This was in todays New York Times Editorial
This was in todays New York Times Editorial.
The only good thing is that AR15.com is now being mentioned in the New York Times and was finally given the credit due. (Instead of blaming the NRA inaccurately)
Editorial:
March 3, 2007
Editorial
Overkill
A famous hunter and outdoorsman recently voiced misgivings about people who use assault rifles to kill prairie dogs.
Everyone knows what a prairie dog is: a chubby North American rodent that lives in a communal burrow and grows to be about a foot long. "Assault rifle" is a much touchier term. It is generally understood to be the kind of gun that soldiers use in wars and terrorists use on the evening news. But the gun lobby despises "assault rifle," considering it a false, scary label tacked onto perfectly legitimate weapons by people who want to take away others' rights.
That is a debate for another day. The question for now is whether the hunter, Jim Zumbo, deserved what he got after he wrote on his blog that hunters should shun what he called assault rifles - semiautomatics like the AR-15, a cousin of the M-16, and civilian knockoffs of the AK-47. "Excuse me, maybe I'm a traditionalist," he wrote, "but I see no place for these weapons among our hunting fraternity." He added: "To most of the public, an assault rifle is a terrifying thing. Let's divorce ourselves from them. I say game departments should ban them from the prairies and woods."
Until he wrote that, Mr. Zumbo was one of the most admired hunters in America, a widely read magazine writer with his own cable TV program and lots of lecture appearances and corporate sponsorships. He of all people should have known that "ban" is the mother of all fighting words to gun zealots. His 250-word posting caused a huge eruption on gun blogs, and Mr. Zumbo instantly became their second-most-hated man, after the gun-control advocate James Brady. Even though Mr. Zumbo quickly disavowed his words and apologized, he lost his blog, was dumped by Outdoor Life magazine and was disowned by the National Rifle Association, after 40 years of membership. His corporate sponsors, including the gunmaker Remington, ditched him. His cable show was canceled. The N.R.A. issued a chilling statement warning Congress to take heed of Mr. Zumbo's fate. By the time Blaine Harden told his story in The Washington Post, Mr. Zumbo was professionally dead.
The paranoia and gloating that Mr. Zumbo's name has evoked on gun discussion boards like ar15.com and freerepublic.com speak for themselves. You will find only a handful of postings suggesting cautiously that the overnight destruction of a man's career might not be the proudest moment for the advocates of gun rights. One or two say that instead of cementing their reputations for reflexively enshrining gun ownership above everything, they might have asked Mr. Zumbo what he was talking about. They might even have had a healthy debate. But they shot first.
The only good thing is that AR15.com is now being mentioned in the New York Times and was finally given the credit due. (Instead of blaming the NRA inaccurately)
Editorial:
March 3, 2007
Editorial
Overkill
A famous hunter and outdoorsman recently voiced misgivings about people who use assault rifles to kill prairie dogs.
Everyone knows what a prairie dog is: a chubby North American rodent that lives in a communal burrow and grows to be about a foot long. "Assault rifle" is a much touchier term. It is generally understood to be the kind of gun that soldiers use in wars and terrorists use on the evening news. But the gun lobby despises "assault rifle," considering it a false, scary label tacked onto perfectly legitimate weapons by people who want to take away others' rights.
That is a debate for another day. The question for now is whether the hunter, Jim Zumbo, deserved what he got after he wrote on his blog that hunters should shun what he called assault rifles - semiautomatics like the AR-15, a cousin of the M-16, and civilian knockoffs of the AK-47. "Excuse me, maybe I'm a traditionalist," he wrote, "but I see no place for these weapons among our hunting fraternity." He added: "To most of the public, an assault rifle is a terrifying thing. Let's divorce ourselves from them. I say game departments should ban them from the prairies and woods."
Until he wrote that, Mr. Zumbo was one of the most admired hunters in America, a widely read magazine writer with his own cable TV program and lots of lecture appearances and corporate sponsorships. He of all people should have known that "ban" is the mother of all fighting words to gun zealots. His 250-word posting caused a huge eruption on gun blogs, and Mr. Zumbo instantly became their second-most-hated man, after the gun-control advocate James Brady. Even though Mr. Zumbo quickly disavowed his words and apologized, he lost his blog, was dumped by Outdoor Life magazine and was disowned by the National Rifle Association, after 40 years of membership. His corporate sponsors, including the gunmaker Remington, ditched him. His cable show was canceled. The N.R.A. issued a chilling statement warning Congress to take heed of Mr. Zumbo's fate. By the time Blaine Harden told his story in The Washington Post, Mr. Zumbo was professionally dead.
The paranoia and gloating that Mr. Zumbo's name has evoked on gun discussion boards like ar15.com and freerepublic.com speak for themselves. You will find only a handful of postings suggesting cautiously that the overnight destruction of a man's career might not be the proudest moment for the advocates of gun rights. One or two say that instead of cementing their reputations for reflexively enshrining gun ownership above everything, they might have asked Mr. Zumbo what he was talking about. They might even have had a healthy debate. But they shot first.
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They shot first. Not true they came back with a rebutal to the first shot. 0 -
Its funny that they declined to mention the "terrorist rifles" remark... 0 -
quote:The paranoia and gloating that Mr. Zumbo's name has evoked on gun discussion boards like ar15.com and freerepublic.com speak for themselves. You will find only a handful of postings suggesting cautiously that the overnight destruction of a man's career might not be the proudest moment for the advocates of gun rights. One or two say that instead of cementing their reputations for reflexively enshrining gun ownership above everything, they might have asked Mr. Zumbo what he was talking about. They might even have had a healthy debate. But they shot first.oh waah. these screwballs got it all backwards. anybody that buys into this crap is lost to begin with.
quote:The N.R.A. issued a chilling statement warning Congress to take heed of Mr. Zumbo's fate. By the time Blaine Harden told his story in The Washington Post, Mr. Zumbo was professionally dead.thumbs up NRA. that's one of the good things about them, a voice to point that out.0 -
They're acknowledging a powerful enemy...and that's good. 0 -
it's interesting to note that they looked to see what was said on "gun discussion boards". they must peek in on our conversations. 0 -
Zumbo "told" us what he was "talking about". He was talking about how my AR-15 is a terrorist rifle and this must mean I am a terrorist for owning such an evil rifle.
That tells me all I need to know about what Dumbo was "talking about".0
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