NEW YORK — Threatened by long-term declining participation in shooting sports, the firearms industry has poured millions of dollars into a broad campaign to ensure its future by getting guns into the hands of more, and younger, children.
The industry’s strategies include giving firearms, ammunition, and money to youth groups; weakening state restrictions on hunting by young children; marketing an affordable military-style rifle for ‘‘junior shooters’’; sponsoring semiautomatic-handgun competitions for youths; and developing a target-shooting video game that promotes brand-name weapons, with links to the manufacturers websites.
Comments
To say the gun industry is Machiavellian would be an understatement.
I haven't seen you say that the video game industry is Machiavellian? Not only do they condition children to shoot at PEOPLE, but they get them to believe they should be "rewarded" for doing it, by giving them "bonus points".
My cap guns I used to have probably warped me, too. How about going after the 233000 people who lose track of their guns every year?
The similarity to the tobacco industry in the sixties is amazing. This unthinkable campaign will only galvanize and grow the gun control movement. Most people aren't stupid. When the second amendment was ratified, people needed firearms to put food on the table and Americans were fresh out of a revolution. Where's its relevence today?
A) The 2A was not ratified. It was included in the original Bill of Rights, all of the states agreed upon it.
B) The 2A is not about hunting. You need to do some serious research. Even anti gunners understand it is not about hunting.
C) Being fresh out of a revolution, the Framers were well aware that arms were extremely important to prevent governments from becoming oppresive and tyrannical.
It is as relevant today as the day it was written. In case you have not noticed, Obama did not go looney tunes in his ideas about "gun control", proposing all sorts of unconstitutional ideas, like confiscating weapons. He knows that such a move could easily lead to a movement to defend the constitution. Many people here in the NorthEast are unaware how deep the gun culture is in the rest of the country, and how the people in those areas understand the 2A is there to prevent the government from running amuck.
Was there a point to this article?
The last time I looked, there was nothing illegal about businesses offering free giveaways, holding seminars, discounts or introducing "junior models" of products to increase their markets.
But this just has to be wrong, because there are guns involved. Wrong.
I can always tell I am in New England when I read articles like this, it assumes we all believe that this is just plain wrong, no questions asked, no thinking required. Time for a good old New England BAN IT!
Let me help History by answering his question. The point of the article is that the current gun debate is not between constitution-loving Americans on one hand and tyrants-in-hiding Americans on the other. The gun manufacturers and their network of non-profit groups and political action committees pour tons of money into justifying their pursuit of profits through, among other things, appealing to 8 year olds to get involved with guns and attacking ANY effort to control access to firearms. They may even pay people to monitor Globe coverage of the gun issue and swat at any of those pesky tyrants-in-hiding who question the gun lobby. The cigarette manufacturers took a similar tack and were quite successful for many years, mostly using the 1st Amendment as their constitutional justification. Former Chief Justice Warren Burger stated that the NRA-type’s use of the 2nd Amendment was a complete FRAUD. The current reading of the 2nd Amendment had been rejected by the Supreme Court until 2008 (thanks to Scott Brown’s favorite Justice, Antonin Scalia). So the notion that there has been a long-standing constitutional consensus on the individual right to bear arms is…a FRAUD. And understanding that the gun manufacturers who market to children are behind such drivel should be more broadly understood. That is the point of this article…at least as we proto-tyrants understand it.
Nahant: Let me help you by stating the obvious, people can read, even the Constitution. They can also read things like the Federalist Papers, which make the intent of the Framers abundantly clear. Like most anti gunners, you cherry pick in support of your arguments. Another cherry is Burger, one man, not the Supreme Court as a whole, made the statement you cited. You then procede to declare that there has never been a long standing constitutional consensus on the individual right to bear arms, declaring it a fraud.
However, in U.S. v Miller 1939, just by the Court hearing the case is evidence that Court acknowledged the right of an individual to bear arms. In his case, they did not agree he could carry a sawed off shotgun. In their words "such an instrument", a direct reference to the TYPE of firearm, not firearms in general. If the court did not feel an individual had a right to bear a firearm, they would have rejected the case rather than hear it. Burger came long after that ruling.
Your argument bears no weight.
NRA paying people to monitor these conversations? Where do I sign up? Love to be paid for this. Oh heck, I will do it just because I am a citizen and believe in EVERYONE's rights, whether I always like what that means or not. But that sounds pretty far fetched Nahant...another conspiracy theory?
Umm, equating cigarettes and guns is rather strange. The constitution does not mention cigs as it does arms, in any case, cigs are still not illegal, nor has Feinstein gotten around to declaring some of them to be "Assault Cigarettes, that spray out smoke in clouds"
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"The point should be to get newcomers started shooting something." Yes, let's just get shootin', doesn't matter what where how who. Of course, there are readers who are only here to defend the industry under the tired guise of our Rights. They put forth enough time and effort that it raises the question of their true motivation- are they just shills for the bullet industry? Sure seems that way.
