NRA, gun industry once again mine profit from paranoia
In the health-care debate, we’ve all watched as the proudest single accomplishment of a self-described “severely conservative” Republican governor has somehow been transformed into proof of Marxist intent once that same plan was adopted by a Democratic president.
It’s political alchemy at its best. In fact, as testimony to the power of propaganda, that one’s hard to beat. It reminds us that if people really want to believe something — even something manifestly ridiculous, illogical and countermanded by facts — they will still find a way to do so.
But this example of that same phenomenon comes in a close second:
“Gun sales are soaring nationwide and retailers say that’s not unusual to see during a presidential election year. “Basically the situation you have now is 2008 all over again,” said Steven B. Drew, owner of Georgia Gun and Loan.
Analysts say the 2008 spike came from fear that new gun control legislation would make it more difficult to acquire firearms. “People were uncertain what the new president and the new administration was going to do so there tends to be a upsurge in fire arm sales in general,” said Drew.
Now, they are seeing it all over again. “A lot of people got guns and they certainly don’t want to be without ammo. If they think they are going to cut back on the ammunition they are going to stock pile it so they wont be out,” said Jackie Sizemore, the owner of Backwoods Outdoors.
Sizemore says his store has been busy. He’s constantly having to re-order guns and ammo to keep supplies on the shelves. “You’ll be out of a lot of goods, people will be waiting on a lot of stuff ,” he said.
Weapons like pistols and tactical weapons like AR-15s.
“Those are what you will find on the chopping block first they will do away with tactical type guns like that and high capacity magazines stuff like that,”he said.
In fact, Sizemore says he can barely keep AR-15s on the shelf. “Everybody will be out of AR 15s. You won’t be able to find them anywhere,” he said.
A screen-grab from the NRA's "gunbanobama.com" website.
As I’ve noted earlier, we’ve been through this before. During the 2008 campaign, Wayne LaPierre and the NRA warned gun owners that Barack Obama had a 10-point plan to confiscate all of their guns and ammunition.
Point One was supposed to be a federal ban on the use of guns for home defense. Point Three was a ban on the sale, manufacture and possession of handguns. Point Four was the closure of 90 percent of American gunshops. Federal taxes on guns and ammunition were supposed to go up 500 percent, and the sale of ammunition for hunting rifles was supposed to be banned altogether.
And of course, none of that ever happened. It was all tinfoil-hat stuff, manufactured to part the gullible from their money, and it worked spectacularly well. Based on a completely fabricated threat, the NRA and its sponsors in the gun industry terrified the suckers into buying huge quantities of the gun industry’s products. Ka-ching!
Now, you might think that people who get fooled so badly would learn a lesson from that humiliation. They might get wary of those who had played them for dummies. But once again, such thinking fails to account for the fact that sometimes people just want to be fooled, and if people want to be played for suckers there is no way on earth to help them.
Consider, if you will, LaPierre’s explanation for why that 10-point plan was never implemented. He now argues that the fact that Obama has done nothing regarding gun control — the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has even given Obama an “F” rating — in fact proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s a sinister gun-grabber.
And yes, that is actually the argument that they are using. And yes, that is the argument that is driving gun owners into the stores to buy still more guns. Like people lining up for a rollercoaster ride, they are scared because they want to be scared and, I suspect, even enjoy it at some level.
And the people scaring them are chuckling all the way to the bank.
– Jay Bookman
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434 comments Add your comment
larry
July 19th, 2012
11:54 am
Is the “gun community” separate from the community at large ?
the cat
July 19th, 2012
11:55 am
getalife-agreed. I loved the quote from the dad saying “We must worship different Gods”
ken
July 19th, 2012
11:55 am
A good defense is a good offense
stands for decibels (SfBA)
July 19th, 2012
11:56 am
Where’s the vaunted conservative wisdom and sense of fair play?
Out frolicking with the unicorns in my backyard.
