Reader Response to San Francisco

Sep 17, 2019

It’s not surprising that many of our readers had a “less than positive” response to the San Francisco Board of Supervisor’s declaration that the National Rifle Association - meaning more than five million law-abiding citizens- was nothing more than a “terrorist organization.”

What’s not surprising, however, is the fact that the responses don’t include calls for the heads of the supervisors, the rape/murder of their families or a jihad against them. Guess that’s what separates “American terrorists” from “real terrorists.”

Seriously, the response to yesterday’s feature (Terrorists Unite!) was gratifying. They each displayed something the Board of Supervisors apparently lacks: a reasoned response.

It’s worth nothing that while some of the responses may have been a tad too “colorful” for my apparently outdated tastes, none called for anything other than the invocation of common sense to see how out-of-touch with reality the city leaders appear to be.

The National Rifle Association didn’t waste any time corporately responding to San Francisco, filing suit less than a week after the city’s declaration. Over the weekend, NRA members attending the NRA’s Personal Protection Expo in Texas responded in short videos. OWDN screenshot from NRA-ILA Grassroots Update.

NRA members attending the Personal Protection Expo in Texas responded with videos, and the response in the pro 2A community has been one of anger, not bemusement. If it weren’t for the fact that Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives continue to pass measures they know don’t have a chance at passage (it’s called “tossing red meat to your constituents” -not legislating. That’s an entirely different matter) it would be the subject of eye-rolling and punchlines.

Instead, no one’s amused. In an era when calling someone “male” or “female” in some circles is defined as hate-speech, it’s apparently fine to go after people who “still hold to outdated American values.”

OK, that having been said, here’s my favorite response:

Subject: I’m not a terrorist…..

…..but I’ll make sure whoever calls me that will feel the back of my financial hand.”

“And as for me and my family, I will never again set foot within the city of San Francisco, a city who considers me a domestic terrorist, and simply because I belong to an organization whose sole purpose is to protect our nation’s 2nd Amendment, our right to bear arms. And that I am urging all my conservative friends and family to do the same, to boycott San Francisco.”

That’s not a bad idea- voting with your wallet, it seems, is the only way to get the attention of elected officials…whether they be in government or private sector positions. It’s hard to ignore the unwashed masses when you don’t have the money to pay bills.

While Beto O’Rourke’s “Hell yes, we’re going to take them” comment at the last Democratic debates has apparently caused some consternation on the anti-gun side of the issue. Since his flat statement that he -and by extension- Democrats would be coming for everyone’s guns, the response has been…..interesting.

My favorite response came from Alan Gottlieb from the Second Amendment Foundation when he said “he said it, now we’re going to make them eat it.”

That’s hard to argue because none of the other candidates bothered to disagree.

The political “pundits” aren’t really disagreeing, but they’re putting a lot of space between themselves and the “former Texas representative”. One went to far as to ask: “Can Beto O’Rourke Swear His Way to Relevance?”

Probably not.

But he might help revitalize an industry segment that has been stagnant of late. Nothing sells a product like a politician saying you shouldn’t have it.

We’ll keep you posted.

—Jim Shepherd