Congressional gun control advocates once again chose to prioritize political theater over solutions in yesterday’s House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing. Chaired by career gun grabber Carolyn Maloney of New York, the proceedings demonized gun manufacturers and accused them of purposely fueling mass murders across the country.
Daniel Defense CEO Marty Daniel and Ruger CEO Chris Killoy endured personal attacks and ridiculous accusations for nearly six hours. They gamely defended themselves, their companies, and responsible gun owners from what was frankly nothing but propaganda supporting the “assault weapons” ban and efforts to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).
Carolyn Maloney’s Fabrications
Maloney was clear from the outset that she intends to “hold the gun industry accountable for the damage inflicted by their products. Just like the car industry, the pharmaceutical industry, or any other American business.” And there is your first piece of propaganda. Maloney wants you to believe that firearms manufacturers are not analogous to those other industries when it comes to liability.
But she is deliberately lying, as gun controllers, and politicians in general, so often do. Like car and drug companies, gun manufacturers are liable for shoddy products or negligent manufacturing processes that cause injury. But, also like those other industries, they are not liable if someone deliberately misuses their products. Maloney and all the other gun grabbers know that, but lying about it serves their disarmament agenda.
Maloney alleges an “outrageous legal immunity that has protected the gun industry for far too long.” And that’s the goal. Gun grabbers are learning that their legislation is Unconstitutional and doesn’t work. So, they’ve decided to sue the gun companies out of business.
The PLCAA prevents their bringing frivolous civil suits against gun makers who have not broken the law. It also protects gun companies from pouring out tens of millions of dollars in legal fees defending themselves against those suits. The suits don’t have to be successful. They just have to cost lots of money. The anti-gunners want to either bankrupt gun manufacturers or force them to avoid liability by stopping civilian sales.
Uncoincidentally, noted Congressional prevaricator Adam Schiff penned an op-ed appearing today calling for the repeal of the PLCAA. He obviously timed it to run right after the hearing. The gun grabbers are rolling out a veritable propaganda tsunami. Schiff helpfully introduced a bill to do just that.
Gun Manufacturers Promote “White Supremacy”
You read that right. Maloney said it so it must be true. Yeah right. Yet another propaganda piece. Instagram influencer pretending to be a Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doubled down the white supremacy garbage. Everyone’s favorite Congressional brainiac pulled up a Daniel Defense ad in which the shooter has a barely discernable Norse tattoo on his arm.
The “Valknot” is supposedly linked to white supremacist groups. The January 6 shaman guy had one on his chest. Marty Daniel was clearly perplexed when asked about the tattoo. But not to worry. Brady Campaign Director of Racial Justice Kelly Sampson was ready with a no doubt rehearsed answer about the white supremacy aspect of the “Valknot.”
The Instagram personality then implied that Daniel Defense purposely included alleged “imagery affiliated with white supremacist movements in its marketing materials.” Of course, Daniel denied it, but she cut him off after just a few words. Can’t have the witch hunt narrative interrupted, can we?
This exchange built on Sampson’s assertion that the term “good guy with a gun” is “code for white, resulting in disparate treatment for black gun owners.” As a card-carrying American Gun Culture member, I’ve never heard such a thing. In fact, gun owners are among the most inclusive people I know. Ask Colion Noir if he’s treated “disparately.”
As I noted in another article, the “good guy with a gun” narrative is clearer than ever after Eli Dicken recently put down the murderer at Greenwood Park Mall. Looks to me like the gun grabbers have decided to call it racist to shut it down. Seems to work for everything else they can’t answer.
But Gun Owners of America’s Antonia Okafor hit back by pointing out the racist history of gun control laws. She also rebutted Sampson’s dismissal of the Second Amendment’s purpose by saying that it is about “the protection of the people against an oppressive government.” Gun control, she noted, is historically linked to oppression. Seems like she doesn’t feel “disparately” treated either.
