The Gun Myth
Wonderful story.
A prominent Illinois gun control advocate found himself tongue-tied after he was caught telling something other than the truth about a popular brand of target rifles. The gaffe came during a Wednesday press conference hosted by Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-33) in support of several gun control bills.
In his address, Kotowski pointed to a rifle staged as a prop for the event and described it as being a "military" weapon. What Kotowski did not know was that Mr. Mark Westrom, President of Armalite, Incorporated, was in the audience. Mr. Westrom rose to inform the attendees that his company manufactured the rifle in question, and that his company has never sold the rifle to the military. Westrom continued by pointing out that the rifle is purchased primarily by civilian target shooters. Westrom's revelation changed the course of the press conference, to say the least.
Oopsie...
Here is one more paragraph:
"I understand Dan's reluctance to stick to the truth," continued Pearson. "It sure would be tough for Kotowski to stand there and tell the taxpayers that he wants to spend $300 million to register guns owned by law-abiding citizens while ignoring notorious gun runners like Carail Weeks. It would be tough for Kotowski to stand in front of the state's hunters and tell them that he wants to take their guns away, despite the fact that 88% of murderers have previous criminal records and cannot even legally possess a firearm. It would be tough for Kotowski to stand there and tell law-abiding target shooters that their target rifles are a 'problem' even though he knows darn well almost half the murders committed in Chicago arise out of drug and/or gang activity. Indeed, the truth would be painful for Kotowski to tell. That's why he makes stuff up to tell folks who don't know any better."
Kind of sums it up nicely doesn't it.
The Illinois State Rifle Association website is
here.
Hat tip to
Sharp as a Marble for the link.
Posted by DaveH at April 8, 2007 3:46 PM