This page was last updated on April 20, 2018.
Gun laws won’t change if NRA has a say; Thomas M. Finch; Beaver County Times; March 13, 2018.
The BCT has published at least 52 letters from Mr. Finch (TMF) since December 2004. At least 31 of these letters were anti-Bush and/or anti-Republican and they never disappoint. Here is one example. You can find the remaining Finch letters I critiqued in the critique archives. As usual, this letter is little more than a string of leftist talking points. I wish he could get a regular column in the BCT. I also wish he could get at least five minutes per day on a local radio and/or TV station. The most recent Finch letters I reviewed were “Truth may be disagreeable, but it’s not ‘fake news,’” “How can we support such an inept president,” “‘Trumpcare’ means lousy coverage, higher premiums” and “Trump doesn’t deserve to be admired, supported.”
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“I know Republicans get all teary-eyed contemplating the Second Amendment and the fallacy that the ‘snowflake’ liberal Democrats will seize the hunting rifles from all of the law-abiding patriots who elect them every year.”
[RWC] “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.” - Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Please read my review of the Second Amendment. It addresses most of TMF’s issues.
“I agree with Roy Whiple’s [sic] letter putting the blame on the individual shooter, rather on the guns themselves. However, his contention to absolve the NRA of any responsibility in these tragic consequences is a fatal mistake.”
[RWC] Here’s what Roy Whipple wrote: “Blaming firearms, the NRA (established in 1871) and law-abiding gun owners for these shootings makes no sense to me.”
“His own words reference ‘federal, state, and local authorities stop dropping the ball and start enforcing maximum penalties …’ as a step in the right direction. How do you think all those ‘ball droppers’ came into power? In the 2016 election cycle, the NRA donated $5.9 million to elect Republicans, and a measly $106,000 went to Democrats. Another poll showed that of the 302 Republican representatives in Congress, 286 of them got campaign donations from the NRA, as opposed to only three Democrats.”
[RWC] The “ball droppers” were the FBI and state/local police, not members of Congress. Is TMF claiming Congress told the FBI and state/local police not to enforce our gun laws?
TMF uses polls as his source for campaign contributions? Candidates are required to file contribution reports and the FEC publishes the data in those reports. A good portal to the FEC data is OpenSecrets.org.
For better or worse, $6 million given by an organization during a campaign is chump change. For the 2016 presidential campaign alone, Donald Trump (DT) received $408.4 million in contributions while Hillary Clinton received $794.8 million, nearly twice as much as DT.
According to OpenSecrets, the NRA (2016 election cycle) contributed
Let’s look at contributions by labor union management (LUM). For the 2016 election cycle, LUM contributed $216 million, 12% to Republicans and 88% to Democrats.
I don’t think TMF knows the definition of “fascism.” As many others, TMF simply uses “fascism” as a pejorative.
“If you seriously want to change the laws - to protect our schools - we need to elect people who have the guts to fight the NRA and outlaw assault rifles. Remember that the next time you’re in the voting booth. Take off your Faux News blinders and take a critical look at how your majority ‘Republican government’ is ruining this country - one scandal and stupid decision after another.
“Nobody needs a 30-shot magazine - or an assault rifle - unless you’re in the zombie apocalypse.”
[RWC] I don’t know if TMF understands the purpose of Amendment II.
I don’t think TMF knows the definition of “fascism.” As many others, TMF simply uses “fascism” as a pejorative.
© 2004-2018 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.