[WARNING: THIS POST
CONTAINS PROFANITY]
A certain population of pro-gun activists seem to think it's
okay to threaten and insult those of us who are working to limit the
availability of guns to criminals.
I get such threats all too commonly. I've posted
some examples before, back when I stopped allowing anonymous comments to
this blog, showing how they threatened to do me harm, come to my home, and even
insinuated raping my 5-year old (at the time) daughter. Not too long ago, one calling himself
"Takedown" left a comment reply on a news site to me, saying "stay
the hell away from central Oregon we might shoot your ass."
Another, calling himself "PleaseBeSmart" left a
comment on a news article about the recent Rally to Prevent Gun Violence,
saying "I'm really glad you see an armed threat though, because that's
exactly what it will be if push comes to shove."
Here's an insulting email, full of profanity, left recently
at the Ceasefire Oregon email in-box, from an Oregon resident, Mike Springer, which he sent from his
work email at Benchmark
Land Surveying, unhappy with the recently-proposed Oregon Assault Weapons
Ban, HB3200:
As if pillows, knives, cars, or baseball bats have ever been
used in a mass murder!
The really interesting part with Mr. Springer is that he was an elected official. He was
the Grant County Surveyor from 2008-2012 (I don't know if he was re-elected,
but he
at least tried to be).
His personal
profile at his company site states that "He enjoys
traditional archery, hunting, Tae Kwon Do and biking." Apparently he enjoys spewing profanity and
insults, too. I question whether someone
with his aggressive and unstable behavior should be allowed to possess guns.
Is this how we expect our elected officials to act? Is this the sort of insulting language we
expect of them? I think the people of
Grant County, Oregon, need to re-think who they elect to lead them.
One Oregon legislator, Ginny Burdick, has introduced a
number of public safety bills, including some that limit guns. She is a cosponsor of HB3200, in fact. Because of this, she gets huge numbers of
robo-emails from the gun lobby here and its supporters. Many of those, unfortunately, are profane and
threatening.
She has gotten so many, in fact, that she recently postponed
a town hall meeting about gun rights at a college campus. According to Burdick:
"I've had town halls crashed by the extremist gun lobbyists before," she said. "They do not make life pleasant when they do that. They're disruptive and rude, and I didn't want to subject the students at Portland State to that kind of behavior."
But here's the kicker: as if threatening and rude emails weren't
enough, the gun extremists stalked the
Senator and filmed her at her home!
They then showed footage of her at home on public websites, accusing her
of lying about why she postponed her town hall.
Talk about creepy! But that's the
pro-gun extremists for you! They have no
shame.
But threats aren't limited to local
extremists. They come even from the NRA,
and not just from NRA board member and extreme insurrectionist nutcase, Ted
Nuget (who even threatened
President Obama).
Recently, NRA President David Keene, who's own son
shot
at someone in a road rage incident, said in an
interview:
"Around the country, the tide is turning on these questions," Keene told influential conservatives at the New York Meeting. "It's going to be a very rough and very ugly battle, as many of you have already seen.""Fortunately, our enemy doesn't have any guns and they don't know how to use them," he added.
Of course not. You don't hear threats of violence from gun violence prevention advocates, so why would he bother to say so? Clearly this is a veiled threat of violence, planting a seed in the heads of NRA followers (the ones who have guns and know how to use them) for this "very rough and very ugly battle." After all, as Wayne LaPierre infamously said, "The guys with the guns make the rules!"
Want to see more threats and insults? They're easy to find. Here's plenty more at the "Things Pro-Gun Activists Say" blog.
Will the gun guys do something stupid or violent at upcoming rallies? Surely not! Not according to the extremist group here in Oregon, the Oregon Firearms Federation. Anything violent or threatening done by a guy with a gun at one of their rallies must be (get this!) the fault of an "anti-gunner!" From their most recent "OFF Alert":
[T]here is every reason to believe the anti-gunners may attempt to seed the crowd with someone who will do something to embarrass gun owners and create opportunities for the gun grabbers.If you see someone doing something stupid, don’t assume he is one us. Step in and take action. The politicians and the media want an incident and there is no reason to believe one won’t be fabricated.
Talk about paranoia and psychological displacement!
The gun guys only do themselves a disfavor by making threats and insults. They harm their own cause. I guess I should be glad, since they expose their true feelings this way, to help me in MY cause.
UPDATE (3/13/13): According to a New York Times article on intimidation of Oregon lawmakers by pro-gun advocates, particularly of Burdick, another shameful political link was revealed. The slimy pro-gunners who stalked Burdick at her home were "friends" of Jeff Reynolds, the chairman of the Multnomah County Republican Party. From the article ("Politics by Intimidation"):
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UPDATE (3/13/13): According to a New York Times article on intimidation of Oregon lawmakers by pro-gun advocates, particularly of Burdick, another shameful political link was revealed. The slimy pro-gunners who stalked Burdick at her home were "friends" of Jeff Reynolds, the chairman of the Multnomah County Republican Party. From the article ("Politics by Intimidation"):
On the evening of March 4, two men sat in a car across from her home and videotaped her. They showed her driving into her garage and taking out her garbage. Having “proved” that Burdick did not have a scheduling conflict, they then put together a short video of Burdick at home. Jeff Reynolds, the chairman of the Multnomah County Republican Party, who also claims to be a citizen journalist, posted the video on a Web sitehe runs.
When I spoke to Reynolds, he conceded that the videographer was a friend but refused to divulge his name. He said the video had nothing to do with the gun issue. ....
The extremist tactics of people like Jeff Reynolds and his videographer friend are clearly part of the reason why — they’ve helped delegitimize the Oregon Republican Party.
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