Virginia – -(AmmoLand.com)- By now, you know the results of the elections for the Virginia state legislature. In essence, Michael Bloomberg now owns the lawmaking process in that state – lock, stock, and barrel. Those in Virginia will now see an extreme anti-Second Amendment agenda that doesn’t actually address the real problems we face in terms of public safety.
Then again, that was never Bloomberg’s intention. The real goal has always been to eliminate the Second Amendment as a right – and turn gun ownership into a privilege, as is the case in New York City. Hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of Virginians are slated to be punished for crimes and acts of madness they did not commit.
Just as we saw in the 2018 midterms, Andrew Cuomo’s campaign of abuses against the National Rifle Association has had an effect. NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre needs to be supported in that fight against the Cuomo regime, if for no other reason than the simple fact that if Cuomo succeeds against the NRA, no other pro-Second Amendment group will be safe from similar assaults.
Now, while Cuomo’s abuses are the major reason for the present situation involving the NRA, this present situation it is the fault of LaPierre and former NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris Cox in the sense that they did not act after there were at least two clear warnings that such abuses were very possible occurrences. It was strategic incompetence on their part not to determine potential vulnerabilities to abuses of government power after Cuomo said Second Amendment supporters had “no place” in New York in 2014 or when Lois Lerner’s abuses of Tea Party groups became public knowledge the previous year. Despite years of warning, they were seemingly caught by surprise when Cuomo began his abuse of power in the wake of the Parkland shooting.
Cuomo is aided by some Second Amendment supporters who put their hatred of Wayne LaPierre over the defense of the Second Amendment – largely over past disagreements. Dubious claims of financial mismanagement (no, the suits and consideration of buying a mansion in Texas don’t count – especially when the NRA didn’t buy the mansion) and the nasty breakup of the NRA/Ackerman-McQueen relationship aside, Second Amendment supporters must unite to stop Cuomo’s abuses against the NRA.
The reason is self-preservation. If Cuomo wins, other states with anti-Second Amendment extremists in positions like governor and attorney general will use similar leverage against banks. It will be very simple: Cut off gun companies and pro-Second Amendment groups, or face probes under vague “reputational risk” regulations. Does anyone seriously think Gun Owners of America or the Firearms Policy Coalition will be able to successfully fight a Cuomo-style campaign of financial blacklisting?
The 2020 election could very well be the last stand for Second Amendment supporters, especially if Elizabeth Warren wins. Warren has already vowed to sic the IRS on the NRA. In addition, she is threatening to also pressure Wells Fargo, which has resisted efforts to join in on corporate gun control and financial blacklisting, via federal investigation. Even without any formal charges, the intention will be to use the very process of the investigation as punishment for defying the injustices sought by the likes of Bloomberg, Feinstein, and others.
The Virginia legislative elections, when viewed with the elections in Kentucky and Louisiana, show without a doubt that the primary guardian of our Second Amendment rights are the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble, and the right to petition for the redress of grievances. Andrew Cuomo has successfully been muzzling those rights – effectively denying Second Amendment supporters the right to even make the argument. Imagine what he – or others could so with new “campaign reform” laws like those Warren is pushing.
Of course, that is not the only reason. The loss of suburban support for the Second Amendment is a huge factor as well, and this, too was self-inflicted to a degree – usually by Second Amendment supporters who did not think about how their approach to the issue came across to fellow Americans. A soccer mom frightened that her children could be caught up in the next mass shooting is not going to respond well to threats of defying laws or angry rhetoric aimed at “gun grabbers,” particularly when the media’s double standards are in effect.
While defeating Cuomo’s abuses will be a matter for professionals in the area of litigation, Second Amendment supporters can work to turn things around in the suburbs. With the right techniques, we can use our First Amendment rights to secure the Second Amendment.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.
“Cuomo is aided by some Second Amendment supporters who put their hatred of Wayne LaPierre over the defense of the Second Amendment …”
Harold, is this hatred of Wayne:
NRA Board Gives Wayne LaPierre 57% Pay Raise
* https://www.captainsjournal.com/2019/11/17/nra-board-gives-wayne-lapierre-57-pay-raise/
Wayne is a liability – in more ways than one. Besides, Wayne is a liberal Democrat. Why are you defending him?
