January 18, 2013

Guns

Official Washington has the collective attention span of a fruit fly. This condition is exacerbated by the Obama administration’s proclivity for declaring selective events and issues to be crises that require immediate action. The problem is aggravated because the loyal opposition is in nearly total disarray, and few in the so-called mainstream media have any idea what they are talking about. That’s the summary assessment of many attending the annual Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show here in Harry Reid’s Nevada. Note to editors and broadcast producers: The SHOT Show isn’t a gun show. Nobody here can buy or sell a single firearm.

CLARK COUNTY, Nev. – Official Washington has the collective attention span of a fruit fly. This condition is exacerbated by the Obama administration’s proclivity for declaring selective events and issues to be crises that require immediate action. The problem is aggravated because the loyal opposition is in nearly total disarray, and few in the so-called mainstream media have any idea what they are talking about.

That’s the summary assessment of many attending the annual Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show here in Harry Reid’s Nevada. Note to editors and broadcast producers: The SHOT Show isn’t a gun show. Nobody here can buy or sell a single firearm. There are guns here – and tents, boats, clothing, boots, camping gear, all-terrain vehicles, SUVs, bows, arrows, fishing tackle and all manner of police and equipment – even high-tech wheelchairs for outdoor activities. The SHOT Show isn’t open to the public – only to representatives of the industries above, professional outfitters, law enforcement officials and military suppliers and contractors.

My first SHOT Show, in 1992, was as the manufacturer of specialty armor and ballistic protective equipment for law enforcement and our military. This year, I came to represent the Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee of the National Rifle Association. Freedom Alliance sent our outreach coordinator to explore additional outdoor activities to help America’s military heroes recover from the wounds of war.

Trade shows are really nothing more than an opportunity for members of an affinity group to meet and exchange ideas on new products and services, challenges facing their industry, and what works and what doesn’t to stay in business. There are more than 90,000 trade and professional associations in the U.S., and nearly all of them have gatherings with ample opportunities for fruitful conversations among like-minded people seeking solutions to common challenges. The nearly 36,000 people attending this year’s SHOT Show are no different.

What was different this year was what was happening in Washington and, to a lesser extent, in Albany, N.Y., where Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed new “gun control” legislation into law Jan. 15. Nearly everyone I spoke with understood that New York’s Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act and the 23 directives issued the following day by the president were going to affect their business. The common refrain was: “How is (insert new measure here) going to stop bad people from doing bad things?” These are not cynical questions. They are serious inquiries from serious people who see their businesses – and the employment of hundreds of thousands of our countrymen – jeopardized by hasty, ill-conceived regulations that will not achieve the goal of a safer society.

That’s not to say there is universal opposition to what the White House announced Jan. 16. In two days here at the SHOT Show, I’ve had hundreds of conversations with participants. A few observations:

There is widespread support for the NRA’s proposal to put police officers in schools. All here endorse the idea of keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals and mentally unstable individuals who pose a danger to others.

The ideas of pursuing and prosecuting “straw purchasers” of firearms and giving longer sentences to those convicted of violent crimes have wide appeal. There were, of course, some who suggested that Attorney General Eric Holder might have to prosecute himself for the straw purchases he authorized in his ill-conceived “Fast and Furious” gunrunning scheme.

The NY SAFE Act requires law-abiding citizens to pass a background check before being able to purchase ammunition of any kind. One retailer points out: “There is no mechanism for making such a check – no form we can fill out, no way of complying. My lawyers have told us to stop filling catalog and Internet orders from New York ZIP codes until this is clarified. The people who drafted this law spent more time concocting a cute acronym than thinking about how this could put me out of business. Maybe that’s their real objective.”

At 3-Gun Nation’s “Rumble on the Range” – where competitors are scored on speed and accuracy in firing a shotgun, a handgun and a rifle – one of the competitors, a U.S. Marine, observed: “This sport cannot happen with small-capacity magazines. Too bad Cuomo and Reid aren’t here to explain why this is a bad thing.” Citizens of the Empire State must now go elsewhere to practice and participate in three-gun competitions.

And finally, there were numerous complaints that “nobody in politics or the media knows what an ‘assault weapon’ really is.” Perhaps. But there is an organization that does: the National Rifle Association. If the numbers are right, more than 100 million Americans own firearms. Yet only 4.5 million of us are members of the NRA. This would be a good time for law-abiding gun owners to join the organization that will fight for the right to keep them.

COPYRIGHT 2013 CREATORS.COM

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.