All day Wednesday, Jay Leno had been bullied by the gun control lobby. For simply appearing at the NSSF’s annual SHOT Show industry trade show, Shannon Watts (paid representative of Michael Bloomberg) used every dirty trick in the book to make it seem like Leno is personally responsible for slaughtering children. Nevermind that the NSSF actually supported some gun control measures or that they have an extensive program that’s all about gun safety. All Shannon needed was to imply that the former Tonight Show host was being paid by the big bad “gun lobby” and her minions did the rest. Twitchy followed the Twitter-based bullying closely, and it looks like their anti-gun bullying worked . . .
Here are a couple selected tweets for your reading pleasure:
@shannonrwatts: Use our Fast Tweet page to call out @JayLeno for hosting an event w/ gun lobby: http://every.tw/jokesonleno  #JokesOnLeno pic.twitter.com/r3B0Eb4WPC
@ahalltoo:Â Shame on @JayLeno for emceeing event hosted by a gun lobby group from #Newtown. @MomsDemand #JokesOnLeno
@MomsDemand:Â Attention Moms: Tell @JayLeno that shilling for a gun lobby group from Newtown is irresponsible and unacceptable with #JokesOnLeno
@xtinel:Â .@JayLeno set to tell jokes at a gun lobby event, but parents who lost children to gun violence aren’t laughing @MomsDemand #JokesOnLeno
After a full day of this kind of abuse, Leno had enough and backed out. From the NSSF . . .
We are clearly disappointed by Jay Leno’s decision not to perform at the 2015 SHOT Show State of the Industry Dinner. He unilaterally cancelled his promised appearance due to pressure from the anti-gun lobby, which included false statements about our industry and its commitment to genuine firearms safety, which we attempted to personally correct with him, but to no avail.
We are not deterred by their publicity seeking nor are we unfamiliar with the bullying political tactics of the gun control groups that seem to have as little respect for the First Amendment as they continually demonstrate with regard to the Second Amendment.
We are proud of the many programs that we run that meaningfully contribute to public safety including our long standing Project ChildSafe and Don’t Lie for the Other Guy initiatives in addition to our members everyday work in compliance with comprehensive federal and state laws. We will not allow the lawful commerce in firearms nor our industry to be demonized and we will continue to speak out for the Second Amendment rights of the millions of law-abiding citizens who are our customers.
Despite Mr. Leno’s cancellation, we look forward to having our biggest and best State of the Industry Dinner to date with a performer that respects the contributions of our industry and the customers it supports.
It’s all part of the larger tactic that Moms Demand Action (a wholly owned subsidiary of Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns) is using to try and make gun ownership socially unacceptable. If they can shame gun owners into the darkness, then no one will stick up for them when the next assault weapons ban proposal comes around. Part of that effort is making anyone associated with anything firearms-related appear evil by association, so no one will make the same mistake.
From Alan Scott on the Moms Demand Action Facebook page:
We will change the culture and make guns even more socially unacceptable than cigarettes. As they should be, since guns put all of us at risk.
Making gun owners social outcasts and shaming anyone who even comes near them. Sounds like they really do “support the Second Amendment” and want to work with gun owners to come up with “common sense” solutions. Totally not all about eradicating gun owners like a disease. No, not at all.
Typical
This is my first year to attend the SHOT Show. I am a huge fan of Jay’s Garage. I would have really liked to see him. This is a real disappointment.
I was a big fan of Jays garage too.
I don’t really feel like watching him anymore.
Certainly not since the sex change where Jay lost his balls.
Exactly.
Perfect example of someone who could have stood on their convictions (if he had any), as he’s already made his fortune.
Too bad, I always liked the guy.
There is a lot of cross over between car guys and gun guys.
Pathetic !
With his money (estimated worth: $350m) and his place in “history”…why give up the gig? OH MY GOD, someone who reads FB might think ill of me!
Is he that fragile?
Jay should have his man card removed and half of his cars donated to me for being such a coward.
He needs to spend some time perusing:
The Art of Manliness
http://www.artofmanliness.com/
Jay should not let these people bully him around and he should realize their power is nothing more than a paper tiger.
^^ This.
Jay should know better than to kowtow to those engaging in emotional blackmail.
What a wuss. Glad you got yours already, Jay. Enjoy the decline.
Reminds me of the NASA scientist crying over the SJW ninnies criticism of his hawaiian shirt with boobies and guns.
Public pressure can be a very powerful thing. I don’t think those of us who have never experienced it have a right to judge.
Maybe we could pressure you into voting then, eh?
The right to judge is protected by the law of common sense.
I am glad you are not in charge of deciding the qualifications required for judging others, or in this case a citizen expressing an OPINION. While not this example, being told which kind of guns I can own or that I should not have them at all is public pressure among others. Therefore all gun owners have experienced it. I also have every right to judge anything whether or not I have directly experienced the exact same situation. When the person be judged is a hypocrite as well he is going to get the judgement he deserves.
Yeah that public pressure, if he stuck to his word he would surely be living on the street today. Kind of like Kroger and the rest. Somehow they are still in business even with the efforts of Bloomberg’s financially backed whiny moms.
Allow me then, to socially pressure you into getting as many guns, and of the types, you friggin’ want.
It’s easy to be an internet tough guy the same as it’s easy to pretend we would not be affected having our name and likeness dragged through the mud on social media.
@TheBear said: it’s easy to pretend we would not be affected having our name and likeness dragged through the mud on social media.
Leno is a celebrity who has had his name and likeness dragged through the mud many times before.
Your attitude is symptomatic of the problem with Fudds and RINOs.
“We don’t want anyone to call us names, so we’ll cave.”
He was not a NASA scientist. The comet project is a European gig. And yeah, he was a wuss. On the other hand, the complaint was that he did not maintain a “professional” appearance. Pitiful.
Typical behavior from the crowd that cowers when anyone shows a weapon.
Hell, MDA and Bloomberg don’t even want to protect our kids. They call US the murderers when they should be pointing at themselves in the mirror, gutless wonders!
Tell us what to do so they can laugh at those people that jump through hoops for them.
Wait a minute!
Don’t the police, the military and private security firms all attend SHOT Show?
Maybe MDA would be okay if Jay’s audience was only police, military and private security firms.
SHOT Show could extend a special invitation to Shannon Watts’ and Mikey Bloomberg’s bodyguards.
I feel sorry for him, unlike everyone else, apparently. The MDA may be a paper tiger, but their roar is loud and it can summon the MSM. It’d be hard for him to make a living if he were shamed off the map by the MSM. I doubt he wanted to step off, but that’s what he felt he had to do to preserve his career. Not every man can be a martyr for the cause.
“All that is needed for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing.”
Bingo.
And Jay just did nothing.
And he has as many cars as all of the commenters of this post. He made his money and then some, and should have told MDA to cram it. Heck, he could have made jokes about them. Now he’s the joke.
If he grew a pair and stood on principle, I’m sure he’d find far more support from gun owners than any opposition that MDA could muster.
They don’t give a rip about him. They’ll just use him as a notch-on-the-belt in their next fundraising letter.
To MDA, he’s collateral damage. They’ve already moved on to their next victim.
What career? He’s retiring. He’s got more money in his garage than 99% of us will ever have.
His career? he’s retired. He has more money than he knows what to do with. He does what he wants and hosts a show about cars. What can they possibly do to hurt him?
What “career”? He doesn’t have to do ANYTHING for the rest of his life if he doesn’t want to.
I like cars a lot. Jay Leno that thinks he is an expert by way of money, not so much. It takes very little time listening to him to reveal just how little he knows.
Feel sorry for him? For making his own choice that reveals him as a coward?
Hard for him to make a living? He has already made more money than he knows what to do with and he is the one that chose to back out. Apparently he is easily manipulated by the weak-minded on top of having just enough knowledge of the workings of cars to be dangerous. He has convinced himself he is an expert about every car soon after one of his paid mechanics tells him what to say.
He could have attended but HE decided not to. Yeah, he is so bullied he deserves so much pity for being inconsistent and making decisions that are not about what is right, only how it makes some feel. He is near or at the bottom of the list of people that need sympathy with regards to anything financial. How about him striving to stick to his word and beliefs (regardless of potential financial threat) rather than be bullied by people that have no power in the futile attempt to make everyone happy? On top of that, he is also not half as funny as he thinks he is while reciting the material of others.
This is what happens when you have Hollywood managers, agents and publicists making your decisions for you.
Same is true with politicians and their consultants.
BREAKING: Jay Leno is a p*$$y.
….with stars and dollars…
Kinda like a subtle pun.
Lets all contact the MDA and register our disgust with their emotional blackmail of Jay Leno. The Shot show is a legal exposition of firearms and firearms related sports, well within the realm of reasonable conduct. These people base their actions on emotional reaction and not logic or common sense. We should support Jay despite his emasculation.
Contacting MDA would be a total waste of time. They have been spreading their propaganda for so long they actually believe it. Contact Jay and tell him how disappointed you are that he would not stand up for himself and for the 2nd Amendment to our Constitution. Then call someone with balls like Ted Nugent and let him know there is an opening at the SHOT Show.
They’re so backwards, they’d take it as encouragement for their poor and misguided behavior.
Or just contact Twitter, since “Targeted Abuse” is expressly against their terms of service.
I never liked Leno anyway. FK him and his weak as a kitten spine.
That’s an insult to kittens everywhere sir!
Hey, it took balls for him to plan on attending shot show in the first place. Not many TV figures will openly advertise anything related to guns due to harassment like this happening.
That said, I wish he wouldn’t have taken a knee for those harpies.
@Scrubula said:
Hey, it took balls for him to plan on attending shot show in the first place.
What?!
To perform at an industry trade show for products acknowledged as a fundamental right by our Constitution?
Your sentiments reflect how far this country has slid.
Man up!
Your anger at this situation is misdirected. Scrubula is describing society’s attitude, not his own.
They think the entire gun manufacturing industry is so evil, it’s evil just to perform at a trade show. But they aren’t against guns entirely, they only want guns to be kept out of the hands of criminals.
Well, at least we have a truly concrete example of the lies they tell about their stance, the denial of which may cause actual aneurysms in antis.
I think the saying is “cut off your own nose to spite the enemy” or something like that.
Today is an interesting day. Today is the day that the gun-control lobby opposed gun-safety and keeping guns from criminals. This is what the NSSF supports:
http://www.projectchildsafe.org/
http://dontlie.org/
http://www.nssf.org/safety/lit/
When is the last time you saw a gun-control group do so much as give out a trigger lock?
All the talk about his manliness seems silly — the point that should be made to him is that a real comedian takes whatever comes his way and turns it to jokes. He’s made NRA jokes; he should have taken all this and spun it into a dozen dozen MDA jokes. Further, as a member of the media, he should have made a big theme of those jokes about people who claim to believe in free speech, but pounce like vultures on any speech they don’t like.
Triple fail.
It occurs to me that there may be more going on behind the scenes when MDA is involved. Maybe legal action threatened by Bloomberg. Something more sinister with much more weight than incoherent neural dumpings on twitter. Then the mom’s make a show and it appears that they are having an impact.
Maybe i’m just being a silly paranoid, though. It just doesn’t seem like asinine tweets should be enough to have any impact, but then Jay is hollywood, and that town runs superficiality and fear of perception.
Anyone is welcome to use “incoherent neural dumpings” to describe the output of the antis, but I reserve the right to use it as a band or album name.
Leno has proven time after time that since he took over the Tonight Show he has no integrity. Which is sad because before that time he was a very funny stand-up comedian.
Shucks I was reading about this earlier today. I really thought Leno would laugh off the anti-ballistic teetotalers. Its a shame he didn’t. Way to go dude.
I quit watching when Johnny retired.
Me, too. Johnny Carson was & is the king of late night comedy. There are tons of Tonight Show vids on youtube, watch them on your schedule, not NBC’s.
Jay Leno’s retired, why doesn’t he tell MDA to go bleep themselves? What will they do, occupy his garage?
I just lost all respect for the guy. As far as I am concerned, he and his armed bodyguards can go back to his Progressive enclave and let us real men reclaim and protect the freedoms America was founded upon. He is a dishonorable man that deserves no more of my time. I hope his disservice to his country is remembered for all time.
TTAG whines about Shannon and her tactics, yet complains when I get a rise out of her with commentary. The only way to stop a bully is to punch her in the nose and do unto her what she does onto you. Not complain about it.
Carry on, sir.
Dirk,
Radicals and agitators have to be handled a “special” way and it appears to me that you are skilled in that area.
The discomfort the regulars on this site mirrors that of the republicans when dealing with the same type tactics on capital hill.
I appreciate your seeing it for what it is.
Dirk,
Radicals and agitators have to be handled a “special” way and it appears to me that you are skilled in that area.
The discomfort of the regulars on this site mirrors that of the republicans when dealing with the same type tactics on capital hill. Sometimes you have to get your hands dirty to be effective, i.e. punch the bull in the nose.
I appreciate that you see it for what it is.
ah, i see that your earlier on point post was removed. quite a number of adjectives that would be well suited for describing leno’s actions would also lend themselves well towards commenting on that action taken by the moderators here.
Dirk, you are absolutely right about this, and obviously could teach Leno a lesson about courage. Looks like he desperately needs one.
Can the pro gun side please hire a dirty underhanded nasty take no prisoners PR hack for our side now please?
But…but…high ground…better than them…we all lose…etc.
I don’t advocate juvenile behavior in any fashion, but the sooner we realize that THEY don’t play by our own rules of honor and seek to win by any means necessary, the more realistically we can confront them.
They lie. At every turn they lie. Attributing to them some sense of fairness and integrity is to lose before we start.
If we stoop to their level we become as bad as they are. Not only that, but the INSTANT we start doing the things they’re doing, the media will jump on it like a dog on a raw steak. They’ll call us every nasty name in the book (which won’t change) but what will change is that this time they’ll be RIGHT.
And this is why we lose in the media. We give it to them; we let them set the rules.
