It’s constantly amazing to us how legislators continue to stand by the gun guys time and time again, even though the gun guys are often obnoxious and even abusive to the people who make and vote for this country’s laws. The same thing is happening in Illinois right now– State Senator Dan Kotowski placed an amendment on a bill for children’s safety that would target high-capacity magazines, and the gun guys are trying to tear him apart with lies and insults.
The Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence (ICHV) is calling on the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) to cease their personal attacks on State Senator and former ICHV Executive Director Dan Kotowski, as well as their lies about legislation that Kotowski and other members of the General Assembly have introduced this session.
Last week the ISRA released a statement stating that Sen. Kotowski “continued his practice of dancing in the blood of the Virginia Tech victims” by placing an amendment on SB 1007 that would prohibit the possession and sale of ammunition magazines that accept more than 10 rounds of ammunition. They then went on to say the amendment would ban certain firearms despite the fact that there is no language in the amendment that mentions prohibiting the sale and possession of any firearm.
“It’s truly shameful that the ISRA would personally attack Senator Kotowski, by bringing up the murder of 32 innocent students by an individual who used a handgun that accepted a high capacity ammunition magazine,” stated Thomas Mannard ICHV Executive Director. “Senator Kotowski has been a victim of gun violence and has worked tirelessly during his professional career to do everything in his power to reduce the threat of gun violence in our communities and the availability of guns to criminals. On the other hand the ISRA has nothing better to offer than personal attacks on Senator Kotowski and lies about legislation he is sponsoring to try and prevent such a mass tragedy from happening here in Illinois.”
While Kotowski is steadfastly fighting to keep children safe from firearms (especially those like the guns used in the Virginia Massacre, in which over a hundred shots were fired in just a few minutes’ period), the gun guys persist in fighting him with personal attacks and lies. While citizens like those working with ICHV are legitimately trying to make things better and keep our country safe, the gun lobby continues to rudely argue against even the most reasonable of gun legislation, and allow firearms to keep endangering citizens in Illinois and elsewhere.
Here’s an Illinois blogger that calls out the gun guys for what they’re really doing: standing in the way of the legislative process, and using personal insults and lies to try and attack legitimate, reasonable legislation. (Big Gay Al is a gun guy who blogs)
But for Big Gay Al, Mr. Westrom and their fellow gunners the point isn’t to talk about terrorists, military applications or even business practices. The point is to turn such common sense measures and any discussion of same into ridiculous circus acts, apparently complete with clowns and rhetorical gymnasts who will twist words in order to change the subject and generate red herrings and straw men. All that’s left to do after that is accomplished is to alert their friends to prep press releases and blog posts about it and send it out to the Big Gay Als all across America so they’ll repeat the false impression that a lie was told…
What do you call a lie about a non-lie? Is that a gross misrepresentation? The word “gross†does seem appropriate, doesn’t it?
Something else that’s “grossâ€? Goofs who don’t understand the legislative process. It sounds more complicated than it is but, up until the time a bill is voted on, the text of that bill is completely fluid and can (and does) change from hour to hour let alone week to week. One such goofball writes for a pro-gunner blog called “Armed and Safeâ€. Apparently the “ignorant†part is implied. Blogger “45superman†titles his May 1st post: “Illinois State Senator Dan Kotowski supports the sexual exploitation of children†— another gross misrepresentation.
That’s the real problem here. Kotowski is also working on passing the .50 caliber ban in Illinois, and that bill (which is extremely necessary) also may be dragged down by this inane whining and misleading by the gun guys. They’re not interested in considering legislation on its own, or letting our senators and representatives confront the real arguments for and against each bill. Instead, they rush in mob form onto each piece of legislation as it comes through, assault the offices of legislators who don’t agree with them (all the while personally insulting them in every venue they can), and bully and shout down even the most reasonable of gun laws.
We hesitate to give them exposure at all, just because what these gun guys are doing simply isn’t helpful to anyone involved in the legislative process. It’s not helpful to senators like Kotowski, who are legitimately working to make a difference on gun violence, and it’s not even helpful to legislators who actually agree with these gun guys, because they must find themselves in the strange position of agreeing with idiots who are threatening to lynch the people they work with.
Debate is fine, of course, and we’re sure Senator Kotowski and other legislators working on reasonable gun laws welcome it. But insults and mistruths should never be welcome in a legislature, especially when it comes to law so clearly designed to protect American citizens from gun violence. By introducing this filth into the legislative process, the gun guys are not only making themselves (and their shrinking numbers of supporters) look bad, but causing the American people to miss out on important laws that would have otherwise benefited us all.
Update: News has come down the line that the bill passed the Illinois Senate today. Let that be a lesson to these gun guys that these tactics hurt their agenda way more than they help.
