Withdrawing Support for Connecticut Citizens Defense League—Repeal The Second Amendment

I am removing my link to Connecticut Citizens Defense League (CCDL) from OGNDY.

I joined the National Rifle Association (NRA) after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school right here in Newtown where I live almost 3 years ago. That might sound like a counter-intuitive move from a guy that by no means is a die-hard gun enthusiast. Although I am a gun owner, I don’t identify as such; it’s not who I am. Politically most people who know me would say I’m a (far) Left-leaning, liberal/progressive with a dash of Libertarianism. I wouldn’t be offended if you added some kind of Socialist to the mix.

The reason I joined the NRA was in response to the dishonest politicking that took place in the wake of Sandy Hook, nationally in general, and more specifically here in CT where governor Dannel Malloy used downright unconstitutional bully tactics to force through meaningless, feel-good legislation.

I hadn’t paid much attention to the NRA prior to becoming a member, but I quickly discovered that they were a bunch that held values so far removed from my own that I didn’t want to be associated with them.

Then I tried Gun Owners of America and dropped them quickly for the same reason.

Finally I discovered CCDL, who, on the surface seemed like a less rabid organization, a local group of people who promoted safe gun-ownership, sensible gun laws and a polite way of conveying their ideas. I made a small contribution, put their sticker on my car and linked to them on my blog

I later found out, through various interactions with other members, that the same vitriol, the same hatred, the same fanaticism that is the trademark of the NRA, also permeates CCDL, but I didn’t disown them formally and kept the sticker on my car.

After Thursday’s shooting in Oregon at he Umpqua Community College I had to ask myself why it was important for me to belong to an (any) organization that promotes gun-ownership. I couldn’t come up with a reason. There are more important things for me to do than spend time and money to support the cause of private gun ownership in America.

I’m not strong pro-gun. I’m not strong anti-gun. I’m not getting rid of my guns (even though I haven’ fired any of them in almost two years), but I could live a happy, fulfilling life if I got rid of them all this minute. However, I do see quite clearly that America has a problem with guns. There are a lot of guns out there—I’m not going to say too many, but I am saying too many in the wrong hands. I will also say that the level to which some people fetishize their guns borders on a mental disorder.

To deny that America has a gun problem is to be delusional in the extreme.

Let me be clear: I don’t know what the solution is. The reason we have evolved this gun culture peculiar to America is historical. There is no easy fix. I do know (by my own reasoning; I’m not going to link to polls and academic studies) that limiting magazine capacities, expanding background checks and imposing registration (all of which I have no objection to) will make a very small dent at best in the number of gun killings. I also know that there is an obstacle that will hinder any legislation that will significantly and within reasonable time reduce the level of gun violence. That obstacle is called The Second Amendment To The Constitution Of The United States.

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

This is one of the most shoddily written pieces of legal text we have and practically begs for a wide range of interpretations, all the way from regulated militias, and only regulated militias (conveniently leaving out what constitutes a militia, much less a well regulated one) has the right to own guns, all the way to a free-for-all to own and carry whatever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want. The current interpretation (by SCOTUS, the only one that counts) is that gun-ownership is a personal, individual right. My right (and yours) to own and carry firearms, is protected by the Constitution Of The United States. Do you begin to see why gun-control reform is an uphill battle?

I cringe when I hear fellow Liberals argue against guns, argue for stricter gun control laws, cry about dead babies, and in the same breath say they’re not for bans or abolishing 2A. This is cowardly, distasteful dishonesty at best, or downright stupidity at worst.

As long as The 2nd Amendment stands, there is zero chance of any meaningful change to our gun laws. So let me be the first Left-leaning gun owner to say: I support a repeal of the 2nd amendment.

I understand that it is a next-to-impossible task, but just like the obscene amount and importance of money in politics will always stand in the way of a functioning government, so will 2A always stand in the way of meaningful reform of our gun laws.

  • Get rid of money in politics or accept that our democratic institutions are bought and paid for by corporate interests.
  • Get rid of the second amendment or accept that mass shootings is the new normal.
Spot the difference.

Spot the difference.

For clarity: I am not advocating banning guns. I am simply pointing out that our problem with guns can’t be solved as long as the nation’s founding document specifically lists gun ownership as something akin to a natural right imbued in us by our Creator (don’t get me started). Personally, I see no good reason for a modern, advanced society in 2015 to have such a statute on the books. In 1791, yes. 2015, no. But that’s just me.

2nd Amendment Rights – How Technology Defines Them

2nd amendment rights virgin post in a brand spanking new category here on OGNDY.

My SEO plugin (WordPressSEO by Yoast) suggests that I should put my chosen key word/-phrase at the beginning of the article, which is why I just shamelessly and blatantly did it in the 2H heading (also suggested by the plugin) above (still flags it as yellow, though, go figure (OK, I think I got it now)).

