“The gun lobby’s interpretation of the Second Amendment is
one of the greatest pieces of fraud … on the American people by special
interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime. The real purpose of the Second Amendment was
to ensure that state armies – the militia – would be maintained for the defense
of the state. The very language of the Second Amendment refutes any argument
that it was intended to guarantee every citizen an unfettered right to any kind
of weapon he or she desires.”
—Warren Burger, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,
1969-1986,
appointed by Richard Nixon, conservative Republican, gun owner
It has been gut-wrenching once again to watch this latest
episode of inexplicable mass violence: the shooting of high school students and
their teachers in Parkland, Florida. We have heard the usual “hearts and
prayers” messages – now so trite they have become virtually meaningless. The
calls for new gun laws have also become a virtually meaningless exercise. And
our new common foe – the mentally ill – are blamed even as we cut mental health
budgets and loosen their ability to buy a firearm. Some are still willing to point
to any culprit besides the real one: the
unrestrained arming of America.
Nevertheless, it is refreshing to hear a few exceptions this
time. A small number of Republican politicians saying “enough” and breaking
with their party line. Or the major Florida Republican donor saying “no more
donations” until something – anything – is done. Or the voter who mailed a
check to her Congressman in the amount of “hearts and prayers” written on her
check to illustrate the tone deaf hypocrisy of their words. And then there are
“the kids” themselves, the Parkland survivors and their compatriots. Young people are the disproportionate share
of the victims of these shootings, predominantly perpetrated by other young
people who are not always mentally ill. (To the extent that any killing, and
any other forms of violence, are not inherently mentally ill.)
These articulate young people are promising to make their
own run at Change. Maybe they can succeed where Newtown and Las Vegas and other
parents could not. I wish them well in their efforts. I am not one who seeks to
stomp on people’s enthusiasm and idealism. But I do believe in knowing one’s
opponent well before you go into a debate with them. So students and others
taking up this cause, be aware of what the landscape for your venture truly
looks like. We need to steel ourselves for the long hard road to be traveled.
Examine closely the playing field and the numbers; we need to know what we are
up against. Remember that this is not just about school shootings – as horrific
as those are. Aurora was a movie theater; Orlando a night club; Las Vegas an
open-air concert. All Americans have a reasonable right to live in a safe
environment.
The backbone of resistance to any gun legislation of any
kind comes from two principal sources. The first is the National Rifle
Association (NRA), the high-profile public face of “gun rights” ostensibly made
up of everyday gun owners. The second is the National Shooting Sport Foundation
(NSSF), a low-profile gun industry trade group (based in Newtown, CT!) made up
of: businesses who manufacture firearms; sellers and dealers of firearms and
accessories; recreational sporting facilities.
The NRA is notoriously secretive about its actual financial
and membership numbers. As of 2016, they claimed that over 20% of American
adults own a gun, and that “5M” of those are NRA members (unverified). They
raised approximately $350M in revenue across all of its various sub-entities, including
an estimated $130M from member dues. It is estimated that they spent around $3.6M
in direct lobbying fees, and almost $600K in direct donations to political
candidates (amounts being limited due to federal campaign contribution
restrictions). But indirectly (primarily through their secretive PAC
operation), they spent around $50M in advertising and support for their
preferred candidates, including $30M to support Donald Trump and $20M to GOP
Senate candidates – including $6M to Senator Burr (NC) and $2-$3M each to
Senators Rubio (FL), Blunt (MO), Young (IN) and Portman (OH). Those outsized donations
do not come without expectations for services in return. If those services are
not delivered, the NRA keeps their politicians in line by threatening to
support another candidate in their GOP primary that will be dominated by voters
further to the right. So far, they have gotten a good return on their investments
based upon the votes and speeches of those politicians.
The NRA’s gameplan is simple and consistent. First and
foremost, fight EVERY restriction or limitation that is proposed; allow no
crack in the armor, no matter how seemingly trivial. When a shooting tragedy
occurs: a) express concern; b) blame the shooter; c) offer token support for
some action step (e.g. “arm the teachers”); d) work behind the scenes to kill
any really substantive proposal; e) generally lay low, and wait for the public
outcry to subside and move on to other issues. On an ongoing basis, keep
flooding the airwaves, public discussions and advertising with a fixed stable
of old warhorse slogans and code phrases: “The 2nd Amendment”; “Our
Constitutional Right to Bear Arms”; “guns don’t kill people, people do”; “they
are coming for your guns”; “it’s a mental health problem”; “laws won’t stop
criminals from getting guns”; “arm yourself to protect yourself (teachers, homeowners, businesspeople).”
These and other knee-jerk fear words and excuses are long-practiced and deeply
embedded in the political conversations. But their simplicity, and constant
unanswered drumbeat, is effective.
The NSSF claims 12K member organizations, raised $36M in
income, and spent $3.5M in political lobbying, and gave grants totaling $236K
to local gun organizations and projects. It claims that the firearms industry
collectively has a $51B impact on the American economy and supports over 300K
jobs. Those numbers are a definition of “big business”; the NSSF will fiercely protect
that business, and the jobs they represent, however they need to.
It is the reality of this economic / political juggernaut that
America is up against. The battle to be fought for sanity tactically has to
recognize the linked interconnection of: 1) the firearms industry’s sales revenues,
combined with 2) that industry’s (and others’) political donations shepherded through
the NRA to key federal and state politicians to obtain legislation that will shield
their legal liabilities while maintaining / increasing their sales, with 3) the
inherent priority of their funded politicians to be reelected and retain their
(and their Party’s) base of power. It is not a battle over morality, common-sense,
safety, constitutional rights, or rational debate. One still needs to debate on
those points, but understand that they are not mind-changers. Rather, it is
about cash, power, and winning elections. Like it or not, as nonsensical as it
may seem, that is the ground on which one must fight the battle. It is this
linkage that has to be broken, because if one link fails to hold, the whole
structure collapses.
So in the face of this super-imposing Goliath, what can a
young David do? That discussion will be the focus of the forthcoming Part 2 of
this essay.
© 2018
Randy Bell www.ThoughtsFromTheMountain.blogspot.com
3 comments:
I guess we should be thankful they aren't asking for private ownership of M-60s, M-79s, F-16s and private ownership of thermonuclear weapons. While this make have some people think I'm crazy, those have much in common with AR15 as a 30.06 has with a musket!
Thanks Randy. I look forward to part 2.
You expressed my sentiments exactly and those of many Americans. Would you please send this to a variety of publications, such as the Wall Street Journal....and more. It is excellent and states what needs to be heard by all.
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