Toon & text by John Auchter
Last week the Michigan House of Representatives passed a bill to allow most gun owners to carry concealed weapons without a permit or training. The legislation is being pitched by proponents as an efficiency effort to align with constitutional rights. But it is widely opposed by law enforcement as a potential danger to communities.
I will leave it to the discretion of readers to jump into the viper pit of that debate. The very specific point I wanted to highlight is this: Gun manufacturers and NRA leadership have a disproportionate influence over our state legislators and the consequence of their brilliant but incredibly dangerous marketing effort is weapon sales to many Americans who are either not willing or not capable of being responsible gun owners.
It is, of course, in their best interest to do so.The decline in outdoors activities means falling sales of traditional hunting equipment. And the unfortunate durability of their product doesn’t help either. Unlike, say, modern household appliances, guns don’t have a planned obsolescence. With even rudimentary care, they last a long time. To sell more, they need new markets. To open new markets, they need to streamline the process. But is that necessarily a good idea for our state and nation as a whole?
I am asking the question, not trying to provide the answer. Obviously the topic is divisive. I actually got the idea last week when the House passed the bill — well before the awful incidents in Alexandria and San Francisco — and decided it would be needlessly contentious. (Ironically, I chose instead to draw a cartoon that touched on abortion issues.)
So, anticipating reactions, I don’t think my timing here is either “spot on and proves the point” or “a disgusting display of opportunism.” I’m hoping it’s more “seriously now, how can we reduce gun violence?”
John Auchter draws cartoons. Lots and lots of them. You can find them at his incredibly popular website auchtoon.com. You can also find his stuff on Michigan Public Radio’s website under Opinion.
Gun violence is reduced when law abiding gun owners carry daily for protection. Anti gun liberals can go straight to H3ll when they use libtarded buzz phrases like “common sense gun legislation” and “gun show loophole”. I have carried a handgun for personal protection for decades and I will never stop. Liberals WANT law abiding citizens to be disarmed so they can be more easily killed.
The NRA is a powerful lobbying group that speaks for me and many millions of other gun owners. I am the NRA. I love the fact that hate filled liberals cry and whiz their pants over the NRA. I want to see you cry harder.
NRA Lives Matter
” Liberals WANT law abiding citizens to be disarmed so they can be more easily killed.”
You actually believe this?
I hear a lot of hate in your words.
I hear a lot of pedophile behavior in your words.
Oh no. I must had hurt you.
Please stop hurting children.
Allowing anyone and everyone to carry is truly dangerous. I have a relative who has been denied a permit due to mental care. He should not carry. He will now. It’s a bomb waiting to blow.
For years the liberal leftists like Fred and Judith Brooks have trying to sell the lie that if every law abiding person carried a weapon there soon would be blood running in the streets and bodies every where. In states where laws like what the Michigan legislators are trying to pass there have been no such scenarios.
In Chicago where the democrats rule and reign and guns are strictly regulated gun violence is quite high. Is it caused by peaceful law abiding citizens? No. It is caused by those who get their guns illegally. Without background checks. Of course gang bangers and such do not worry about obeying the laws of the land.
What is the NRA? It is comprised of law abiding citizens who have come together to protect their freedoms.
Liberals and communists are cut from the same cloth. Both want to control every aspect of a persons life, except theirs that is, where you live, what kind of work you do, how much you are paid and what you would be allowed to think. Those who do not follow the parties speech path (PC thought) would be declared enemies of the state and destroyed. In their world the government is their god and there are no others gods allowed.
Today’s democrats are the party of hate and violence.
The left kills off those that do not follow the party line.
The man who shot MLK Jr.( who was a registered republican voter) was a registered democrat, not just a southern hick like Fred said in an earlier post. Sirhan was born in Palestine. Came to
America supposedly for a better life. He became upset at RFK because RFK was pro Israeli.
There is no mention of of political affiliation in his history. But, then again, democrats are good at getting some things omitted from the story.
