W-etiquette Wednesday: Wayne La Pierre and Fear

NRA chief Wayne LaPierre is trying to scare folks into opposing new gun control legislation.  He and his organization have decided to oppose any new initiatives, even ones like background checks which he has voiced support for in the past.  This opposition is not being based on logic and reason, but on hate and fear.  The closest to proof that LaPierre gets is to mention the Second Amendment.  He doesn’t go into depth, however, because then he would have to discuss things like the Supreme Court’s obvious willingness to allow regulation and the fact that no right is beyond any limitation at all.  Then he would have to talk facts and that isn’t their strategy.  Their strategy is to paint the president as a man who is out of touch with the common people and out to get their guns.  As LaPierre told a cheering crowd, "[the president] doesn't understand you. He doesn't agree with the freedoms you cherish.”  He is an “elitist hypocrite” whose own children are protected by gun toting folks while ordinary Americans’ kids are left vulnerable.  And he is out to get your guns.  After all "there are only two reasons for that federal list of gun owners: to tax them or take them.”  If people don’t have their guns, how will they defend themselves from the Government?  Of course, many background checks are performed already.  In the rest of the world, very few countries don’t have universal background checks.  Fully automatic weapons are effectively banned now and all assault weapons have been banned in the past.  And gun violence in this country is far higher than it is in much of the rest of the world.  Plus, we register things like cars in much the way that is proposed for guns.  There would seem to be plenty of reasons to give these proposals real consideration, and I have to think people will … unless there they are too angry and afraid.   I suppose that is what LaPierre and the NRA is banking on.  I suppose that is a real reason to be afraid.