Don't Forget
July 19th, 2012
11:57 am
This is all a misunderstanding. Obama wants gub control.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UHOgkDbVqc
stands for decibels (SfBA)
July 19th, 2012
11:58 am
How much does the NRA pay someone to Photoshop those cartoonish frowns on Preznit Uppity, by the way?
Aquagirl
July 19th, 2012
11:58 am
Are you saying you weren’t aware of the treaty and the stir it has caused in the gun community Jay?
Maybe he deletes forwarded crazycakes e-mails instead of reading and believing them. Just a thought.
I get some insane stuff via older relatives too but I’d never heard of the Hitlary’s gonna take yer GUNZ!! thing until today. Some of us really are unaware of the insane universe. That’s not a bad thing, give it a try sometime.
Roads
July 19th, 2012
12:00 pm
It all makes sense, ridiculous sense. Trash education, create an underclass, keep it loyal by identifying a minority population to blame for their circumstance and,… then convince them the low paying jobs are caused by taxes on the boss —- wait. …and arm them?
Reminds one of the lyrics from Bob Dylan’s southern political ode:
“…A finger fired the trigger to his name
A handle hid out in the dark
A hand set the spark
Two eyes took the aim
Behind a man’s brain
But he can’t be blamed
He’s only a pawn in their game.”
“Only a Pawn in Their Game”
stands for decibels (SfBA)
July 19th, 2012
12:01 pm
the Hitlary’s gonna take yer GUNZ!!
Useful to remember next time some conservative trots out ye olde “you know, I would’ve voted for Hillary if the Democrats had been smart enough to nominate her” talking point.
Suuure you woulda.
weetamoe
July 19th, 2012
12:01 pm
We haven’t heard from the fast ‘n furious whistleblowers yet. Evidently the gun buyers have money to spend and are helping the economy. Smith and Wesson did not build that gun business. Somebody else did. Glock did not… ya know awready….Atlanta cop responding to complaints about crime on Tech campus said the police can not be everywhere at once. You are responsible for your own safety. Supreme court said same thing. Obama really needs to go home and do something about the blood bath in Chicago. He has not really instilled any sense of security, and seems to consider more and more of us enemies of the people.
larry
July 19th, 2012
12:01 pm
How much does the NRA pay someone to Photoshop those cartoonish frowns on Preznit Uppity, by the way?
Huh ? pay? Why they do it for free. Or else.
stands for decibels (SfBA)
July 19th, 2012
12:01 pm
Bankster SHEETZ.
TiredOfIt
July 19th, 2012
12:03 pm
“I still think its a good idea to have subdivisions announce whether they are gun friendly or not. ”
If this was the case and I were a criminal, I would be prepared and shoot you as soon as I entered your home. I would prefer the criminal didn’t know what I had.
JKL2
July 19th, 2012
12:06 pm
joe mama- I’m not dodging your question. I’m trying to get at why — if you think there are multiple factors that go into selecting the person for whom *you* will vote — you would demand that Democrats only consider *one* factor
Strike four, dodging continues…
Who said you have to limit it to one factor? Your non-answer was to try and reverse the question. Typical of today’s DNC. Do nothing while complaining the Republicans have no ideas.
Rafe Hollister
July 19th, 2012
12:07 pm
As the stock brokers say, past performance is no indication of future activity.
This man has shown that he will do what he thinks best, in spite of what the law or the Constitution says. If he doesn’t like the law or Constitution, he has learned ways around them.
Given a second term, there is a reasonable fear, that he may again seek to govern against the will of the people. Stock up, sight in your weapons, and practice your shooting; often you don’t get a second chance to defend yourself or your rights.
JKL2
July 19th, 2012
12:08 pm
-Where’s the vaunted conservative wisdom and sense of fair play?
It’s hard to see beneath all of obama’s mud slinging…
Jay
July 19th, 2012
12:08 pm
Are you saying you weren’t aware of the treaty and the stir it has caused in the gun community Jay?
