Read more »
Under withering fire you seek out the closest foxhole and dive into it. Over time the enemy has taken the high ground and it will be a fight to the death to regain lost ground. The main problem seems to be that the other guy in the foxhole thinks he owns it. He disapproves of your language. He complains about the mud on your boots. While you make the sacrificial move of sticking your head up with the hope of taking a shot. Behind you he has hoisted a white flag, revealing your location and signaled the enemy that you… Read more »
I am guessing u have never been in a FoxHole as we were and are all equals when we share them. Me, Draft # 252 to Nam, age 18. Google it as I don’t think u have a clue what US the USA is even about. It sure ain’t about ME as it is about US.
@g12, I think that Consider is writing about Harold, but his analogy does grate on the ears.
Gooder 12, You are correct in some of your assumptions. I have never been in a foxhole. Me. Lottery # 25, failed the physical ,age 21. Thank you for your service. It is not my fault that I was born a very small person. I did not intend to grate on the ears of anyone that has served to protect our rights and freedoms. I guess I thought that our 1st Amendment right to free speech would allow me to speak metaphorically in regards to Harold in a war situation.. I did not understand that because I was not allowed… Read more »
@Consider, Don’t assume too much. You can write anything that you want. But what you wrote just did not use the military speak the way a person that has been the military would. That is why it grates on the ears.
If I tried to speak to the French in French, they would hustle me off to the first conveyance out of France. Don’t get wrapped too tight.
Jeeeeezzz! Harold does it again! Just whose side are you on Harold? It damn sure isn’t the side of the 2nd Amendment. All you talk about is not offending the antis and being politically correct so as to not alienate people who are already alienated and who will NEVER support the 2nd Amendment no matter what we do. The term “Chickenshit” comes to mind whenever I read one of Harold’s articles and discover what type of actions he proposes. I guess Harold can always be an example of what NOT to do and of how Real Men shouldn’t behave.
HAROLD HUTCHISON IS NOT A SECOND AMENDMENT SUPPORTER/DEFENDER… When it comes to using our First Amendment rights to protect our Second Amendment rights, there is one particular mistake that far too many Second Amendment supporters(in name only) like Harold “Humperdink” Hutchison are making….. That is they are not really protecting our rights at all. Instead, they seek to blame anyone who actually understands what our nations laws are and is willing to stand up and speak out against or outright refuse to comply with the illegal and unconstitutional laws being criminally pushed through by fellow citizens who hate that our… Read more »
@wjd
I’ve had Harold’s number now for over a year, and could read him backwards while upside down and blindfolded. Which begs the question… Since he’s lost, why don’t he just reach out to me? 😛 I will happily tell him without fee or charge how he can extract his cranium from his…..
@wjd
Yeah, I had you by about 4 minutes on that one. Hence the “Pierre Delecto” reference.
The problem is not that he likes Harold. To each their own. The problem is that @loveaduck wants his opinion to replace reality just because it is his opinion. Hence why he avoided answering on the previous article and instead just skipped here hoping he could try the same tactic. Its just basic shilling, with no connection to factual evidence or rationality.
Louisa, Halifax, Buchanan, Rappahannock, Greensville, Russell and Culpeper counties became Virginia Second Amendment sanctuaries. So did the town of Exmore. There are now 31 Virginia 2A sanctuaries, according to gun-rights group VCDL.
All of these Virginia localities will have hearings on Second Amendment sanctuary resolutions today: Gloucester, King George, Tazewell, Middlesex, Alleghany, Fairfax, Norton, Orange, Pulaski (Town), Roanoke (County), Virginia Beach, Page, Goochland, Danville, York, and Amherst.
Harold’s NRA is noticeably absent from the fight!
I knew it was a Harold turd before I clicked on it. No surprise. Feeling have nothing to do with rights. Read the Constitution and follow it or line up for government soup lines.