Just for you and Les, Honest. A little over a week ago:
RALEIGH, N.C. — Two brothers face multiple charges, including first-degree burglary and attempted murder, in connection with an early-morning violent home invasion in Raleigh's Oakwood neighborhood in which a man was shot and his wife sexually assaulted
The man shot was the homeowner, nice couple, minding their own business sleeping.
You go right ahead, you remove a person's right to self defense, or limit it. Their blood will be on your anti gun hands.
Oh, btw, the man shot, he is now paralyzed from the waist down.
Keep talking the stupid "they are here to defend the gun industry" line. And call the 2A a tired guise.
Sleep soundly tonight.
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You have to give this fellow some points for clarity. Histoyisjustthat and his friends are NOT talking about target shooting and deer hunting. But it reminds me of the kind of stuff that was being thrown around in Dallas in the early 60s.
http://aattp.org/raving-violent-lunatic-calls-for-civil-war-and-threatens-to-start-killing-people-if-obama-tries-to-take-his-guns-video/
Nope, we are not talking about hunting/target practice. We are talking about self defense. I am not talking about overthrowing the government either. No need to, we have a very excellent framework in place.
Most of the country has not gone ape with crazy gun laws, mostly here in New England and CA.
That guy in the video? You might be surprised to know that he has a reputation as being a complete jerk in the gun community. About the only people who listen to him are some young Joe Tacticool wannabe's, until they figure out he is an idiot.
"Their blood will be on your anti gun hands" the nra-spokesman/commenter tells me in his response, trying to make his case with an anecdote, trying to lay a guilt trip on *me*! What world do these extremists live in? The "Blood" is on the Hands of the Culprits, the Gun Lobby and the Manufacturers, and also on the Extremist Elements who will happily see hundreds, Thousands slaughtered before conceeding a single one, A Single One (!) of their precious "rights", or what they Perceive to be their right. Let me tell you good peoples, our Right as a Nation is to have gun lobbyists and their Brethren depleted and deflated in their Pathetic attempts to force their Antiquated ideas to reign supreme in our United States of America. We the citizenry are not Fools- we shall not tolerate these Arm-the-Populace obsessive/reactionaries. God bless Joe Biden and all those working to bring Common Sense back into our country's twisted dialogue with gun obsession.
Concede? I would not "concede" or "negotiate" with a cannibal as to what is for dinner either.
Who cares that you do not agree to what gun owners think are their rights? You speak of your right as a "Nation"? Are you kidding me? You would be laughed out of about 40 states for your viewpoints on gun control. Go look at the laws in other states concerning licensing and registration.
Just how are you going to "deplete" gun lobbyists and their "brethren" (I would assume that is all us gun owners?). What is a "depletion" You going to shoot them?
"You the citizenry" here in New England have a large number of fools, the anti gun fools. They walk around thinking they will create a la-la land free of danger. They think their laws have made this state safer, while ignoring that violent crime and homicide have been decreasing at the same rate across the entire nation.
So yes, HonestMan, be truly honest, when you deprive a person of the means to protect themselves, the blood will be on your anti gun hands. Remember, murderers use knives, clubs, fists, etc, not just guns. So you in your paradise of no guns, there will still be murder, but a 5'2 woman will not be able to defend herself. If that is your goal, then be man enough to take the responsibility.
Blood. Blood in your eyes. Bloody in your hair. Blood everywhere. That's all you know, ain't it, Joe! L-O-L!! L-O-L!! L-O-L !!
Children: reach out to gun makers! Show them the way, the truth, the light! Turn back the Right, the forces of the Night!
I finally figured out what has people so bugged in this part of the country, why they want even more gun laws.
They sat here all smug, thinking "See, we have all these great gun laws, and WE do not have these terrible school shootings"
Then one morning in December they turned on their TV sets and got a wake up call. Conneticut had an AWB, licensing, blah, blah. It didn't work.
Rather than admit those solutions don't work, they will prove that LAWS WILL WORK by passing more of them.
Then they can be nice and smug, feel all safe and snug, until the next one. Hopefully, before that happens, someone will figure out what is really CAUSING these tragedies and get them stopped. But smug New Englanders will sit back and tell themselves it is because of their laws.
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Sensitivity and empathy? WOW, how about just protect the kids, save the PC bs for your latte chit chats.
This NY Times article testifies to the lack of any morality or conscience on the part of gunmakers and their lobbyists and propagandists. Their day in the sun is over; their backs are against the wall. It's good to see them going down (slow).
Pssst....what you do not know is that gun sales have been steadily increasing for YEARS, new market segment opened in recent years: young female shooters. (They got tired of being raped, beaten and robbed)
The smart people have figured out just like the criminals, police take reports.