(Via Charles Johnson at Little Green Footballs)
There are so many levels of moronic absurdity in this story it beggars the imagination, as the right wing screams in unison (they always scream in unison) for Meet the Press host David Gregory to be prosecuted and sent to jail for using a high-capacity AR-15 magazine as a prop in his interview with NRA chief Wayne LaPierre: What if David Gregory Went to Jail Over His Gun Prop? They’ve screamed loud enough that Washington DC police are investigating the incident, and David Gregory — who is actually one of the best friends the wingnuts have on mainstream TV, often giving his right wing guests incredibly easy treatment — may end up going to jail. The sense of weird, twisted glee in the right wing blogosphere is palpable; Gregory dared to criticize the insane policies of the NRA, and for that he must be destroyed.
In one of the silliest examples of the “GOTCHA” mentality firmly rooted in the Right-wing blogosphere, Conservatives are now screaming as one as they demand David Gregory be prosecuted for using an AR-15 magazine as a prop while interviewing NRA President (and Satan Incarnate) Wayne LaPierre. That Gregory was using the magazine to make a point in his discussion with LaPierre seems to have been lost on the knuckle draggers, who, for perhaps the first time in recorded history are demanding that gun laws be enforced.
No matter how much I struggle to wrap my head around it, I still can’t find it within myself to understand the Far Right’s unquenchable, boundless love for guns. It’s as irrational as it is inhuman, but Conservatives seems almost as devoted to guns as they profess to be to God (another bit of hypocrisy to be addressed at another time). Evidently, to their way of thinking, the 2nd Amendment is absolute and inviolate, and those who have the temerity to criticize guns in any shape, manner, or form is worthy only of destruction.
It would seem that if you inhabit the Far Right end of the political/ideological spectrum, the 1st Amendment applies only if the “free” speech being expressed is reliably Conservative and adheres to approved talking points. Since David Gregory had the gall to use an empty AR-15 magazine while interviewing Satan Incarnate Wayne LaPierre, he must be destroyed. As of this morning, almost 10,000 knuckle draggers have signed an online petition at the White House website demanding Gregory’s arrest. That the law Gregory apparently violated is a local ordinance and not a federal law seems to be lost on the geniuses behind the petition.
(b) No person in the District shall possess, sell, or transfer any large capacity ammunition feeding device regardless of whether the device is attached to a firearm. For the purposes of this subsection, the term large capacity ammunition feeding device means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
Yes, D.C prohibits possession of the type of magazine Gregory held up during the interview. Strictly speaking, what Gregory did violated the law. That Conservatives are choosing to obsess over a relatively minor issue while laws currently in place regarding guns aren’t enforced demonstrates clearly that it’s not about the law. It’s about playing “GOTCHA!!” and deflecting debate off the things that really should be debated. It’s about ensuring that the inalienable “right” of Americans to own weapons whose sole purpose is to kill other human beings isn’t infringed
The Right-wing blogosphere is passionately aflame with the conviction that this incident proves the 2nd Amendment is under attack. It’s a smoke screen, a self-serving delusion that does nothing to advance the discussion about what to do about the prevalence of guns in America. It’s another opportunity for the Far Right to obstruct, obfuscate, and eflect debate with an eye towards making sure that no anti-gun laws ever hit the books. When you’ve convinced yourself- despite all evidence to the contrary- that more guns means more safety and security and your 2nd Amendment rights are about to be taken away, why would you want to promote an honest debate? Why would you let something as trivial as the truth stand in your way? No, it’s so much easier when you can give voice to your considerable righteous outrage over David Gregory holding up a high capacity AR-15 magazine while interviewing Wayne LaPierre.
We should be demanding that LaPierre tell us why he stands in the way of any legislation that would introduce sensible gun control. Instead, the media is allowing the conversation to be hijacked by a cabal of self-righteous gun nuts willing to do virtually anything to deflect and neutralize debate. Nice work, y’all; how many more Americans will have to die before we get weapons whose sole purpose is to destroy human life off our streets?