I was perfectly well aware of it, RB. But to be honest, it’s such a heap of “green Martians are gonna steal our bodily fluids” nonsense that I didn’t think it worth raising.
RB from Gwinnett
July 19th, 2012
12:11 pm
Aqua girl, I assume that means you aren’t aware of the treaty. Maybe Google would be a good option to educate yourself before you post on the subject again??
Jay
July 19th, 2012
12:12 pm
RB, I can’t believe you’re advising people to “educate” themselves on this.
Physician, heal thyself.
Jefferson
July 19th, 2012
12:13 pm
The ACA outlaws pre-existing conditions. Romney and the GOP by supporting repeal rather than amend would leave people out in the cold. If you or someone in your family had cancer, they would understand the importance of this and have no reason to support those that offer no solutions, just talk.
Joe Hussein Mama
July 19th, 2012
12:13 pm
JKL — “Strike four, dodging continues…”
Sorry, nothing doing. Second home run on my part.
“Who said you have to limit it to one factor?”
You did. And I pointed that out in my last post.
“Your non-answer was to try and reverse the question. Typical of today’s DNC.”
If you want an honest answer, then why won’t you provide honest clarification of your question? Is it because your question really is intended as a ‘gotcha?’
“Do nothing while complaining the Republicans have no ideas.”
Well, you’re certainly doing nothing. And I have no idea why.
Done with you now and going upstairs. If you change your mind and decide you actually *want* to have a polite discussion about this, let me know upstairs and I’ll come back down.
Aquagirl
July 19th, 2012
12:15 pm
Maybe Google would be a good option to educate yourself before you post on the subject again??
I did. BTW, googling brings up every bat$#!^ crazy message board, so I generally check snopes, which debunks the crazy. Of course cons hate snopes just for that reason, so I’m sure you would rather accept your bat$#!^ crazy sources based on whatever google craps out.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/untreaty.asp
independent thinker
July 19th, 2012
12:19 pm
Time for the circus down at the legislature to get some more free dinners and trips doing the NRA’s bidness.
187 more days
July 19th, 2012
1:22 pm
The DOE was established in Aug, 1977. If I am not mistaken, Jimmy Carter was the POTUS.
Side note, during his one term, he made The Dept Of Energy and the Dept of Education, cabinets levels jobs.
lovelyliz
July 19th, 2012
2:39 pm
NRA: Keep the government out of our guns closets and in our wombs where it belongs
Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
July 19th, 2012
5:27 pm
That pesky Second Amendment. What a bummer.
When can we get another one of your hilarious global warming posts, Jay?
Z
July 19th, 2012
10:08 pm
Fool me once shame on them, fool me twice shame on me..let them buy all the guns they want because in the future if the the 1% gets complete control of this country with the extremist Republicans help, all their guns will be of no use, because they will all be confiscated. What fool thinks the 1% would actually allow the peons to keep their weapons.
When you have people like a few heirs of Walmart fame, as just one example, with more wealth($89 Billion) than the bottom 124 million Americans, something is wrong in this country. You add in the Koch’s wealth in the Billions, Addlson’s Billions and a few others, well, as you can see it doesn’t take many Billionaires to come up with more money than the bottom 99%. So who is going to control what people can and can’t have? The Billionaires with the extremist Republican’s help will control every aspect of our lives including the military, who will then, confiscate our guns..No siree can’t let those starving peons with no jobs or income(the 99%) have guns, they might shoot at us..Think it can’t happen?
Jake Ruckus
July 20th, 2012
5:33 pm
Hahahaha! I remember when Georgia was considered the South. Now you’ve got Yankee liberals writing for your papers!
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JohnnieMack
July 21st, 2012
9:55 am
Everyone knows President Obama is pro gun control. Now with the Colorado movie massacre he must use his bully pulpit and seize this opportunity to lead the nation to become gun free!
Some gun nut states will vote against him but President Obama has a moral imperative to do what’s right. Even if he loses his election he’s won the argument.
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