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Audio: Gun Control Columnist Jason Whitlock Compares the NRA to KKK
Jason Whitlock, the Fox Sports columnist whose article on gun control was recently quoted by NBC sportscaster Bob Costas, spoke out against the NRA on CNN reporter Roland Martin’s Monday podcast (audio below).
In his article, Whitlock wrote about how Kansas City Chiefs player Jovan Belcher might not have killed himself and his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, if he had not had a gun: “Handguns do not enhance our safety. They exacerbate our flaws, tempt us to escalate arguments, and bait us into embracing confrontation rather than avoiding it.”
On Martin’s podcast, Whitlock compared the NRA to the Ku Klux Klan, reports Dailycaller.com. Whitlock also said that he did not believe the Chiefs wanted to play Sunday, after the Saturday tragedy, but the team's owner wanted the game to proceed.
Whitlock said: "You know, I did not go as far as I’d like to go because my thoughts on the NRA and America’s gun culture, I believe the NRA is the new KKK. And that the arming of so many black youths, uh, and loading up our community with drugs, and then just having an open shooting gallery, is the work of people who obviously don’t have our best interests [at heart].”
“I think it’s obvious if you’ve traveled abroad, and traveled to countries where they have legitimate gun laws, that we don’t have to have what we have in America, where people somehow think a gun enhances their liberty, and that people somehow think a gun makes them safer."
“It just doesn’t. A gun turns some kids listening to music into a murder scene. And uh, you know, if you don’t have a gun, you drive home. You know, kids listening to some loud music, you don’t like it, you go home and complain to your wife. But when you have a gun, you open fire, potentially, and take the life of a child.”
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Comments
Bill Vincent (Facebook
Bill Vincent (Facebook commenter) said,
"Switzerland. It's a law that every household MUST have a firearm in it. Virtually NO firearm violence. By Contrast, Germany has even stronger gun control laws than we do, and their crime stats are alot higher, too."
Almost none of this is accurate. At best bits are partially accurate.
Switzerland does not require it's citizens to have a firearm in their homes. Their firearm homicide rate, while not high, is four times that of England who has much tougher gun control laws.
The vast majority of Swiss men between the ages of 20-30 are conscripted into the milita. The personal weapons of the militia are kept at home as part of the military obligations, however they have been moving toward keeping the guns in depots because it's considered safer for the household.
Germany's firearm homicide rate is lower than Switzerland's (not by much, but it is lower).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence
http://www.politifact.com/rhode-island/statements/2013/jan/06/facebook-posts/facebook-posting-says-gun-rich-swiss-have-lowest-f/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/14/mythbusting-israel-and-switzerland-are-not-gun-toting-utopias/
What an ignorant racist. I
What an ignorant racist. I cannot believe how common-place this kind of ignorance has become. I wonder if he realizes how many black babies are killed through abortion in this country as opposed to guns. But I'll bet Whitlock is completely on board with Obama and his pro-choice stance. But the NRA is the KKK!? Moron.
the NRA has black folks in it
the NRA has black folks in it too NBC reminds me of the Nazi Propaganda service.
This is just one person's
This is just one person's uneducated opinion. He's entitled to it. The question is why would anyone print it or broadcast it? Fox airs these silly rants to gives right-wing extremists an excuse to claim their 2nd Amendment rights are being threatened. Yeah, their being threatened by the idiotic opinion of a tiny minority group with no authority. The NRA's own polls show registered Democrats overwelmingly support the 2nd Amendment, even those who support local gun controls. Gun registration & waiting periods do not prevent citizens from owning guns, unless you are a convicted felon or have a history of mental illness(even the NRA isn't advocating giving them guns). Paranoid gun owners & Republicans need to find something else to worry about, because the 2nd Amendment isn't going away (and there's no war on Christmas either!).
Excellent post, gem. Good
Excellent post, gem. Good points all around. I hear all the time from a lot of local gunowners, NRA members, and Republican gun owners in particular how Democrats are all opposed to gun ownership, want to take away the Second Amendment, and always support "gun control" (that's an overused phrase with all sorts of possible meanings).
I happen to be a Democrat who owns and has owned firearms for 50 years, and am actively involved in various shooting sports, including rifle, shotgun, and handgun (CCL holder as well). A good number of my fellow firearm owner friends and shooting buddies (men and women) are Democrats; many are also Republicans. I belong to four sportsmen's clubs (aka, gun clubs) and many members are Democrats; we just don't wear our party affiliation on our sleeves the way Republicans do (sort of like the radical Christian right does). The thing that distinguishes most Democratic gunowners that I know from many Republican gunowners I know is, while we value our Second Amendment rights and will always be vigilant in safeguarding them, we are not given over to wild and crazy conspiracy theories about jack-booted government agents coming in the middle of the night to steal our guns. Actually, the rumor and conspiracy mills are so bad that even the NRA (not a member, btw), through its ILA (Institute for Legislative Action), has taken to countering the false rumors because those who promulgate them make the NRA look like morons. Ironically and paradoxically, that doesn't seem to inhibit the NRA itself from perpetrating fear and rumors about the government attempting to castrate the Second Amendment.
gem is correct that the NRA's own polls show registered Democrats overwhelmingly support the Second Amendment. Where I take opposition to the NRA and similar organizations' mindset has to do with sales to individuals who, in no way, shape or form, should be allowed to purchase or possess a firearm. I'm specifically referring to those with criminal records, such as convicted felons (and certain misdemeanors), those who are subject to orders of protection, and those deemed mentally unstable, mentally ill, or have the propensity to become mentally unstable. The latter is where our society really needs to come up with a way to identify individuals who pose a threat, and carry out an effective interdiction.