As to the republican congressional shooter, first it was reported that he supposedly had bought his guns legally in Illinois, now they (ABC, CBS,NBC) are saying that he had bought his guns illegally. No background check done on him. One thing for sure though, he most definitely was a democrat.
“The man who shot MLK Jr.( who was a registered republican voter) was a registered democrat, not just a southern hick like Fred said in an earlier post. ”
I dare you to find where I ever said anything like this.
Everytime you post you discredit yourself. Try sticking to facts and you might have a chance. The treat is to control your emotions first.
Fred, You may be wrongly accused on my account. I said something such as this in my last reply to Jim-Bob.
You ever noticed how angry and defensive right-wingers get over the slightest mention of gun control?
More to the point of the original article, No Republican politician dares to say one word against the gun manufacturers or the NRA. Wonder why that is….
I no longer am responding to the trolls here, but I still have to read their inane posts. Yuk.
The idea that anybody can buy a gun, and carry it around among us is preposterous. People need to be taught about firearms before we allow them to own and carry and use firearms.
I know a story about Sam Lay, a famous drummer. He bought himself a .45, and shot his own male member off, the next day, because he did not know beans about guns. (He lived.) This Sam Lay is a famous guy, a member of the Blues, Jazz, and Rock & Roll Halls of Fame. I played on the same stage as Sam Lay, and met him briefly, back about 1968. Wonderful guy, great drummer, but…
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/stone-blues-6419690
https://youtu.be/YzTGlSp0oB8
Right on, Joey!
And they think everyone should have one.
I would love to see the stat’s on how many lives were saved by someone carrying a gun as opposed to accidents that happen because of untrained gun owners. The problem is that the far right would not believe the stat’s because of fake news.
It’s not that they don’t believe, it’s that they don’t care. The gun makes them feel like a man that they wouldn’t otherwise feel like, and that is all that matters.
Hey, Andrew Heller,
One of our trolls posts extremely long, silly, incorrect, ungrammatical entries. I have stopped responding to him. But, is there any way you could arrange for me to edit him? So that the rest of us are not obligated to slog through him every other day? The rest of your fans and I would appreciate that.
As a life long hunter and gun owner I am a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment. That said, I do believe that some training should be required for gun owners. When I was young we received that training from our parents. We (boys and girls) were taught to respect all fire arms. We were taught how (and when) to handle them. How and when to use them. We were taught what the consequences would be for miss use of them. This was not one time training–it continued from very young until we were young adults.
This training is absent in most households today. Partially because of the shift away from some of the outdoor sports. Partially because many of the households today do not have someone who cares enough (or has the knowledge) to insure those growing up have this training. Therefore, I do believe that some training should be required in order for a citizen to carry outside of his/her home.
In the military (20 years) , we were required to demonstrate our ability to safely handle and use weapons on a regular basis. It really was not a burden.
What I am afraid of is what has happened in some “civilized” countries around the globe. Total, or near total, restriction of firearms ownership and possession. When I talk to many of the residents of those countries who have had their firearms confiscated (or severely regulated) I often hear them say they feel much more vulnerable than before.
Do I believe our legislator screwed up? Yes. Let us keep the law as it now reads. We will never change the minority of those who willingly break the law. But, we can at least try to train the majority on responsible use of firearms.
I agree, right on.
Oldug, Yes! My dad, and my YMCA, and my summer camp taught me how to shoot, back about fifty years ago. These resources no longer are available, apparently, anywhere in the USA.
Probably, the NRA should set up How To Shoot programs, everywhere, and advertise, and make a real contribution. They (the NRA) might say they already have such programs, but, meh. They need to do much more in this education area, rather than just advocating for legislation that lets every ding-dong have a loaded gun.
It is a shame that one lives in a locale that their need for protection is so great that they have to carry concealed weapons to protect themselves.
Just move if the threat is so great, life is too short.
Brilliant. This is the best post on this topic, Jim.