The National Rifle Association has held the line against major gun-control legislation since 1994 through the following: Advertisements on TV, radio, newspapers, and the Internet; Having members who contact lawmakers in support of pro-Second Amendment legislation and opposing gun-control legislation; and the voting power of said members, who have been very good at electing pro-Second Amendment lawmakers across most of the country.
I’ve been covering military affairs for almost fifteen years, including covering the War on Terror. I could see the smoke the Pentagon from my place of employment on 9/11. As a result of covering the War on terror, I have covered, to one extent or another, the depredations of al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), among other groups, on innocent people around the world. These groups have carried out bombings, gun attacks, beheadings, and mass kidnappings of women into sexual slavery.
Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Boko Haram are rightly called terrorist groups through their actions. The NRA has done nothing remotely comparable to these groups. So, when Connecticut governor Dan Malloy calls the NRA a terrorist organization, it’s a lie. A disgusting lie that minimizes the horror of those who lost loved ones on 9/11, people beheaded or burned alive for sick propaganda videos, and the girls of Chibok who were kidnapped from their school.
As I’ve noted repeatedly in the past, those who are using their First Amendment rights to defend the Second Amendment have nothing to be ashamed of. Malloy is not only trying to Second Amendment shame us, he is pursuing another goal: He wants to make defending the Second Amendment comparable to being a supporter of ISIS.
Tell that to NRA members who donate meat from hunting to help feed the hungry. Or those who are going to support the Intercollegiate Rifle and Pistol Championships at Fort Benning. Tell that to the NRA Certified Instructors who provide a wide variety of training in firearms safety, shooting, and self-defense. The law-enforcement firearms instructors trained by the NRA since 1960 may have something to say about that, too. So will hunters who have received safety training and other services. One word comes to mind as their initial response, and the first four letters are B, U, L, and another L.
Again, compare those actions to those of, say, ISIS. It’s okay if you can’t find a comparison, because there isn’t one outside of the feverish rants of politicians like Malloy or Hollywood celebrities like Rosie O’Donnell. I wonder if they think a terrorist group would celebrate the acts of Rory Vertigan?
The fact of the matter is that Governor Malloy has, through his outburst, made an admission: He can’t beat NRA when it comes to a reasoned debate focused on the facts. The only way he can win the debate is to either ram through a massive ban in the emotional aftermath of a shooting (which he did after Sandy Hook), or he levels vicious slanders.
This helps explain the massive amount of misogyny being directed at Dana Loesch. Just look at her Twitter feed, and see people wishing that her children become “victims of gun violence,” throwing what 30 Rock called “the C word” at her, or worse.
It looks like Governor Malloy wants to become the newest big-time NRA membership recruiter. That’s right – after all the post-Parkland slander, Time magazine admitted NRA membership has spiked. So, while I hate his slandering of millions of NRA members, and think he is clueless about what terrorism is, I’ll let him go on making an ass of himself while making the NRA stronger.