Posted on 11/06/2018 1:23:32 PM PST by Simon Green
The Huffington Post is huffing and puffing about civilian ownership of high-end quality optics. Writer Sascha Brodsky has apparently discovered that some deplorables out there enjoy hog hunting and wrote a breathless piece using a particularly flimsy straw man to support his argument that this kind of gear is simply too dangerous to be publicly available.
In his article, he recounted how a Chinese national attempted to purchase and export three pairs of night vision optics that may have been ultimately bound for North Korea. He was arrested in a DHS sting operation for violating the Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
In his hit piece, Brodsky writes:
If Kim had an export license, very little would have prevented him from sending the equipment to North Korea, which is a major concern for experts who warn that military-grade night vision gear could fall into the hands of terrorists or rogue states.
While the Las Vegas massacre rekindled the debate over the millions of assault-style rifles owned by American civilians, theres been much less public scrutiny of all the gear designed for military operations that is now marketed directly to civilians.
Brodsky aims to increase that level of scrutiny.
Night vision equipment is a useful tool for civilians, advocates say. When employed properly, night-vision equipment will open your eyes to the times usually dominated by four-legged critters and two-legged neer-do-wells, giving you the advantage, claimed a May article in Shooting Illustrated, a publication of the National Rifle Association, on how to use the gear for hunting and defense.
Brodsky paints ownership of such devices as a clear and present danger in a civilized society. He supports that by getting the virulently hoplophobic Ladd Everitt, director of George Takeis One Pulse for America gun control operation, to say that night vision and thermal optics could be used in a criminal act and that they therefore should be regulated by the BATFE.
Everitt even goes so far as to claim that:
Night vision equipment is not the tool of sportsmen, Everitt said. Its the tool of people who are seeking to kill as many people as possible in as short amount of time as possible.
Guess he’d be really upset to learn about my high end thermal scope...
It’s for your own good
He doesn’t want his voters getting killed...............
Well how else are we supposed to find Bigfoot and fight the zombie hordes? In all seriousness though, leftists are so clueless about the real world, yet have a bottomless desire to restrict and regulate that which they dont understand. Their criterion is that if they dont use something or see its value then it should be banned. Arrogant, self-centered little twits.
Not a problem, they keep voting anyway.
...and more reliably................
I like being able to see who’s wandering across the pasture towards my house in the night. I like to be able to do it without shining a light to telegraph that I’m watching.
“If Kim had an export license, very little would have prevented him from sending the equipment to North Korea,”
If he had an export license it would be legal, yes. having gone that route I can assure the huffers that IF a license were granted, the level of risk would be considered, and most likely the license would state exactly who in NK would receive it.
There are Gen2 scopes you can’t export to Canada or Mexico, so?
And to close, are they sure civilians should have access to baseball bats? Concealable, fast, silent, deadly when in the wrong hands.
Really? What in this guy's pea-sized brain makes him think he can fathom the intentions or thoughts of anyone except himself?
Just...wow.
Feral hog hunters everywhere are deeply saddened.
Translated “Night vision is not a tool for serfs and subjects”.
Well, its too late to put that genie back in the bottle, Sascha.
Wait until he finds out about evil drones.
But...what about the late night hog hunts in the Texas Hill Country?
Those can’t happen without this gear!
Surely HuffPost doesn’t want to cut down on that, do they?!
This article will seem utterly ridiculous to you...unless you’ve ever spent quality time using night vision equipment to look up at the night sky. Then you’ll understand what this fake outrage is really all about. Just sayin’
Author has never hunted hogs or coyotes I guess.
And at $3500 and up, up, up, ... the average person ain’t gonna own a decent Gen III anyways
Two-legged neer-do-wells are a Democrat Party core constituency.
I haven’t had any more problems on my rural property when I put up signs stating: ‘Protected by THOR Night Vision - Because Bullets Don’t Care How Dark It Is’.
ATN ThOR HD 384?
You stole my post.
Oh well, I can still point out that thermal optics are used in the HVAC industries to find inefficiency in insulation.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.