That is the purpose of background checks (the NICS check), to ensure that at least a prospective purchaser of a firearm from a dealer (FFL holder) is subject to an FBI background check. NRA is wholly against closing the gun show loophole, and other measures, which would then prohibit sales without the NICS check.
QUOTE "crazy conspiracy
QUOTE "crazy conspiracy theories"
QUOTE "Where I take opposition to the NRA and similar organizations' mindset has to do with sales to individuals who, in no way, shape or form, should be allowed to purchase or possess a firearm. I'm specifically referring to those with criminal records, such as convicted felons (and certain misdemeanors), those who are subject to orders of protection, and those deemed mentally unstable, mentally ill, or have the propensity to become mentally unstable."
WHO said the 'NRA & similar organizations' wants these people to have weapons?? The NRA has ALWAYS said that we need to enforce the current laws...which would prohibit criminals & the mentally ill from having weapons.
NOW who's the one that believes in "crazy conspiracy theories"!??
Gezzz
John, you can't just take
John, you can't just take part of my post out of context. I followed the paragraph you quoted with the point which illustrates the crux of the matter. At the least, the NRA is opposed to closing the gun show loophole. When questioned on the subject, the official response (NRA position/NRA leadership, which is at odds with many of its rank and file members) is usually along the lines of "existing laws are fine", "just need better enforcement of existing laws", "closing loophole won't solve problem", etc. etc.
John, if you are a gunowner and purchase from a dealer (FFL holder; for those who don't know, Federal Firearms License), you know that you have to go through a NICS background check, for ALL types of firearms (except antiques and some other categories), not only handguns but long guns as well (rifles and shotguns).
And if you attend a "gun show" where multiple dealers are present, and are up on under-the-table-sales, you also know that there are some unfit buyers who attempt to buy from licensed dealers, usually by letting the dealer know that they "can't pass the NICS check." Most dealers will tell them to get lost, but there are those relatively few unscrupulous dealers who will sell under the table. All FFL dealers are required to adhere to all applicable ATF regs, whether at a gun show or otherwise. But you know that is not always the case.
The bigger problem relates to non-licensed individuals who are not "engaged in the business of dealing firearms." Those individuals may attend gun shows (in states with no state law regulating gun shows) and sell to whomever they wish - and that includes convicted felons, those under restraining orders, those with a history of mental illness, and others who may be unfit.
That is no conspiracy theory, that is fact.
And if you are a mentally stable, law-abiding citizen and gunowner, John, why wouldn't you want to keep guns out of the hands of those who are unfit or have criminal records? As members of society, we should all want to promote public safety. As responsible gunowners, we have an even bigger stake in keeping guns out of the hands of those who should not have them. There is enough unwarranted sniping at the Second Amendment as it is, as illustrated by this very report.
This guy is truly delusional
This guy is truly delusional in his comments and yet this is how I see every anti-gun person in America, just as they see gun owners as some redneck hillbilly. How did the NRA give black kids guns??? or drugs??? I would like to know what drugs this guy was on when he made these comments because he is out there in left field.
QUOTE "And that the arming of
QUOTE "And that the arming of so many black youths, uh,"
These are the thugs that ALREADY have weapons!! The rest of us just want to be able to protect ourselves from the drugged up gangs....
And it takes REAL ignorance to compare the KKK to the NRA...so when has the NRA ever TAKEN rights away, like the KKK??? This comment proves that stupid people just have no idea how stupid they actually are.
Why do we give these inbreeds
Why do we give these inbreeds air time?
Ignorance ought to be
Ignorance ought to be painful.
And if he'd still been a
And if he'd still been a slave he probably wouldn't have killed his wife and himself, either.
".. people somehow think a gun makes them safer" -- No, we think a gun frees us from having to submit to robbers, as in this story:
http://columbia.wistv.com/news/crime/54379-deputies-store-clerk-fears-her-life-shoots-robbery-suspect
Also, it a tragedy that a youth was murdered merely for polluting the neighborhood with his noise, but it's better to have that, than for adults to fear to protest out of helplessness against potential youth violence.
As for the comparison between the NRA and the KKK, I surely do not understand why a black man would want to rehabilitate the KKK's image. Is he trying to insinuate that blacks lynched themselves, and the KKK merely protected black people's right to buy rope?
Yeah and OJ Simpson shot
Yeah and OJ Simpson shot those people with a knife....LoL