Harold is once again “playing” the most mature and reasonable person in the room… the professor… the calm and collected tactician… who desperately wants to help the ignorant plebes that don’t know any better. Harold is either a severely misguided supporter of the 2nd or a Bloomberg plant who is trying to undermine the 2nd from within the community. As for his appeasement strategy, It doesn’t work, as evidenced by our current situation and the 20,000+ laws on the books. Further, you will never convince the scared soccer moms and those already brainwashed and determined to disarm the nation. Open… Read more »
@Arizona – How many “soccer moms” have you taken to the range? Try… you just might find you convert some to supporting gun rights. Get a few on your side and wait – they network, so you may find you have raised an army to help retain our rights. Please don’t underestimate suburban women – they carry considerable political might, and while most decisions are weighed on how they impact children – women are capable of both feeling and being rational simultaneously. Unlike men, who my experience suggest tend to base actions on one or the other at any given… Read more »
From the title of the article I knew it was a Pearl Clutching Harold article,next.
Gotta wonder where he’d draw the line. I want to protect and expand our rights peacefully but if it comes down to cleaning house ill do that with no. Mercy to the bastards that brought us to that.
The more we can get good people to arm train and carry the safer our civilization will be.
Thats my end goal!
Harold gives no credit to the media who are the foremost perps generating fear into people. He also gives no credit to now presidential candidate Bloomberg who has spent many millions forming groups and fomenting hatred directed at gun owners.
I would remind Harold that Charleton Heston promoted the ” From my cold, dead hands” slogan.
That is full on ” Molon Labe”, no surrender, no compromise.
Does this mean Harold also considers the late Mr. Heston a ” self appointed Second Amendment Commissar ” too ?
The irony is, Charlton Heston was a Fudd. The “from my cold, dead hands” slogan was created by Ackerman McQueen for Charlton Heston and he held a flintlock rifle replica when he said it. In 1997, Charlton Heston said “private possession of AK-47’s is entirely inappropriate.” In 2002, he said “firearms like the AK-47 scared him.” LOL. You may want to read up on how Charlton Heston was made the NRA President. He was essentially an Ackerman McQueen plant, a symbol for decades of corruption within the NRA that still continues today. With Ackerman McQueen, the NRA was at least… Read more »
While I was trying to point out problems with the argument that Harold repeatedly presents, I agree with your points. I went to a Gun Rights rally and saw Mr. Heston and saw him hold up the flintlock and I agree with the Fudd rating. I also remember his AK-47 statements as well as Michael Moore’s attacks on him and the NRA. As I remember the response from the NRA and Heston to Moore’s attacks were weak to non-existent. I think back then the Fudds were in the majority and they used defense tactics that even Harold would approve of.… Read more »
@Consider, Ackerman-McQueen is a law firm?
W.B., Sorry I wrongly called them a law firm. I do not remember the specifics but ,
Ackerman-McQueen , the Advertising Agency is tied to a law firm by family ties. I don’t remember whether it was siblings or marriage.
I just remember reading an article describing the relationship as a two headed beast.
Maybe Charlie Foxtrot can enlighten us both since it was he that first claimed knowledge of it and admonished me to read up on it.
I suppose it is possible that Ackerman is the advertising half and McQueen is the law firm half, or vice versa
Well, it seems you do not understand what I am talking about and it seems you do not to even understand what you are talking about either. Your reply is rather incoherent and full of nonsense. Michael Moore? Why are we talking about Michael Moore? I was talking about Charlton Heston and how he was brought in as the NRA President in what some view as an illegal move to block Jeff Knox, to block the needed house cleaning at the NRA and to cover up the corruption at the NRA. Same corrupt operatives (LaPierre, Hammer, etc. and Ackerman McQueen)… Read more »
Thanks for confirming some of what I said, a family tie resulting in two streams of money ( advertising and legal ) from the NRA going to one small group of people that support liberals ( like Beto & Hillary ). The template for a pattern that reaches back into the past. Who knows where,when, to who, how long ,and how much money is involved? I doubt many people know that. I see the NRA as having a deep state similar to what we now see in our governing bodies. As I remember, when Neal Knox was on the Board… Read more »
When you say “the past” and mean 2018, then you are right. LOL. I am talking about 1998 to 2003, so you are wrong. The Bill Brewer law firm had no contractual or other financial relationship with the NRA prior to late 2018! Bill Brewer’s father-in-law is Angus McQueen, the co-CEO of Ackerman McQueen who died recently. That’s it! The donations to Hillary and Beto by the Bill Brewer law firm happened in 2016 and 2018. The Gun Owners of America organization was founded on November 9, 1976. That was two DECADES before Neal Knox’s fight at the NRA. You… Read more »
Gun Owners of America founded in 1975, Larry Pratt took over in 1976.
Heston was brought in to block a Neal Knox presidency , not Jeff Knox as you said.
I did mix up Neal Knox with Larry Pratt both heroes of mine at one time.
Evidently Harold is your hero since you are much more concerned with what i say, rather than what Harold says.
You are correct, Neal Knox and not Jeff Knox, but the rest of your posts is all over the place in terms of decades in which things happened and people that were involved. If you think that Harold is my hero, then you not only have not understood anything I have posted here, but also not followed any of my posts on Ammoland over the last few years. You may want to scroll down all the way on this very page and read the very first post that was made (by me)! And the incorporation date of Gun Owners of… Read more »
Thanks for the link.I checked Militarywiki which disagrees as far as the founding date. I do not know California business law, it may be different from my state. Here there is no requirement for a business to incorporate.. Here a business can operate and never incorporate although it does have a founding date. I do not think that Harold is your hero. I offered that up because you said I was one of those people that believe Heston is no compromise. Actually you gained my respect when I was raked over coals over asking that question about the female LEO… Read more »
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. Gullible membership that refuses to acknowledge or deal with the corruption in the NRA is correct. https://politichicks.com/2019/08/nra-life-member-its-time-to-clean-up-the-nra/
@Considerthis I have been writing some particularly biting and analytical responses to Harold’s articles for some time. That “Commissar” comment is his weak as all get out attempt to send a snub in the direction of myself and the few others like me who will actually read his article and tear it apart piece by piece and expose him as the charlatan he is. Quite laughable when you consider his next assessment in that sentence was screaming “How dare all you meanies call me a Fudd and point out that I am trying to compromise or give the Anti’s some… Read more »
Absolutely yes, we do use diplomacy when we can, we have for decades. It’s not like we have not been patient. We have complained to city (sometimes), to state, to the feds (much more often), and to congress most of all and, on a rare day we remind the potus about our GOD given, constitutionally protected rights that judges, congress, presidents and enforcement types have been eroding for far too long. Should they ban or try to confiscate our arms (like they have already said they will do) we will be at war. War, just like our fore fathers did… Read more »
When I saw the headline I thought the story was going to be about open carry. I can see how that might not be appropriate in some circumstances, but refusing to comply with gun control? That should be universal. There’s no need to be belligerent about it, in fact a calm explanation of why is essential. But it should be made clear that unconstitutional laws will be resisted, refusing to comply is a duty, not an option.
Harold, I appreciate what you are saying that we need to be smart about the rhetorical battle so we can achieve what we want (protection of our rights) through peaceful means within our political system. When I read this article though, as a rank and file guy, I can’t help but experience frustration that the NRA, which is supposed to be OUR organization to counter the likes of Bloomberg– in grassroots spending, education and outreach, is clearly not doing its job. The legitimacy, goodwill and funds of that organization are being squandered. Why isn’t the NRA organizing pro-2A moms? Why… Read more »
Gee Harold H, I hate to be the one that has to break the bad news to you, but I can not help myself. I am just giddy about Camela Harris announcing that she is dropping out of the race for POTUS!
@Wild Bill
Yes, his girlfriend should be home in time for Christmas.
@Rev, The thought of sadomasochism underneath the Christmas tree is revolting and hilarious, both, at the same time!
@Wild Bill
I think it was @Oldvet a few days ago that I made the comment about a certain individual doing work for the Anti’s do to a female Lib tugging his short hairs.
