"Third Way:" Latest Leftist Try at Banning Private Firearms Ownership

NRA ^ | 5/7/05

[pabianice]

IF IT QUACKS LIKE A DUCK...

The Capitol Hill newspaper, Roll Call, reported on May 2, on an upstart "centrist" advocacy (read: lobbying) group known as "Third Way." The group's co-founders, Matt Bennett, Jonathan Cowan, and Jim Kessler should be familiar to readers of the Grassroots Alert. All previously worked for "Americans For Gun Safety" (AGS), an organization that was founded in 2000 under the guise that it too would be a "centrist" group on gun issues.

A little more background on each may give those who believe they are centrists a bit of pause (at least on gun issues). Matt Bennett was a former Clinton White House aide. Former AGS President Jonathan Cowan served as former Clinton HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo's right hand man when the secretary was actively promoting lawsuits against the gun industry. Conspicuous on Jim Kessler's resume was a stint as Senator Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) gun adviser. Hardly "centrist" credentials. (AGS's founder, Monster.com founder and billionaire And! rew McKelvey is a former board member of HCI [now the Brady Center], who apparently became disillusioned with the ineffectiveness of HCI and thus formed AGS.)

Of course, the facade that AGS was somehow moderate was quickly shattered. The group supports an extension of the Clinton gun ban and legislation that would end gun shows as we know them. And according to materials distributed at an early AGS organizational meeting, its "top national priority" is "passage of licensing and/or registration..."--a position, to our knowledge, it has yet to repudiate.

AGS has also worked through the years to expand its base by affiliating not with "centrist" groups, but with radical anti-gun groups at the state and local levels. In fact, many of the groups that affiliated with AGS are longtime HCI affiliates: "Remove any guns from your home" (Women Against Gun Violence); "The second amendment of the United States Constitution has nothing to do whatsoever with person! al use of firearms" (Citizens of Arizona to Prevent Gun Violence); and "The best way to protect your family is not to keep a gun in the home" (Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence).

Then, on May 4, Third Way's VP for Public Affairs, Matt Bennett, wrote a letter to the editors at Roll Call to set the record straight, noting in fact, the group doesn't profess to be a centrist organization. Bennett's letter states, "...Third Way is a nonpartisan advocacy group. Our mission is to promote and strengthen the progressive cause..."

Those who choose to align themselves with Third Way should bear in mind the co-founders' previous place of employment before turning to them for assistance with issues relating to our Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

[pabianice]

Perhaps the most execrable feature of the Grabbers is their cowardice. They simply will not be brave enough to state what they really want: a ban on gun ownership. And like all cowards, they act as bullies. Eech.

[1FASTGLOCK45]

LOL, another bunch of clowns trying to take our freedom... I can't imagine being without my pet gun for home protection!

[umgud]

Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars. (THR)

[EagleUSA]

And this is EXACTLY WHY the Second Amendment was written into the B of R. To provide the citizenry the right to bear arms against tyranny in government.

And that is exactly what we have here -- AND WHY THEY WANT TO DISARM US!!!

[Khankrumthebulgar]

Samuel Adams stated it was the duty not right of every American to own firearms. Will you ever read this in our sanitized history books? Probably not because Leftists are dumbing down our history to reflect their agenda to impose Socialism on us. I lived in Switzerland in the late 70s and it was normal to see teenagers riding their mopeds to target practice with their assult rifle on their back. The entire nation is armed to the teeth. Yet gun crime is unheard of.

A Free Nation is a Nation of armed citizens. An unarmed Nation is a nation of subjects or slaves who are at the mercy of Tyrannts. Our Founding Fathers knew this reality.
I refuse to disarm. You can have my guns when you pry my cold dead fingers from the trigger. And I have taught my Sons to shoot when they were 6 or younger. My Uncle taught me to shoot. He did his twenty in the USMC in Korea and VietNam. Then spent 15 years in the DEA.

You have a duty as an American to own a gun. It is a Natural Law any other is a denial of your Natural rights as a human being.

[Dan from Michigan]

Thanks for pointing this out. I'm well aware of Cowan and McKelvey and AGS and their "Gun control lite" scams which is "Talk pro, vote anti". AGS was funded by the Tsunami fund which is an offshoot of the Tides Foundation(Soros, Heinz). Tides and Tsunami spend over $150,000 trying to stop conceal carry in Michigan.

AGS is where John Kerry got his presidential race gun policy from, while voting to ban the .30-30.

[boofus]

Try to grab this kitty's gun and you will get a 30 round burst of copper coated goodness. She says BUGGER OFF GRABBERS!

[USNBandit]

That reminds me, I need to get out all the guns and clean them.

[two134711]

You have a duty as an American to own a gun. It is a Natural Law any other is a denial of your Natural rights as a human being.

