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NRA Commandments?; Stephen F. “The Onion” Kislock, III; Beaver County Times; May 15, 2013.
Most of Mr. Kislock’s 70+ letters over the last eight years have been Republican-bashing exercises, though he sometimes goes after Democrats for his pet causes. Sometime during 2009 Mr. Kislock became an in-house commentator for Beaver County Reds. Please follow this link to learn more about Beaver County Reds. You may also remember Mr. Kislock appears to believe “The Onion” is a real news source.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Here are the NRA’s 11 Commandents [sic]”
[RWC] Mr. Kislock gave us “Bush’s version of Commandments” back in 2005.
It’s interesting Mr. Kislock uses “God” and “Commandments” in his letters. You may recall Mr. Kislock has a history (going back to at least 2006) of having a problem with deity-based religion, or at least Christianity.
“1. God said there are no laws but your rights
[RWC] I guess Mr. Kislock thinks God forgot about His 10 Commandments.
“2. God said the Second Amendment is the only amendment”
[RWC] Please read my critiques of “A shaky ladder” and “Time for talking is over, gun control now” for more info on this topic.
“3. God said to Moses, aka Charlton Heston, only let your weapon be taken from ‘Your cold dead hands’
[RWC] This is about a speech (May 20, 2000) Mr. Heston gave when he was president of the NRA. Here’s the relevant excerpt:
“Every time our country stands in the path of danger, an instinct seems to summon her finest first -- those who truly understand her. When freedom shivers in the cold shadow of true peril, it’s always the patriots who first hear the call. When loss of liberty is looming, as it is now, the siren sounds first in the hearts of freedom’s vanguard. The smoke in the air of our Concord Bridges and Pearl Harbors is always smelled first by the farmers, who come from their simple homes to find the fire, and fight.
“Because they know that sacred stuff resides in that wooden stock and blued steel, something that gives the most common man the most uncommon of freedoms. When ordinary hands can possess such an extraordinary instrument, that symbolizes the full measure of human dignity and liberty.
“That’s why those five words issue an irresistible call to us all, and we muster.
“So as we set out this year to defeat the divisive forces that would take freedom away, I want to say those fighting words again for everyone within the sound of my voice to hear and to heed, and especially for you, Mr. Gore:
“From my cold dead hands!”
“4. God said guns don’t kill”
[RWC] Previous Kislock letters on this topic were “It’s your choice” and “Guns do kill.”
“5. God said your assault rifle is your right”
[RWC] “Assault rifle” is a political creation whose definition varies with the person and the firearm the person wants to ban. In other words, “assault rifle” means whatever the user wants it to mean and covers whatever weapons the user wants it to cover. Mr. Kislock didn’t provide his definition of “assault rifle.”
“6. God said you do not have to register your weapons”
[RWC] I can’t say for sure, but I suspect King George III wished he had firearm “registration” and/or banned gun ownership in America long before the American Revolution. Short of banning gun ownership, registration may be the most anti-Second Amendment action we could take. Firearm registration tells the government where to look first should it decide to confiscate firearms. Before you say “no way,” please read my critique of the Stan Olash letter “Missing the point.”
“7. God said you have a right to any and all rounds”
[RWC] If I and those around me were under attack, I’d hate to have to rely on holding off the attacker(s) with only a few bullets before being defenseless while I reload. Silly me, but I’d like to be able to fire as many shots as I could before reloading.
Regarding this and Mr. Kislock’s Fifth Commandment, consider this excerpt from a report prepared for the U.S. Department of Justice: “Should it [the Federal Assault Weapons Ban (FAWB)] be renewed, the ban’s effects on gun violence are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement. AWs [assault weapons] were rarely used in gun crimes even before the ban. LCMs [large-capacity magazines] are involved in a more substantial share of gun crimes, but it is not clear how often the outcomes of gun attacks depend on the ability of offenders to fire more than ten shots (the current magazine capacity limit) without reloading.”
“8. God said you shall not have to show any ID”
[RWC] This is the lefty position on voter ID. As discussed elsewhere, most firearm purchases require a background check which obviously requires the buyer to show ID.
“9. God said to Wayne LaPierre, lead my people to the Promised Land”
[RWC] Wayne LaPierre is CEO and Executive VP of the NRA.
“10. God said the deaths of 10s of thousands of innocent Americans is the price paid for our rights”
[RWC] ???
“11. If the people do not like it, self-deport”
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