March For Tyranny (videos)

A cold wind blew through West Chester, PA that Saturday. It was the day of the so-called March For Our Lives. While the wind was cold the protesters' anger burned and nothing good ever comes from such burning anger. 

Reacting to my sign that reads “background checks do not work” this guy was really upset. 

(I wasn't able to record the first part of the conversation as my camera had shut off.):
 

This belief in background checks is truly emotional and cult like. It's not surprising though, it's the only way to hold on to that belief in the face of overwhelming evidence that they've failed. No doubt readers noted the cherry picking of examples and denial of contrary facts. The reference to Prof. Cook at the beginning of the video was about me bringing up the article “Study Shows Brady Bill Had No Impact on Gun Homicides“. In it Prof. Cook clearly states that the Brady Bill is a failure, I.E. background checks don't work.  

These ladies were much nicer but just as wrong. They seem to think that all ARs (scary black rifles) are capable of fully automatic fire. As usual for gun rights haters they're wrongly convinced that the US has the highest murder rate in the world:

Anyone wondering about my references to social dynamics in the videos is invited to listen to this presentation by Prof. Randolph Roth of Ohio State University on the subject. I also recommend his book “American Homicide”. Both make clear that it is social dynamics, not access to guns, that drive the murder rate up or down.

The sign also lead to a very pleasant conversation with a member of Gun Sense Chester County who remembered me from Mike Weisser's presentation of March 3, 2018. I said that if they were going to claim that we have such a high murder rate in the US then that shows that all the gun control we have, including background checks, has failed. Her answer was that background checks aren't universal that's why they fail. She claimed that according to a RAND Corp study they do help a little in some cases. (This article from Newsweek says that RAND found a lack of evidence on the subject. If that's really the best they can do...) When I then pointed out that every step of the way advocates of gun control say this measure or that measure will solve the problem yet they never do. Each time gun control fails they only say we need more to make it work. We ended our conversation there.

Since my camera had shut off, again, I wasn't able to video another man who took exception to my sign. Our discussion quickly turned to the meaning of the 2nd Amendment. When I explained that it was about keeping the government disarmed by having a militia rather than standing forces he got really hot and bothered. He exclaimed that we need the government armed to protect the public from people like me. Maybe it was the hoodie I was wearing, who knows?

The cold wind also blew in a celebrity, Jay Leno. Gun owning members of his fan club may want to reconsider their memberships.

What's the takeaway from covering the march? These people are scared, hurt, and angry. They think they're doing good but good comes not from reacting emotionally but from having knowledge and thinking things through. One is reminded of the words of Judge Louis D. Brandeis:

Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning, but without understanding.

A quick look at some of their signs tells us that they want to ban all the guns they think they can get away with:

 

 

The day didn't end on a sad note though. On the way home I stopped at the massive, 1700 table gun show at Oaks, PA. It sure seemed like there were more people at the gun show than attended the march. That is a good sign.

In the Gun Grabbers' Faces: Counter-Protesting the Morrisville, PA Anti-Gun Rally

The weather was as changeable as the gun haters' rhetoric. It started cloudy, then the sun came out, then it rained. First, they said they want to ban so-called assault weapons, then they said they don't want to take our guns. Not once did they express a concern for liberty, the most precious value. So it went in Morrisville, PA on May 11, 2013 at the Pre-Mother’s Day March against Gun Violence.

Hear their own terrible words:

In a speech rife with hypocrisy one speaker claimed she was a little afraid of the counter-protesters carrying guns. It didn't occur to her to think of our fears. There is a reason we stayed in Pennsylvania. We knew we couldn't go into Trenton, New Jersey (where their rally started) with our guns. The police would have arrested us. Even in Morrisville the township threatened to arrest open carriers. We ignored those threats and they backed down. Yet somehow the gun haters saw themselves as being threatened. The fear was totally irrational. The open carriers would have protected them had a criminal tried to harm them. Meanwhile, it is they, the gun haters, that want to send armed law enforcement officers after gun owners. Go figure.

In his speech Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell made the point that the National Rifle Association has endorsed background checks in the past. He also emphasized that former President Ronald Reagan was an advocate of gun control and that A rated Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) was one of the authors of the recently failed background check bill. Gun rights advocates should take note and realize that the Republican Party is not going to protect you from the gun haters.

Most of the rest of what the gun haters said was just appeals to emotion. Of course, it is difficult to think clearly when talking about loved ones killed, but the truth is that that is exactly when clear thinking is most needed. Going after our gun rights may seem like the quickest solution to the gun violence problem but it is not. It will only make things worse. I ask the gun haters to join us in calling for a real solution to the problem while leaving our gun rights intact. Support Law Enforcement Against Prohibition's call to end the drug war. For an in depth explanation of why we have the violence that we do and what to do about it please read, "Progressivism’s Violent World".

Mainstream media coverage of the event, “Pro and anti-gun groups rally in Morrisville” mentions the canceled and moved Little League Baseball games. Concerned Gun Owners of Bucks County, the group organizing the counter-protest, asked the gun haters to reschedule their rally out of respect for the young baseball players but, sadly, they refused.

This video has all the speakers from the pro-gun rally held before the gun grabbers crossed the bridge from Trenton, NJ:



Below are pictures of many of the firearms carried at the rally. Please note that no one was shot that day:

Pictures of pro-gun rights signs:

Pictures of the gun haters:

In fairness, this picture has both gun haters and gun rights people.

Focus on Peace’s First Action

King of Prussia, PA – Focus on Peace held its first action the "Sign Wave for Peace on the Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq" on Saturday, March 19, 2011. It was a success with five peace lovers coming out to mark the 8th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. We stood on a very busy street corner in King of Prussia, PA. Our message seemed well received there compared to other places I've done this kind of peace advocacy at. There were many "honks for peace" and few insults.

Focus on Peace is a politically neutral peace movement. The website states:

Our purpose is to have a peace movement that welcomes people of all ideologies, creeds, and beliefs. One that makes everyone feel not only comfortable but a part of the movement. No one should feel that they are endorsing someone else's political agenda when standing up for peace. To this end we have only one focus: ending the wars abroad.

Please visit the Focus on Peace web page on the event at: http://fopeace.blogspot.com/2011/02/come-back-soon.html

Pictures of the rally: