Oregon Firearms Federation Attempts To Slander A Legislator's Family And It Backfires

Screenpic from the OFF Facebook page.

The most outspoken "gun rights" organization in Oregon is the Oregon Firearms Federation, which bills itself as "Oregon's only no compromise gun rights organization" and considers the NRA to be too weak and compromising!  This is the same organization that is responsible for allowing concealed guns on university grounds and has, among other things, pushed to legislatively mandate that school kids get hands-on training with guns as young as kindergarten, allow felons to get their guns back, and trying to abolish background checks being performed by the state police.  The organization and its Executive Director, Kevin Starrett, have routinely harassed legislators and gun violence prevention advocates.

But they tried to push the personal harassment up a notch by posting on their Facebook page what they felt was a scandalous picture.  In what could only be called a juvenile attempt worthy of some schoolyard bully, they posted a photo of a relative of a legislator (Chuck Schumer), whom they oppose, in the hopes of embarrassing that legislator and his family.

See the screenpic to the right.   The caption that OFF posted (most likely by Starrett) with the picture reads:

I bring you... Amy Schumer. Foul mouthed, anti-gun militant and cousin to gun grabber Chucky Schumer. Of course, she is a vocal feminist and opposed to the degrading of women. But here she is in a tire calendar. Sorry I know it's hard on the eyes, but you cannot make this stuff up.

See their posting HERE before they take it down in shame.

Some OFF Supporters, cued by OFF's caption, responded in kind with even worse comments:

So, the Michelin Man(Schumer) finally put out a calendar? 

Soooo, she oposes degradation of women, and poses semi nude? Her hypocrisy knows no bounds. 

I wouldn't take her to a shit fight as a shield 

What a tramp 

I think she has a dam sexy body, I would love to try to FiretrUCK the liberal out of her. 

She looks like a spare tire... 

Skank hoe 

Jeez ...well there goes dinner. Some things you just can't unsee

My first thought upon seeing the image was one of skepticism.  It's the standard practice of OFF to distort the truth or outright lie to get their way.  Did they Photoshop her face on another picture?  Or is this a photo taken out of context?  So I did a reverse Google image search of the picture.  What it led to were a number of art and photography blogs celebrating the picture.  When I followed the links back to the original image, I was floored by what I found...

The image is indeed of Amy Schumer...  by renowned artistic photographer Annie Leibovitz!  You may know her best for her celebrity pictures, such as the ones of John Lennon and Yoko Ono taken in 1980 that landed the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.  HERE is a photo gallery of a sampling of other celebrity photos she has taken.  

The photo of Amy Schumer is one of a series taken for the 2016 Pirelli Tire Company Calendar.  According to CNN, the calendar focuses on female celebrities who are breaking down sexist barriers.  Other celebrities in the project include Serena Williams, Yoko Ono, and director Ava DuVernay.

Amy Schumer, by the way, is a well-known comedian, writer, actress, and producer.  Wikipedia states that "her father is second cousin to U.S. senator Chuck Schumer."

Here is a link to the official Pirelli Calendar homepage and behind-the-scenes video, which includes a quick statement by Schumer, saying, "I felt I looked more beautiful than I've ever looked in my life." -- http://pirellicalendar.pirelli.com/en/the-cal-2016/home

Wow.  So this isn't some "skank" pin-up photo, as implied by OFF... This is an honor and a statement on realistic feminine beauty taken by a renowned photographer!

The true meaning of the image seems totally lost to OFF, naturally, who can't seem to see past their own sexism and their hatred of a legislator who has supported commonsense gun reforms.

And the image is backfiring.  Quite a lot of OFF Facebook visitors are calling them out on their childish attempt at slander, particularly women.  Here are some of their comments on that posting:

When you degrade and insult her for her physical appearance you lose the credibility and integrity of your argument. Point out her hypocrisy or make a case against her views that oppose yours. Don't roll in the mud with everybody else who resorts to personal attacks 

Somebody didn't get the point of the photo. She posed for this to show people that you don't have to be "perfect" to be comfortable with who you are and how you look 

Wow, what a bunch of a-holes some of you are! Take on her politics not her appearance. Jerks! 

Quit posting childish bullshit like this if you want to keep getting my money. 

Wow. As a 5th generation Oregonian, commercial fisherman, country girl who loves her guns and everyone else's right to own them - you lost me here. To you "grown men" calling her fat and gross: let's see your abs. Fucking ridiculous. I'm out. 

She is a beautiful Mature Woman and you guys are ignorant of true beauty if you cant see that!!!! 

Apologize and remove or I will never support OFF again. Screen shot taken to shame you if this is not removed. 

Poor taste, OFF, you're better than this. 

I will no longer be supporting OFF. Shame on you. 

what a bunch of asses...i'm deleting this page now...no longer following..

 I know and have worked for a few businesses that promote OFF. I'm getting the feeling that a lot of fliers, stickers, and pamphlets are going to be coming off the counters today. 

I guess you could say that OFF really dropped their pants on this one.  Or rather, Amy Schumer did it for them!

Leave it to OFF to make a fool of themselves in their ever-present push to harass and intimidate those who want to protect our society from gun violence.  Just another reason to stop supporting them, and another reason for our legislators to turn their back on such a horrible organization.
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