In a piece for Indianapolis Monthly magazine, the official poster girl for Moms Demand Action — Bloomberg devotee and financial recipient Shannon Watts – claimed to be a Second Amendment supporter while blaming the National Rifle Association for the nation’s woes. She bills herself as a gun activist. As we have learned from her actions, Watts is no activist. Watts is a propagandist.
Indianapolis Monthly magazine did an expose about a growing trend of violence in the Circle City. Yes, its been a problem, as “Nap” Town transitions into a mid-west powerhouse with a growing tech sector, a thriving arts scene and some of the best food, chefs and restaurants in the nation. The problem, as they see it, is focused on guns and not those who engage in criminal acts with guns; gang members and drug dealers killing each other, and the innocent.
The magazine brought in “experts” to give their point of view on guns, gun rights, and the future of the city. Opinions, well, everyone has one.
Watts partaking in this type of conversation is not surprising. There were no questions being asked. There was no one to rebut her statements, ask a follow up or press the facts over her emotion. As she stated (emphasis mine):
The rhetoric of the NRA has created an extremist group terrified their guns are going to be taken away. Which could not be further from the truth. We support the Second Amendment. Many of our members are gun owners. We’re terrified our children will be taken away. That’s the emotion that will win this debate.
Emotion. Not facts.
Watts statement requires the type of cross-examination that she seems to be unwilling to engage in. Watts doesn’t do interviews. I host the morning show on the largest talk station in Indiana, where she resides. No, we have not been able to get an interview with her.
When fellow radio host and BlazeTV host Dana Loesch showed up at a Moms Demand Action rally in Indianapolis, Watts refused an interview as well. But Watts did more; she ran away.
Loesch wanted to confront Watts on lies she told about Dana’s connection to the gun accessory manufacturer MagPul. This wasn’t about politics, this was about setting the record straight.
The event was over, but Watts was not heading for the exits. She was talking with others at the rally, and to the mainstream press that had arrived. Loesch came with her camera crew, introduced herself to Watts and proceeded to ask a question.
Watts refused to answer; she refused to admit that she unfairly linked Loesch to a gun company to better her own narrative, and to denigrate Loesch in the eyes of her followers. Then, Watts ran. That’s not hyperbole. That’s what happened. Shannon Watts ran away from questions.
Watts recently excoriated law enforcement for arresting a man who tackled another man with a firearm inside a WalMart. This wasn’t the case of a deranged villan firing upon defenseless children. The man in question had a concealed weapons permit, and went shopping.
The other man, seeing the gun on his hip, determined that this person carrying a gun was clearly dangerous and rushed him, putting him in a choke hold and tackling him to the ground. Watts thought it was wrong that the tackling man got arrested; For Watts, the issue was the tackled man who dared to engage his right to lawfully carry a firearm.
Watts believes that tackling law abiding citizens in big box stores is a virtue. When asked her rationale for this line of thought, she said nothing. Why? Because, as far as I know, she’s never answered any questions. Watts does not allow herself to be asked. She does not engage. She bullies (see Kroger Supermarkets) and she runs.
Shannon Watts is not a gun activist. Shannon Watts, by her words and actions, is an anti-gun propagandist. Her rhetoric for Indianapolis Monthly (we support the 2nd Amendment) is far different than her rhetoric on social media (tackle anyone who has a gun), or in person (run away from questions).
For Watts to really engage in activism, she’ll have to engage. Activists don’t shy away from conversation, they crave it. They want to share their thoughts and ideas. They want to reach an audience and bring people to their side. They want to change things to their point of view, and work tirelessly to do so.
If Shannon Watts is an activist, then it’s time for Shannon Watts to act like it. I have a microphone waiting for her whenever she decides to start.