Enough about that! I’m trying out a new category tentatively called “Transcribed From The YouTube”, reason being I’m very uninspired in a creative sense these days (didn’t write much about the election, see?), but I still need to keep my blog going with fresh content on a regular basis so as not to die off in the search engines, should I ever figure out a way to monetize the site.

So right off the bat I’m letting you know that I’m transcribing videos, or parts of videos, that I stumble upon on YouTube. I don’t think I violate anyone’s copyright (or 2nd amendment rights for that matter) in doing so, but if you disagree and think I’m unlawfully taking advantage of the fruits of your intellect, take a number, get in line and call my lawyer. What I’m saying is, sue me.

So as this shall not turn into a completely meaningless endeavor, I will only transcribe from videos that for some reason pique my genuine interest, be it because they have something important to say, that it’s said in a particularly artful manner, that it’s something stupid, something I agree with, disagree with, whatever; it is something I for some reason thought was worth sharing. I may or may not overtly express my reasons (figure it out for yourselves) and I will not identify the video. I will, however, offer a one million dollar prize to anyone who recognizes the transcript and can send me a link to the source video. (I don’t actually have a million dollars, so if you win and I don’t pay (I won’t), take a number, get in line and call my fucking lawyer.)

I’ll make this inaugural post without further comment other than to say that the guys in the video are concerned about their 2nd amendment rights.

“(…) Of course, this is one of those things that gets thrown in our faces all the time as gun owners, but, you know, back when the 2nd amendment was actually conceived and drafted and signed and everything like that, and the whole constitution and all this, our founding fathers, you know, we had all, all of the civilians and military had all the same firearms. You know, it wasn’t uncommon for a male to go and serve in the military to grab his rifle off the, off the mantle and go fight, ’cause that’s all he had.”

“Oh yeah.”

“So you know, the peo…, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed…”

“Well, that’s what it says.”

“…and, so I mean, they mean the same technology as the military, because, back then, that was the height of technology.”

“That was the height of technology that time and it should not be any different nowadays, I mean, a lot of folks out there think the 2nd amendment only applies to hunters. OK, no! Not at all! If I want to grab the AR off my mantle and go to battle, then I’ll be damned if I’m not gonna grab it and go!”

“Right.”

In the future I may attach my own views to the transcript and make it into a true opinion piece, making it more legitimate than just shamelessly fishing for SEO brownie points, but for now it’s just a way to get free content easily, while also being a training exercise in search engine optimization (something I’ve been putting off since ca 2002).

Below is an image of the original transcript in yours truly’s hand.

An image of a handwritten document concerned with 2nd amendment rights.

This image of the handwritten transcript that is the subject of this posting is included for no other reason than to provide 2nd amendment click bait for the search engines.

Post script:

Here is the analysis the SEO plugin made of this article:

The keyword density is 0.45%, which is a bit low, the keyword was found 4 times.
The copy scores 67.3 in the Flesch Reading Ease test, which is considered OK to read.
The keyword / phrase appears in the URL for this page.
Keyword / keyphrase appears in 1 (out of 2) subheadings in the copy. While not a major ranking factor, this is beneficial.
The images on this page contain alt tags with the target keyword / phrase.
This page has 3 outbound link(s).
The keyword appears in the first paragraph of the copy.
You’ve never used this focus keyword before, very good.
The page title contains keyword / phrase, at the beginning which is considered to improve rankings.
In the specified meta description, consider: How does it compare to the competition? Could it be made more appealing?
The meta description contains the primary keyword / phrase.
There are 893 words contained in the body copy, this is more than the 300 word recommended minimum.
The page title is more than 40 characters and less than the recommended 70 character limit.

 

Bye-Bye NRA

I got an e-mail today from the NRA. It started out as such:

Dear LARS:

Your NRA membership has officially expired. I’ve e-mailed you several times and I haven’t heard back from you.

If you have a problem with NRA that’s keeping you from renewing your membership, please let me know what it is, and I pledge to you that I’ll do whatever I can to fix it.

It was signed by Wayne LaPierre and there was more to it, but this is the part that mattered. Below is my response.

Dear WAYNE:

The NRA is no longer a single-issue organization (if it ever was). I have come to understand that you are a full-fledged political manipulation machine supporting candidates and values contrary to mine. There’s more to life than guns. I don’t define myself as a gun owner. I joined the NRA in the wake of Sandy Hook reacting to the dishonest argumentation from those you would call the “gun grabbers”. But your own rhetoric when arguing your case(s) is so dishonest, vile and vitriolic, and some of the spokespersons (e.g. Ted Nugent) you hold up so repulsive and beyond the extreme, that I choose not to be associated with you and your organization for my own good name and reputation’s sake and will not be renewing my membership.

Get back to me when you’ve addressed these issues and we can talk.

Lars Dahl

I will be severing my ties with the National Association For Gun Rights for the same reason. I still support Connecticut Citizens Defense League (CCDL).