I’m not sure that Lapierre and most of the board haven’t been bought by Bloomberg. NRA has become a liability for gun owners. If Lapierre cared one bit for the future of the NRA, he would have resigned months ago. Second Amendment Foundation, GOA, and Texas State Rifle Association get my support. There is a reason why some say NRA stands for Negotiate Rights Away.
“If Lapierre cared one bit for the future of the NRA, he would have resigned months ago.”
That would require humility, not Hubris.
Try and find some Humility in Fairfax.
Harold, you lost me at the second paragraph. Yousaid: “NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre needs to be supported in that fight against the Cuomo regime” You have conflated LaPierre with the NRA. This is WRONG. That man MUST step down, let go of the reins and let others take over, ending the corruption and waste under his watch, and freeing the organisation to once more function in the way the six million MEMBERS are paying to have happen. NRA needs to be supported LaPierre needs to GO AWAY. All this mess happened on HIS “trick at the helm”. As… Read more »
Tionico, well said, spot on, …I didn’t renew my NRA membership last time around, I instead joined GOA…the NRA has to clean up their act before/if I return to them…thus far I’ve seen nothing of the sort from the NRA JMO
Good Lord Harold, you are such a pearl-clutcher; grow a pair, man!
Living in denial Harold? The NRA can burn to the ground…or it can get rid of Wayne. It’s gonna be one or the other. And Cuomo and Wayne both can go Fu#k themselves.
Harold, where do I begin with your article…so many factual errors, constitutionally speaking. But let’s start with your reference to our “Second Amendment rights.” The Second Amendment granted no right. It recognizes a pre-existing natural right. It is an additional limitation on FEDERAL power to infringe upon our right to keep and bear arms. The 2A restricted the FEDERAL Government, not the States. States have their own Constitutions, in fact Chief Justice John Marshall stated in Barron v. Baltimore 32 U. S. 243 (1833), that the first ten “amendments contain no expression indicating an intention to apply them to the… Read more »
I can’t thank you enough for your clarity. Well written, precise, and damn straight.
“”That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state, therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed;…”
The Virginia State Constitution.
Virginia has 5 Second Amendment sanctuaries…5 and counting!
These “Elected Servants” are just your everyday run of the mill communists.They are your nightmares, troubles, bad luck, and misery all wrapped up in a pretty ball. Now you get to live with them all…
@Stripe, True and well stated. We have to do better this coming election in order to restore the Republic.
Ya gotta ask, after Bloomberg shreds the 2A, what does he gain? Power is only a good thing if money comes along with it. How will he profit from disarming the public, is he going to organize an army to do what?
Just so Harold and everyone else knows, the Evil begins.
With Dick Saslaw, no less:
SB16:
* https://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?201+sum+SB16
Welcome to Australian-Style Gun Control. Failure to comply will be a Felony.
Imprisonment.
It was actor Fred Ward, who said it best in the 1983 movie “The Right Stuff” as astronaut Gus Grissom, when he said, “Monkey.” Everyone is being played to some extent by either side for political gain. Both agendas are clear. What’s not so clear is their aftershocks in the form of “Tremors” on how society in general perceives them. This will become clearer after the 2020 election: gawdelpus (it’s a word!) if Mr. Trump fails to be re-elected. America will never again be the same, where suddenly, Venezuela won’t look so bad because it has become the new, and… Read more »
To answer your title question: – – – – NO!!!! These DemoNAZIS are paid off grifters working for the NWO THIEVES!!!!
no, they don’t care about crime. the point is to poke the bear until we strike back, then implement every single form of control they can think of in the name of safety “until the emergency passes”. food, electricity, water, fuel, internet access, cell phones, everything will be rationed and controlled supposedly in the effort to get us. if we start losing expect them to intentionally prop us up through various cutouts, to keep the war going until they have it all. until the rationing is accepted as normal. they will have their socialist utopia if they have to beat… Read more »
As for all the talk about Ammoland doing away with the thumbs buttons: just don’t use them, and you will have in effect rendered them useless. The first step to any conclusion is that someone take it. Therefore, I am offering to be first to drop the use of the thumbs button, only responding with a written reply. Who’s with me?
I was suspicious of that, but unsure. One day they read like normal people, then disappear for awhile, and then it’s like they forgot to take their meds. While I support the 1A and their right to abuse it, what I can’t abide is a fake trashing it for personal gain. So, okay, buttons it is.
The Democrats are now the domestic terrorists of choice. They are dangerous. They are a threat to a free America. They need to be pushed out of office. Americans, we need to VOTE in 2020 and we need to vote for patriotic Americans and that means to vote Republican.
And yes, we need to support the NRA. This does not mean supporting LaPierre, whose time has come and gone. Make sure our membership in the NRA is current and will remain current for years to come. Consider Life Membership.
You want 16 because I can do that also. But enough for today later girls. Awww hell why not sweet 16. I love the GOA!
It’s been interesting to read the comments following every article Harold writes. Nearly all of the negative comments are about Harold and not the content of the article. We also see that when a comment comes in as supporting the content of that article the commenter also risks being taken to the woodshed. In this article the content actually points out facts of what has happened in the war to disarm the general population and that they are successful, so far, in the incremental steps they are taking. The article also points out correct facts that there is a growing… Read more »
@ Gindy, You have made it clear in this post and others that you are a Harold supporter. That is not necessarily a good place to be in unless you think negotiating rights away is a good thing. Personally and with the majority of posters here, we are not going to throw anymore money at an organization that spends our money for other things than we designate. That happens on a full scale when it comes to the NRA.
How in the hell did you come up with that? I personally couldn’t care less who Harold is or where he comes from! My point has been in all my posts is that we continue to lose ground with all the bravado statements and abrasiveness. And also the fact that there is never discussion on the content of the article. Only on the writer! You can’t point to one sentence that I advocated a defense for Harold but you also indicate that in the narrow mindedness posted here that there is absolutely no room for discussion other than “burn it… Read more »
Ideology Distillery
@Tcat, This person sends out too many negative waves.
@wjd, Yeah, remember Abbie Hoffman wrote, “Steal This Book”? Guess what karma had in store for Abbot Howard Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989)!
He committed suicide by a phenobarbital overdose in 1989.
@wjd, In a paraphrase of the manner in which the great parlor revolutionary would said it, “F k, that is so f king appropriate, man!”
That’s the pot calling the kettle black for sure!
@Gindy, Who are you replying to? Little ol’ me? Ok, I’ll be the kettle.
Since it is Harold that produces the content and often people object to the content ,that results in Harold getting.attacks. You have some way to decouple the two and leave Harold unscathed ? For what purpose ? I have attacked Harold when i disagreed with his diatribes. When he attempts to scold or shame gun rights supporters for being attacked by anti-gun rights forces , blaming them for getting attacks because of their harsh or gruff statements or positions. He urges us to shine our shoes and be polite, all the time ignoring the lies and rudeness of our attackers.… Read more »
@Gindy – You are right that Harold does include many correct facts and statements, and that comment section always seems to be filled with hatred for Harold. However Harold always seems to twist facts in an attempt to call for supporting WP. I agree with him that we would be better served with a functional NRA survives, and that baseless attacks on any civil rights organization do serious disservice to our society. I also agree that current attacks continue to be a serious threat to our rights. However as others state, support for the NRA is being twisted into support… Read more »
It is interesting you attempt to separate Harold from the essays he blesses us with. He is responsible for his words , just as individual commenters are for theirs. He has the “Bully Pulpit” on this forum , we can not simply give him an up or down vote. If we disagree we must reply and tell why. He is not defenseless. There are other authors of essays here that not only read what commenters post, but sometimes post responses themselves. The fact that Harold chooses not to defend his arguments speaks volumes. If he will not defend his words… Read more »
The official SAF store is back open http://www.Shop2A.org han restocked. Just wanted to let all of you!
JOIN THE SAF! – https://www.saf.org/
JOIN THE NRA and SUPPORT THE NRA/ILA!
If you have the balls to vote someone’s comment down then have the balls to post who you are and why. But that implies courage and guts does it not. This does not exist for cowards, pussies and washed up shitbirds.
