There’s just no mincing words here: The Tennessee Firearms Assn.’s John Harris is batshit insane:
In an email sent to Tennessee Firearms Association members, TFA executive director and political pariah John Harris turns his ire on House Republican Caucus Chairwoman Debra Maggart, calling for her political crucifixion. Maggart, he writes, “has been identified by TFA and we understand other grassroots organizations as the symbolic figure of a Republican legislative leadership that has trampled on the 2nd Amendment rights of citizens.”
“Symbolically,” he writes, taking care to couch his comments with buffers so he can he defend them as harmless metaphors later, “it is time to display a used crucifix at the entrance to the General Assembly as a warning.”
This is all remarkably unsurprising coming from Harris, who has spent the session wetting his political bed with hyperbolic rhetoric and by being himself in public forums. Luckily, Republican leadership on the Hill long ago stopped listening to him.
Yes, a “used crucifix.” Of course. Used for what? One can only imagine.
Basically the gun loons overreached this time with their guns-in-parking-lots bill, which pits the gun fetish folks against the property rights fetish folks. Republicans in disarray! Constitutional crisis!
There’s not much more to say to this than what Steven Hale pointed out, which is: you’d think a gun lobbyist trying to arm every redneck in the state might want to avoid looking like the stereotypical gun loon those of us supporting sensible gun laws have been warning about. Aaaand you’d be wrong.
It’s also grab-the-popcorn time for those of us on the left. How anyone can seriously claim that the Republican leadership has “trampled on the 2nd Amendment rights of citizens” in light of guns-in-bars, guns-in-parks, etc. is just mind-boggling.
It was only a matter of time before the unhinged fringe turned on their own. I don’t condone this violent rhetoric aimed at Maggart or anyone else, for that matter. But Jesus, people. What the hell did you expect? You empowered these crazies for years, coddled them, told them how important they were. You fed this beast and now you think you can just turn your back on them? They’re not going to be ignored!
Wow, that was quick. I complain on Balloon Juice and then you update.
Anyway, it reminds me of those idiots who held that African couple at gunpoint in their own house. After the idiots were arrested they complained that their 2nd amendment rights were being violated. LOLWUT? You falsely imprison someone and threaten them at gunpoint in their own home, and you complain that your 2nd amendment rights are being violated??? It’s scary to think these idiots are allowed to vote.
Wow, that was quick. I complain on Balloon Juice and then you update.
????Never mind! I just saw your BJ comment!
Well, you are right on. These fools have NEVER been about the 2nd Amendment, the one that says “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”. WE THE PEOPLE do not want to be ‘secure and protected’ by such fanatics, such lunatic fringe. This Amendment does not say that it is OK to swagger around parks, wear guns to church, on college campuses, AND in BARS. And now this nut case has attacked one of his ‘supporters’ for not being as crazy as he is about guns, automatic weapons, assault rifles as he is. And the NRA is just a front for Smith & Wesson and other gun makers that make billions trading and selling and even smuggling their ‘arms’ into Mexico. This is true. Look it up.
Good article in the most recent New Yorker about the NRA.
Republican vote getting scenario: Change tack and grant felons serving time the right to vote – call it “an anti-voter suppression campaign.” Then allow them the right to bear arms and carry while in prison.
Dunno, makes sense to me – How much do you think an endorsement is worth from George Zimmerman to the gun freak crowd?
SB knows how to reel me in. If there’s a batshit insane reference in the lead I wouldn’t turn the page if I was being nailed to a cross at gunpoint.
Who has a USED crucifix lying around, let alone a spare one?
Craigslist?
What is wrong with these morannic imbeciles?
WHERE is MY RIGHT
NOT TO BE TERRORIZED BY THESE FEWLS?
One of the memes that the gunzloonz like to push is that all of the ladies and, well, fuck, EVERYBODY needs, wants and should be, by law, armed–EVERYWHERE.
I think about the racism that runs deep in the gunzloonz, the misogyny and sneering indginoranace and I think, “These fucking clownz do not want people like me to be armed and they certainly don’t want all the blackoperps and feminazis armed.
I was at a blog earlier today where a couple of gunzloonz got into a pissing contest about whether a .45 Cal. autoloader is “easy” to handle. So, just for shits and giggles I googled Utubers of people shooting them. Well, donchaknow there were numerous videos of both men and women having trouble holding the weapon properly and dealing with the recoil. So, of course, one of them suggests that maybe the little lady should be carrying something smaller–after saying that the only gunz that are worth a shit are the .45 and .357 magnum.
I guess my question is, if you guyz are so convinced of the dangers of the real world and you think the only thing that will protect you is a .45 autoloader or .357 magnum revolver–then WHY do you let your children and wives go out without them? Do you hate your own wives and kids?
Yes. What if the Tea Party were black?
Imagine if the New Black Panthers or Rev. Al or whomever took up the gun rights charge for the black community. HYSTERIA! There’d be all sorts of modern-day poll taxes & literacy tests and the equivalent applied to guns.