Responsibility
Everyone agrees that murder is bad, but we can’t seem to agree on who’s responsible. Marty Daniel decried the “erosion of personal responsibility,” and expressed concern “that the stated and implied purpose of this hearing is to vilify, blame, and try to ban” lawfully possessed rifles instead of the murderers themselves.
Daniel suggested that the committee should “focus not on the type of guns, but on the type of persons most likely to commit mass shootings.” He noted that US Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security studies concluded that “many mass shootings are preventable when appropriate community systems are in place.”
Killoy echoed that sentiment, saying that “We firmly believe that it is wrong to deprive citizens of their Constitutional right to purchase a lawful firearm they desire because of the criminal acts of wicked people. A firearm, any firearm, can be used for good or evil. The difference is in the intent of the individual possessing it, which we respectfully submit should be the focus of any investigation into the root causes of criminal violence involving firearms.
Maloney and her gun-grabbing cronies disagreed. Maloney herself said that Marty Daniel should accept “personal responsibility” for the deaths in Uvalde. Not the shooter. Not the sorry ass Uvalde cops. Marty Daniel himself. She also asked Daniel, “How many more American Children need to die before your company will stop selling ‘assault weapons’ to civilians?” Daniel once again responded that “These acts are committed by murderers. The murderers are responsible.”
When asked about his alleged responsibility for the Sutherland Springs, Texas murders, Killoy noted that “The evil person who perpetrated those crimes and committed those murders was allowed to buy a firearm that, frankly, he should not have been allowed to do.” There was no response to that. The gun-grabbing politicians will never admit that their background check system failed egregiously.
Honestly, you can’t make this stuff up. I’d like to ascribe it to stupidity, but Maloney isn’t stupid. It is a calculated disinformation and shaming campaign.
“Insider” Propaganda
Giffords propagandist Ryan Busse also spoke, claiming insider status from his time as a Kimber sales executive. To hear Busse tell it, the gun industry is run by soulless radicals who embrace domestic terrorists and white supremacists. They fuel their agendas through callous profiteering. Sampson later echoed him in that regard.
Busse claims that “prior to 2008, the AR-15 was a pariah” in the gun world. “But the NRA and NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation) needed new political symbols and profit.” Never mind that the political landscape had also changed with the recent sunsetting of the 1994 “assault weapons” ban and the election of an outspokenly anti-gun president, which always drives sales.
Nope, according to Busse, it was all about radicalism and profit. Like gun companies would invest millions of dollars into product lines for which there wasn’t yet a demand. But, as I said, he’s a propagandist. He also criticized Daniel and Killoy for being on the NSSF’s board. Imagine industry executives sitting on the industry trade organization’s board. Scandalous!
Maloney and others also scrutinized industry profits. As if businesses don’t normally profit from their activities. They touted those profits as proof of greed, as opposed to the unprecedented demand of the last few years. You’d think the pandemic, civil unrest, and soft-on-crime policies of 2020 and 2021 never happened. Yet Maloney and Busse plowed on. Damn those gun companies for serving their customers!
Busse yammered on about “responsibility,” but he notably avoided placing any blame on the criminals themselves. He also claimed to represent “responsible gun owners.” Well, I hate to break it to you Ryan, but you damn sure don’t represent me. As a paid lobbyist for the Giffords crew, it’s very clear who you represent.
Endgame
Maloney and her pals aren’t looking to stop violence. They want to ban guns. All of them. They focus on AR-15s right now because that’s the low hanging fruit. They know the media will back them up. But make no mistake, if they ban AR-15s and similar firearms, your deer rifle will soon be rebranded as a “sniper rifle.” Handguns will soon follow. Shotguns will then become “dangerous riot guns.” Or some other such nonsense.
It’s a nefarious scheme to circumvent the Second Amendment. It also reveals that disarmament is their real goal, not stopping crime. But that’s how gun grabbers roll, isn’t it? And to think they are the ones complaining about loopholes.