Hiding behind an enter button like little girls on a school playground and in mommy’s arms when the shit does hit the fan. Having no real hand-to-hand self-defense, no arms practice. no knowledge but a lot of raw ingrown stupidity and big fat corn chip, hot dog, oodles o’noodles eating fat disgusting smelly asses, Dependent always until death!
I agree with your first sentence wholeheartedly. I think Ammoland should do away with the up/down vote feature. It only works for honorable people.
It looks like Bloomberg has hired more trolls. However, Whitesfyre, when you promote joining the NRA, you lose some credibility too. That may be where the downvotes are coming from.
@B46 – Whitesfyre has quickly earned a reputation as a junk poster. Consistently resorting to vile-childish insults with nothing of substance to state. I imagine that majority of down voters do not get past his/her/its name. Review its post history and you may find yourself reflexively downvoting as well.
@RoyD&Bowersb46: The NRA stuff is just to piss off one of the multi-headed fat ass ball licking tranny clown girls named Will(imena) below who is doing that crap.
The new forum Ammoland setup here is kinda a one size fits all thing and can only be tweaked so much. Give the CEO/Brian time he’ll work it out and them.
Ammoland is like a neighborhood that was fairly safe to walk through at one time. And then slowly, it’s always slowly, it begins to turn into something else. After a while it is no longer a place where you want to spend any time. It’s a shame but what can you do but reduce your exposure or quit coming altogether. I have reduced my time spent here. Sometimes you even manage to upset the SJWs that run the place and get kicked off the site: Yes, GlockTalk, I am talking about you. In that case you shake the dust off… Read more »
Amen brother, amen! Anyone who’ll stretch out a 40SW has to have guts and brass bearings.: ) Stay safe!
@Roy, Ah yes, Is it nobler, in the mind, to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or beat feet to other websites, that is the question!
😉
@Roy, I see Ammoland more like a walk down the midway of the local county fair! You know bright lights, barkers, and weird side shows!
So, I thought that SJW was an abbreviation for single Jewish woman, as in the want ads. What does your SJW stand for?
It stands for “Social Justice Warrior.”
Whitesfyre, Would be nice to know WHO DOWN voted you, also to Know WHO UP Voted you, just saying.
@mlhtd51: I’m really not concerned with how many votes that I get one way or the other nor the count. I’m concerned about message board manipulation which impacts the articles here on Ammoland.com.
Go thru the posts over the last two weeks and you’ll see the pattern. Will and USA have not one or any down votes and almost all have atleast 12-30+ up votes. Usually in multiples of six. Such as 6 then 12 then 18, 24, 30 and so on. It’s not statistically possible. I invite all to check out this fact.
@White, could you do the same analysis on my popularity poll. It does not mean enough to actually engage in … WORK! I’ll send ya a check!
@WB: It was your comments on the down votes about that made me act. I observed the posts objectively and found no rhyme or reason for your comments being down voted alongwith many others. The problem: Nothing was being done about it. I’m sure as was my intention to out them while being the best asshole as only I can be. Single (multi-username) votes are no longer a attention maker my irate comments on those responsible are and will be until this problem is rectified. Their vote manipulation is destroying the article content here and invites those that do not… Read more »
I do, and will contnue to, vote you DOWN because of your atrocious potty mouth and constant baseless insults to those who have been posting here for a long time. If you have CONTENT to contribute, fire away. But clean up your trashfingers. You act like a six year old wanna be punk shouding insults. Well, YOUR mama wears army boots, too, soget over it. I have yet to see any useful information or wisdom in any of your posts. When you spew filt none of us would let our children see, you are going to get downvoted until either… Read more »
Please feel free Tionico. Follow the asswipes! Would have thought better of you however. Your single mind independence must have been washed away.
@Tionico – my only regret is that I have only one “up vote” to give.
No you don’t! Just use multiple names like Will&USA. Problem solved. Anything goes now on Ammoland remember. Why should you play by the rules? I’ll even vote you up to 2. See!
See I even gave you another, one to Tionico, one to Will(imena) and another for her at the bottom for 15.
See, sunshine sweethearts!