Looks like Bloomberg is starting a new AstroTurf group!
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg plans to spend $50 million this year to build a grass-roots network to reduce gun violence.
…Two gun-control groups Bloomberg currently supports, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, will join a new group named Everytown for Gun Safety, the paper reported. Women will be the focus of the outreach effort.
Organizers say they hope to attract 2.5 million supporters.
That’s a lot of hope, Bloomy! Really the only difference between Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Moms Demand Action, and this new Everytown group is the name and the web address. I suspect a majority of the members are identical, and its MAYBE 10% of that 2.5 million, but given that they won’t allow paid membership, or hold a convention or public board meeting and such, its impossible for them to actually PROVE how much support they have.
Hell just look at the pro-gun side, we really don’t have many NEW groups, and the newest groups like Campus Carry and Open Carry groups are covering relatively new issues. Meanwhile groups like the NRA have been around for damn near 200 years, the Second Amendment foundation has been around for almost 40 years. Meanwhile the Brady Campaign was founded as “Handgun Control International” but changed its name in the 90s. The Joyce Foundation never openly declares its involvement in anti-gun groups, tho many of their groups have been unchanged in name since their founding. There is something to be said about this behavior. It’s almost more of a shell-game rather than AstroTurf.
Let’s have a look at their opening fear-mongering:
Yep a kid from a stereotypical white middle-class family finds a hidden, but unlocked and loaded gun in a closet, and she, out of curiosity ends up likely shooting herself. The video urges you to stop the pending disaster. How? By signing up for a mailing list!
Umm how will that stop this? Well from their website they give vague statistics, and give a LOT of hate to the NRA. Well except the NRA is working HARD to stop this by offering the most recognized safety training in the nation.
Hell look at the NRA’s own website!
1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
This is the primary rule of gun safety. A safe direction means that the gun is pointed so that even if it were to go off it would not cause injury or damage. The key to this rule is to control where the muzzle or front end of the barrel is pointed at all times. Common sense dictates the safest direction, depending on different circumstances.
This girl repeatedly sweeps herself with this gun and in the end has it pointed at her (or maybe her brother due to editing) in the end.
2. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
When holding a gun, rest your finger on the trigger guard or along the side of the gun. Until you are actually ready to fire, do not touch the trigger.
Yep, her finger is on the trigger too!
3. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.
Whenever you pick up a gun, immediately engage the safety device if possible, and, if the gun has a magazine, remove it before opening the action and looking into the chamber(s) which should be clear of ammunition. If you do not know how to open the action or inspect the chamber(s), leave the gun alone and get help from someone who does.
The gun was left loaded unsecured in a closet! Just don’t friggin do this! Even if you live alone, you might choose to keep a gun unlocked in a place where you can quickly grab it (better be like me while I type this by having it on your person as I’m in COMPLETE control of this gun at all times and it is RIGHT at hand if I need it), but don’t leave it loaded. Keep a magazine near it, or a speed loader if its a revolver, but the time it will take a trained person to put that gun to use is trivial compared to the risk of somebody untrained getting a loaded gun to fire. Further Its my personal opinion that anybody who can effectively load and ready a gun to fire is old enough to know better than to be playing with a gun.
The site goes on, but the NRA teaches people how to properly use a gun and how to RESPECT (not fear) them. For as much as I interact with guns for fun, I never PLAY with them. They are serious implements and should always be respected.
Further don’t HIDE guns from kids because they very well may find them even when they aren’t looking for them, and that can lead to disaster! For a better approach have a read how firearms trainer, gun writer, and generally awesome lady Kathy Jackson handles her kids and guns.
Anti-gun groups talk about “Safety” but really they want to scare people away from owning guns, and banning guns from the good people.
Meanwhile the groups they hate actually DO care about gun safety and work hard to spread the message.
Is there any wonder why gun control is a political third rail?
Democratic worries about this November’s elections, a lack of Senate votes and House opposition are forcing congressional gun-control supporters to significantly winnow their 2014 agenda, a year after lawmakers scuttled President Barack Obama’s effort to pass new curbs on firearms.
So spend away, Bloomberg, the sooner you run out of money the sooner we’ll be rid of you. Meanwhile you will NEVER see the end of the NRA. The NRA may change in focus, it has before, but it will never go away because we have MEMBERS! The anti-gun groups are top-down monoliths dictating from on-high and demanding allegiance, while true grass-roots groups simply focus the energy and ideals of its members from the bottom up.