(For any who didn’t pick up on it like Wild Bill understood the meaning, Harold is most certainly the effeminate “bottom”)
Harold, any “soccer mum” who is dumb enough and lazy enough to listen to and buy Bloomie’s Mad Mamas blatherings is too dumb and lazy to look past the sorts of “provocations” you outline. Statistics demonstrate time and time again that, for an example, training and then allowing adult employees at public schools to carry their own perosnal defensive weapons in school, just like they already do everywhere else, DOES indeed almost universally prevent attacks with firearms at schools. Logic also supports this practice. Done the way Ohio’s FASTER Saves Lives programme works, it does not cost the taxpayer one… Read more »
Congratulations Tionico — your own opening sentence 100% states why Harold is right this time (which I think makes the second time he has ever been right among the hundreds of worthless crap articles he has written here). I can’t guess where you get your “statistics” (I think you reached around behind yourself for the “statistics” you claim here) but there is almost nowhere outside the United States where school employees are allowed to carry personal defense weapons in schools — No, Tionico, not even Israel which would be the one example you were just about to use because you… Read more »
Tionico is 100% right, and Harold is 100% wrong, yet, again. Tionico also did not state what you posted he did, nor did he claim anything about a person with a rifle in Israel. Having teachers CC in schools, trained in tactics to handle criminals entering schools to harm children isn’t even close to the straw man you created and tore down. If you want to rebut someone’s post, don’t create a false claim and scenario that wasn’t their argument. There is no logical reason to cow-tow to these rabid Leftists, that’s what got us to where we are. The… Read more »
Heed, you saved me some time on the keyboard. Good post!
@Tionico – Please don’t write off all the “soccer moms”. It is not simply a matter of selecting one voice from the babble which is our politics. It is a chorus of voices, including those portrayed as moderates – throughout media and most of the public sphere. Most of these “soccer moms” live a sheltered life in the suburbs, far removed from hunting, camping or pretty much any relationship to the “great outdoors”. Important, trusted men in their lives do not wear camo, do not usually sport beards, and certainly do not opening carry firearms. If you show up armed,… Read more »
Finnky: Methinks you are bit too focused on what those “portrayed as moderates – throughout media” have to say, and not enough focused on the Law and reason.
Have you yet to learn that the way the media chooses to portray things is quite far removed from the truth?
“The buck stops with Mr. LaPierre, CEO and Executive Vice President of the NRA, and he is ultimately responsible for the most recent negative optics and financial crisis facing the NRA.
Members of the NRA demand leadership change, accountability, and transparency; specifically, the following:
Wayne LaPierre and the NRA Officers, Executive Directors, Managing Directors resign immediately, including Josh Powell.”
https://helpsavethenra.com/articles-related-to-whats-going-on-at-the-nra-aug-2019/
HUZZAH!! I couldn’t agree more!!
Everyone needs to EMAIL AMMOLAND & tell them to dump Little Harold!!
I knew who the author of this piece was before it had finished downloading. Fear can be a good thing.
I knew it was Scary Harold before I finished reading the title. Its just the way he (thinks he) thinks.
Thanks everyone. Saved me some words…..
I keep seeing these attacks on the National Rifle Association from people I would think are very concerned that the communists/socialists are getting exactly what they ask for every time they stab at the one institutions that have fought for our rights. I have no doubt that there are some things that need to be fixed but it seems to me that a lot of my fellow gun owners want to throw the baby out with the wash water. Be careful that you don’t cause the fatal injury to one of our best ways to fight against our enemy. We… Read more »
The fatal injury was already caused and since we dont have the numbers to fix it i sincerely hope the coumo gungrabbers burn it down. A good analogy is a field overgrown with brush! Its not good to grow anything useful with so you burn it off and plow and plant. If the nra is burned off itll be replanted and we can use it to fight like we should.
