Posted on 01/19/2006 10:33:40 AM PST by girlangler
On the occasion of the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday, New Jersey firearms opponents had planned to make a symbolic seven-mile march from an assembly point to a Dick's Sporting Goods store in West Windsor, New Jersey to protest that store's selling handgun ammunition.
Instead, they found themselves explaining their absence to the local media.
The reason given for canceling a peaceful protest designed to express the collective desires of the Mercer County Million Mom March Chapter, the NJ Million Mom March Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the local chapters of the Southern Christian Leadership Council and the Poor People's Campaign?
Not fear of violence or confrontation.
Lack of media coverage? Nope, the media showed up.
Too-cold.
Yep, frigid temperatures. Organizers cancelled their protest out of "concern over the well-being" of the 100 protesters the groups say were ready to make the trek.
That cancellation also caused some pink cheeks when the media questioned the cancellation.
After all, a federal holiday following a weekend is widely recognized as a "slow news day" and a great opportunity to get a "cause" some media exposure. A hundred protesters on a federal holiday is the media equivalent of blood in a shark tank.
When you announce an event and the media turns up, a non-event can become a story unto itself. Consequently, the "un-march" became a story, as did the motivation for the "non-event."
Anti firearm observers say they've seen "guys from the streets" of Trenton buying ammunition in the store and, in the words of one leader, the street toughs "weren't there for no sporting." Ergo, the protest against Dick's selling handgun ammo.
The protest march was designed to compel Dick's management to stop selling handgun ammunition to help deny the bad boys bullets. A practice, incidentally, Dick's officials say is done in absolute compliance with New Jersey law. State law for an ammunition purchase only requires a potential purchaser be 18 years of age and in possession of valid identification. Dick's says it prides itself on the strict adherence to those regulations in all instances.
The protesters say they understand the store's in compliance with all state laws, but should feel a "moral responsibility" not to sell handgun ammunition.
The store in question, incidentally, does not sell handguns and says handgun ammunition represents "considerably less" than one percent of their annual sales. Beyond that, company officials had no further comment.
The aligned protest groups will get together "next week" to decide if the march will be held at some future date.
Might we suggest some sunny spring day in, say, May?
Don't forget your hats and sunscreen.
They should march through a crime infested area of Trenton (which is most if it) without police protection...
Now, that's funny!
I have an idea...
These activists should get the News Jersey Legislature to pass a law banning the sale of handgun ammo to "guys from the street." I'd have no problem with this.
Afraid of catching a cold? Now that's motivation; these people are obviously hard core. Generally speaking, you can get a hundred people to come out in ice and snow for a demonstration in support of the Campaign to Save the Oregon Sasquatch or the Committee to Halt UFO Abductions. That they couldn't even muster those numbers places these idiots several rungs down the food chain from the aforementioned, hard core demonstrators.
Ha! Question is how is Dick's store suppose to distinguish the "guys from the street" from these anti gun protestors.
Won't want to VIOLATE other peoples' civil rights.
It doesn't take David Blaine to see the hidden story here.
That is exactly my thoughts on the cancellation.
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