Anti-Gunners So Extreme They Marginalize Themselves
Date: Oct 18, 2005 7:35 PM
The New GUN WEEK, October 20, 2005
Page 15

Hindsight
by Joseph P.. Tartaro,
Executive Editor

Anti-Gunners So Extreme They Marginalize Themselves

For years the anti-gunners have been trying to marginalize
gun rights activists and some 80 million American gunowners
by portraying them as extremists.

They?ve run ads linking the National Rifle Association (NRA)
with the Ku Klux Klan, with drug dealers, terrorists and
gang bangers. Their propaganda machine has cranked out a
stream of news releases and sample editorials in which they
coin their slanted phrases to put the most frightening spin
on pro-self-defense initiatives.

For example, a few years ago when the Colorado legislature
passed a measure clarifying the state?s law on the use of
deadly force, the anti-gunners called it ?The Make My Day
Law.” Needless to say, they were ignoring the self-defense
issue and conjuring up images of law-abiding gunowners
shooting people indiscriminately.

More recently, when Florida passed the ?Castle Doctrine” or
?Stand Your Ground” law, providing a reasonable protection
from prosecution for many people forced to meet a threat
with deadly force, they called it ?The Shoot First Law.”
That was after they have predicted ?blood in the streets”
and a ?Dodge City” urban environment every time some law
makers proposed a right-to-carry law.

Michigan Bill

The recent Florida law that eliminates the requirement to
retreat in the face of any imminent threat in your home,
place of business, or on the street went into effect on Oct.
1. And, as this column is being written, a similar measure
has been proposed in Michigan. Needless to say, the Brady
Campaign and its allies, as well as much of the media in
Michigan, is already calling it a ?Shoot First” law and
washing off all the old ?blood-in-the-streets” scarems that
didn?t defeat the right-to-carry law in Michigan or most
other states.

But on Sept. 27, the Brady Campaign outdid itself by
launching what Joe Waldron, executive director of the
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
(CCRKBA), calls a ?tourist terrorism” campaign based on the
Florida law.

It is obvious that the Brady Campaign and its friends want
to roll back the Florida law and defeat similar measures in
Michigan or anywhere else the same concept is proposed.
However, their strategy in this case may backfire.

Instead of trying to marginalize pro-gunners, they have
marginalized themselves, adopting a strategy so extreme it
can only appeal to their own small but devoted base of
supporters.

On Sept. 27, they issued a press release saying it was
going to ?educate travelers” because the ?Shoot First” law
was taking effect in Florida.

Their release read:

?The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said today it is
beginning a public education effort to educate Florida
tourists and potential Florida tourists that effective Oct.
1 they face a greater risk of bodily harm within the state
of Florida.

?That is the date that the state?s new ‘Shoot First? law
also known as the ?Stand Your Ground? law, goes into
effect.”

Brady Advice

?Individuals who are unfamiliar with Florida?s roads,
traffic regulations and customs, or who speak foreign
languages, or look different than Florida residents, may
face a higher risk of danger?because they may be more likely
to be perceived as threatening by Floridians, and because
they are unaware of Florida?s new law that says individuals
who feel their safety is threatened or their possessions are
at risk are legally authorized to use deadly force.

??We think people visiting Florida should be aware of this
law, and act accordingly,? said Sarah Brady, chair of the
Brady Campaign. ?Visitors should be very careful about
getting into an aggressive argument with anyone during their
stay,?” Brady continued, suggesting that it is okay to get
into ?aggressive arguments” when traveling in other states.

?The Brady Campaign is placing advertisements to educate
these tourists and potential tourists in key US gateway
cities feeding tourists to Florida, starting with Chicago,
Detroit and Boston, and in selected overseas markets
beginning with the United Kingdom beginning Sunday, Oct. 2,”
the Brady release continued. ?Educational materials about
the law were shipped to more than 120 leading US and
international journalists as well as trade publication
editors in the travel industry and editors at consumer
travel magazines.

?The ad reads: ?Thinking about a Florida vacation? Please
ensure your family is safe. A new law in the Sunshine State
authorizes nervous or frightened residents to use deadly
force. In Florida, avoid disputes. Use special caution in
arguing with motorists on Florida roads. Police and
prosecutors are concerned about the potential for
unnecessary violence?”

The Brady bunch also announced that a website offering
additional information about the law was to go on-line on
Sept. 28. For those readers with an interest, the site is:
www.shootfirstlaw.org.

They then announced that ?trained staff will begin to
distribute educational materials on this subject to arriving
passengers at Miami International Airport beginning
Saturday, Oct. 1. This effort may be extended to additional
airports in the coming weeks, including Orlando.

The Brady release said:

?The material reads, in part:

?The ?Shoot First? law is a new law in Florida that police,
prosecuting attorneys and gun violence prevention advocates
worry may lead to the reckless use of guns on the streets of
Florida cities. Before the law was passed, Floridians could
carry concealed guns in public places, but they could only
use those guns as a last resort when safe avoidance of
injury was otherwise not possible. The new law eliminates
the duty to avoid the threat and, instead, allows the gun
user to ?shoot first? to eliminate the threat.

?It is not difficult to imagine likely situations in which
individuals may use lethal force where they did not before.
An argument on the highway, or a disagreement in a
restaurant or nightclub, or a dispute over belongings in a
public place such as a beach could lead to un necessary use
of force.

?The Florida ?Shoot First? law was passed over the strong
objections of law enforcement officials and prosecutors,”
the Brady release claimed.

The flyer suggests specific steps visitors should take:
Avoid unnecessary arguments with local people; stay in
their cars and keep hands in plain sight if involved in a
traffic accident or near-miss, and maintain a positive
attitude and avoid shouting or threatening gestures if
someone appears to be hostile toward them.

Travelers Disinterested

Gun Week has spoken with people in Miami about the
anti-gunners accosting travelers in the airport. Needless
to say, the Brady acolytes don?t have as much room to wander
airports as did the Hare Krishna?s and other pan-handlers
in the 1970s. TSA security rules have put a damper on that.
And, no, the anti-gunners don?t have their heads shaved and
aren?t wearing saffron robes and sandals.

Maybe it would be better for them if they were. Our reports
are that the overwhelming majority of travelers at the Miami
airport are ignoring the Brady people and their message.

The campaign is obviously aimed at the Florida tourist
industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars each year, a
lot of those dollars being spent by foreigners, particular
Europeans who are already conditioned to fear guns.

?The Brady Campaign has descended to a new low,” said
Waldron, in a CCRKBA news commentary.

?Spreading hysteria is their political stock in trade, but
now they are deliberately trying to terrify tourists,
including those from other countries. To do that, they?re
openly suggesting that legally armed, law-abiding Florida
residents are emotionally unbalanced to the point that they
would gun down tourists.”

?The Brady bunch is essentially telling British subjects
not to come here because legally-armed American citizens
cannot be trusted and might murder them,” Waldron said.

The anti-gun extremists are out in the open now. Their
campaign against guns has always really been a campaign
against the moral right to self-defense. Their present tack
reveals that truth and is likely to backfire on them.