First Off I Did Not Per-Judge this by it title as I am older and wiser then that. Second is I only skimmed it and a couple replies. Now those few replies proves what this article is about. Go back years, me turned 18 in 70 which meant I was old enough to drink 3.2 Beer, Vote, and my Draft # to Nam was 252. Google it if u don’t get it. I have been shooting for over 55 years or about age 12, and guess what got me into shooting more then my just wanting to shoot?? It was… Read more »
You are the same age I am. I am 67, a Viet Nam veteran and remember when my 13 year old brother walked into a gun store in 1965 in Oregon and bought a revolver. The dealer handed my brother the pistol and a box of ammo said “take it to the river and try it out. See if it is what you want”. So we did and came back and paid the man for the revolver, ammo and a holster. TRY THAT today in this freak-show called the United States.
How the communism of the democrats has changed us.
Those who weren’t alive and aware back then have no idea what it was like. No more so than we did when, and if, our parents told of their lives as children during the Depression. You can hear the facts but living it is different.
Your best post ever !
@Roy, My dad told of driving a delivery truck, at 12, for his father, during that depression. No DL or CDL.
@wjd, Yeah, now they keep a record of everything you do, photograph you in town, and surveil one’s every move.
@ttj, Yes, freedom that future generations will never know, unless we get the GCA repealed.
gooder, Mine was 10
@gooder, You write, “… The FFL System in place which like it or not keeps us from going back to the Wild West.” The wild west (what ever that means) had less violent crime than today. The “FFL System” (more properly the GCA of 68) is repugnant to the Constitution, specifically the Second Amendment, which is preemptive of government action in nature.
@Wild Bill
Plus, it seems strange that Gooder for being “Older and wiser” has the grammar of a second year elementary student. That might explain the “Wild West” comment, just lack of proper understanding leading to a basic generalization stemming from a languor towards history.
Different times my friend. In Northfield back then, people didn’t stand by watching and recording bank heists so the could play it on the news later or upload it to the internet.
@Rev, Yeah, people, back then, knew that one could not save themselves by playing nice with the bad intentioned crowd.
Yup. There’s always bad people around. That’s what the .45s on the hips were for. Col. Colts “great equalizer”. It keeps the wolves at bay. Naturally, the wolves are unhappy about that. STILL. And likely always.
In the “wild west” the crime rate, per capita, was not far below what it is overall, in the US today. The real difference lies in the type of crimes. Then, it was a lot of shootings in bar fights between two people agreed to be opponents and such. There were no home invasions, few rapes or child killings, etc. With no profit motive in those crimes, most were armed robberies, killings to avoid witnesses, etc. Just random violence for fun or because of blind hatred, like we have so much of today, was a non issue then. “People must… Read more »
Guys, I have to agree with you, and I also have to agree with Harold. Not everything, mind you. Defending the Enron-R-A is not excusable. The NRA needs to go away. It had become an albatross around the necks of gunowners even before Lapierre’s theft, graft, and corruption were disclosed. I’m pretty sure that after a couple million current members’ memberships expire, the number will show that we are running, not walking, away from NRA. But I digress. (And it gets worse if you read on.) A guy in our small neighborhood of nice homes was at an informal gathering… Read more »
It is sad that so many people who say they are concerned about their rights take up the mantel of anti-gun zealots and spread their hate. I am sure that the NRA has issues, rather it be Wayne Lapierre or some other problem does not concern me. What concerns me is how easily the people who would take our rights have steered the people who are supposed to be helping others who support the right to keep and bear arms into fighting for the downfall of one of the institutions that have stood for those rights throughout history. Keep believing… Read more »
There seems to be an assumption that open carry can convert fence sitters to the enlightenment of the 2nd Amendment. Realistically, that’s not gonna happen. The polarization of beliefs on the 2nd Amendment is chiseled in stone. What remains is exercising your basic human right to self defense. Stop making bearing arms a publicity stunt. Guns are around us ALL THE TIME! Stop treating adults like naive 6-year olds. It scares some people? So what. Seriously, so what!
Good reply Bowser! Too bad that you’ll get clubbed over the head for creating a discussion!
Good reply Bowser. Too bad you’ll get clubbed over the head by creating a discussion!!
Keep creating straw men and knocking them down. When you want to have a real discussion involving facts and reality, we that believe in our rights will be here to have that discussion. In the meantime, do some introspection on why you hate yourself and our natural and inalienable rights so much as to bash us with your false projections of us.