Connecticut: Attention Gun Owners and Sportsmen—You are Immediately Impacted by the State’s New Draconian “Gun Control” Law

From my not-really-so-good friends (final status still to be determined; currently I’ve signed up for a one-year protest membership against the hypocritical, dishonest and self-serving politicians on both sides of the aisle, both locally here in Hartford, CT and in Washington) over at the NRA, here is the short version of Connecticut’s new gun law.

Parts of the law went into immediate effect on April 4th, but I had to wait for an email from the NRA to get a decent rundown of what the new law actually means for CT residents and gun owners.

I have a conflicted relationship with the NRA (I’m warming up to them, though), and at this point still will not recommend anyone to join, but will instead provide a link to Connecticut Citizens Defense League (CCDL) for those who want to become active and/or support the cause locally. If you want to join the NRA I’m sure you can find them on the Internet on your own.

Here is the text of the legislative alert email I received from NRA-ILA (National Rifle Association – Institute for Legislative Action):


On April 4, Governor Dan Malloy (D) signed Senate Bill 1160 into law and, as expected, this law contains many onerous and damaging provisions that will only penalize responsible gun owners and sportsmen in Connecticut. Some provisions of this law are effective immediately, while others will go into effect in several months.

It is critical that you stay tuned to www.nraila.org to understand the impact of this new gun control law. Your NRA is doing everything in its power to reverse this dangerous law that has no affect on criminals and only impacts responsible gun owners and sportsmen in Connecticut.

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY:

  • There is an immediate ban on the sale or purchase of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.
  • If you currently have a state Permit to Carry Pistols and Revolvers, you may only load 10 rounds into your firearm when carrying for self-defense pursuant to a Connecticut permit to carry pistols, even if your magazine has the ability to accept more rounds.
  • You may not carry a firearm for self-defense if the magazine “extend[s] beyond the bottom of the pistol grip.Many commonly owned handguns have magazines with floorplates that “extend beyond the bottom of the pistol grip, and could therefore be affected by the new law.
  • Due to physical characteristics, more than 100 firearms are classified as “assault weapons” and are banned immediately. Click here to see the full list.
  • With limited exceptions, individuals have to be at least 21 to purchase any semi-automatic centerfire rifle. This runs contrary to the current federal age limit of 18 to purchase any long gun.
  • All firearms sales, deliveries and transfers, regardless of where they take place, must go through a Federal Firearms Licensed (FFL) dealer or through the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP).

EFFECTIVE ON OCTOBER 1, 2013:

  • Individuals over the age of 18 must obtain an “ammunition certificate” to purchase ammunition and magazines.
    • The fee (tax) for this certificate is $35 and must be renewed every 5 years.
    • You will be subjected to a criminal background investigation.
    •  If you already hold a valid state Permit to Carry Pistols and Revolvers or newly created “long gun eligibility certificate,” you are exempt from this additional requirement to obtain a separate “ammunition and magazine certificate.”
    • You can apply for this certificate beginning on July 1, 2013.

EFFECTIVE ON JANUARY 1, 2014:

  • All currently possessed magazines that have the ability to hold more than 10 rounds must be registered with the DESPP no later than January 1, 2014 under procedures that are still to be determined.
    • Any non-resident who moves into Connecticut after January 1, 2014 will have 90 days to permanently disable, sell to a gun dealer or take out of state, any magazine that holds more than 10 rounds
  • Any semi-automatic centerfire rifle that can accept a detachable magazine and has specific cosmetic features, certain semi-automatic pistols and certain semi-automatic shotguns are immediately classified as “assault weapons” and must be registered with the DESPP by January 1, 2014.
    • Any non-resident who moves into Connecticut after January 1, 2014 will have 90 days to permanently disable, sell to a gun dealer or take out of state, any firearm that is now classified as an “assault weapon.”
    • Click here to see if your firearm will need to be registered by January 1 under the new law.

EFFECTIVE ON APRIL 1, 2014:

  • Individuals must apply for a “long gun eligibility certificate” through the DESPP to purchase any rifle or shotgun. You are exempt from this requirement if you have a Connecticut permit to carry a pistol or revolver; a pistol or revolver retail sales permit; or a pistol or revolver eligibility certificate.
    • The fee (tax) for this certificate is $35 and must be renewed every 5 years.
    • You must complete a DESPP- approved firearms training course.
    • You must submit fingerprints with your application.
    • The DESPP commissioner will have 60 days after the receipt of your application to issue the “long gun eligibility certificate,” which can then be presented to a licensed firearms dealer to purchase a long gun.
    • You can apply for this certificate beginning July 1, 2013.

It also remains uncertain as to the total implications to out-of-state hunters or individuals traveling through Connecticut. Your NRA will continue to keep you updated as the egregious provisions of this poorly drafted and deeply flawed law are analyzed.