It may be a Natural right to defend's one life and home, but some people are just too chicken**** to even think about. I can't tell you how many times I've had conversations with other women about this. Many are ignorant and afraid on the matters of self-defense.

When my husband first brought home a shot gun some 6 years ago, I was given admonishments by several women. "What if your child finds the gun and shoots herself?"

I would look at them incredulously, as my daughter was one and a half at the time. Did they seriously think a toddler would be able to lift a 10 lb shotgun, double pump the barrel, reach over to pull the trigger & shoot herself?

I remember asking one girl what she'd do if she had access to a gun if her home was broken into (especially if she had a child) and an armed intruder broke in. She thought on it and said, "You know, I just couldn't do it. I just couldn't kill another person."

And therein lies the problem (with not just America, but much of the world over). You can't kill a person who trying to harm you or steal your property (or worse), but if you convince yourself it's only a mass of tissues or a useless eater, then it's easy to let them die. /end rant

[PzGr43]

>The Capitol Hill newspaper, Roll Call, reported on May 2, on an
>upstart "centrist" advocacy (read: lobbying) group known as "Third Way."
>

This is just the

Mugger: "Give me ten dollars"
Victim: "No"
Mugger: "OK give me five dollars"
Victim: "No"
Mugger: "Why won't you compromise ?"

'compromise' routine.



>"All previously worked for "Americans For Gun Safety" (AGS),"
>

Hey Great ! I like gun safety.

Rule 1: All guns are always loaded

Rule 3: Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target

Rule 2: Do not let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy

Rule 4: Always make sure of your target.



>"Our mission is to promote and strengthen the progressive cause..."
>

bzzzzt.... Progressive is an 'alert' word, like social-( ). It is used to re-brand Communism/Marxism. Italian Communists are fond of using this particular camouflage

[PzGr43]

>I remember asking one girl what she'd do if she had access to a
>gun if her home was broken into (especially if she had a child)
>and an armed intruder broke in. She thought on it and said, "You
>know, I just couldn't do it. I just couldn't kill another person."
>

This is pretty much normal, mainly in women. They are just not wired-up that way. You can train it out of them to a certain extent.

It's funniest when it is a far-left liberal who has spouted-off all kinds of "society is responsible for the condition these people finding themselves in (murderers, rapists, muggers, etc), and then they get raped/mugged and withdraw into a frightened post-traumatic stress-disorder jelly-like state, hiding behind the bed-covers. Sheep.

[BenLurkin]

Bump for real.

[Sender]

Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it impossible to own a car!

[two134711]

This is pretty much normal, mainly in women. They are just not wired-up that way.

I disagree on this part. In most animals, particularly mammals, the female becomes enraged and is willing to attack anyone when it comes to the protection of her children. Even a cute cuddly rabbit becomes the most vicious creature when it is mother doe thinks she is defending her babies. (I breed them and have many scratches to prove it.)

The problem is this "kill in defense" instict has been bred out of many people so they think it the job of a government agent to come to their rescue, and if they survive, it's the job of psychiatrist to help find meaning of the tragic event.

[KC_for_Freedom]

This lack of survival that this woman has is actually a good reason for her not to own a gun, but I wonder if it is real or just some left mumble jumble like that question that doomed the Dukakis campaign. Would you kill to stop the rape and killing of your child? Not answering provides proof that one is maybe not human. There is another post by the new Gun Control Lite effort. The idea is that you don't take on the gun lobby front on, you slink around with arguements that seem "reasonable":

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1397382/posts

[King Prout]

good analogy. mind if I put it up on my Quotes List?

[USNBandit]

"What if your child finds the gun."

I keep my guns in safes. The arsenal of freedom goes in the large safe in the closet. The home protection goes in a quick open pistol safe in the bedroom. A little expense for a lot of peace of mind. My dad took care of that by taking me to the range early and often. He got in trouble with Mom the first time, I was only three, but I started shooting competitively when I was 10. I was offered scholarships to shoot in college, but instead was recruited and wrapped up a Naval Academy appointment 9 month early. I stopped shooting competitively after college and traded my competitive rifle in for a GE M61 20mm cannon in my F-14. My life would have been much different without guns.

[umgud]

good analogy. mind if I put it up on my Quotes List?

I'm not the author, but saw it over at www.thehighroad.org which is why I tagged it as THR. I can imagine the author having a problem with this.

[King Prout]

ok. Ill put it up with the following credit:
"source unknown. snagged from www.thehighroad.org by Freeper umgud"

[quietolong]

WCCA alert: Doyle/Baumgart bill gets worse (99% banned)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/614867/posts

Baumgart, Doyle Propose Gun Ban
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/612231/posts

Doyle urges fight against gun lobbyists

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3896049f7e88.htm