So long as we let them control how language is used (truth vs lie, definition or misdefinition of terms, etc), they have that media edge.
Keep giving it away and keep complaining about it.
Yep. I’m sick of trying to negotiate with an overgrown rat that’s gnawing at my guts. More and more, I don’t engage in the debate, I just call them to the table- if gun owners were half as dangerous as they like to claim, there would be no “conversation”- half of them would be DEAD, and the other half in hiding. No more debate, people just need to throw their shit back in their faces and walk on. And if there’s a professional out there that wants to be the public face of doing so, they have my absolute support.
I don’t give a tin shit about Jay Leno. I don’t need celebrity support to continue to believe in my rights.
Hello, I live in Lawrenceville Georgia and Moms Demand Action is planing a protest outside of the our nearby Kroger, would everyone support me in a counter protest? also, would this end up with them scurrying off and claiming we “bullied” them with fact?
Good luck!
Have you contacted your GA gun rights groups to help organize.
GET PICTURES! It would be great if the ratio of gun rights supporters to MDA anti’s was 100 to 1 or more.
Get pictures. See if you can get a gun-toting Mom to get her picture with a smiling Shannon. We like those. 😉
My wife and I might be available. Where and when? I will try to get my wife to pose with Shannon.
It would make it even better if your wife will be CCing when the picture is taken.
That was understood…well…by most people.
I am also quite certain that having a rational debate with MDA would last as long as a paper airplane in a firestorm
It wouldn’t surprise me if this was a setup from the beginning. Have a mole inside NSSF suggest Jay. Jay accepts, MDA does their thing, MSM does their part, and they’ve scored another “victory.”
Jay is a pud, always has been.
Listen to his weasely voice, you’ll get everything you need know about him from that.
Jay quit under pressure from his only fans… Vapid, oprah watching housewives.
http://youtu.be/d0MBXt5CFIs
Good riddance. I never liked him anyway. Now maybe they NSSF will get someone with honor, fortitude, some firearms background and a spine.
Larry the Cable Guy?
I’d be happy to perform at SHOT show. Unfortunately I’m not very funny. Then again, neither is Jay Leno. Hey, NSSF– call me! I can clear that weekend if you need me!
As a car guy I have some degre of respect for all the classic metal he keeps and drives around. That said, I don’t think he’s particularly funny and as for his personal politics he seems to be somewhere left of center, though not by much.
It’s likely Leno doesn’t give one crap one way or the other about guns (yes, people like this do exist) and the NSSF was paying him a decent amount to perform at the show. He says he’ll be there, he sees a HUGE social media backlash (relatively speaking.. they may not be many, but they are LOUD) and thinks “wow, people must not like this organization. Maybe I better not.”
Do I like what he did? Not really, no. I can understand why he did it, but understanding why and liking are not the same thing.
Ralph will do it. He is funnier that Leno anyway.
i would have expected him to take it on the chin.
Well, in the technical meaning of the phrase, he did–laid out flat by a gaggle of hysterical pseudo-“moms”. Maybe you should audition, tho–that was pretty good, I thought.
I used to be s lifetime fan of Leno. Our veterans are risking everything to defend our rights. Anyone that joins the anti-gun crowd is giving the biggest possible insult to those sacrifices. Not to mention the insult of disarming people and making more victims.
I tried to contact Leno by his agent, publicist and production company. Didnt go very far. Leno has a new show coming out on CNBC. Nothing will change unless people call. But we don’t need to be rude or use lies like the anti-gunners do.
CNBC
1 (877) 280-4548
option #2
a person answered right away
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/jay-leno-cancel-gig-pro-gun-group-victim-article-1.2016986
No back bone. Just a big chin
I think if the NSSF wants someone to host, get someone with balls. Their tactics is the same as an online bully.
Leno is a coward, or was only in it for the $$$ in the first place, which makes him the moral equivalent of Shannon Watts *SHUDDER!*. Had a photo of Leno with some of his cool cars in the man cave, just took it out of the picture frame and put it in with the other shooting range targets, or maybe I should put it with the paper I use to light the fireplace…hmmmmmm,,,now who to put in that great frame Leno just got expelled from?
“now who to put in that great frame Leno just got expelled from?”
George Washington? Aristotle? Hannibal? Attila? Lief Erikson?
Gary Gordon? Randall Shughart?
I don’t know. I can think of a LOT of people worthy of that frame far, far, far above some talking head dipsnot from TV.
Got Washington, Aristotle, Lincoln and a few other Historicals…the frame was for a contemporary…got Ben Carson…maybe Herman Cain or Dinesh D’Souza.. Thanks for the suggestions! I only had Leno because of the Cars, not Leno, himself….
“We will change the culture and make guns even more socially unacceptable than cigarettes. As they should be, since guns put all of us at risk.”
Sorry dumdum, but human nature puts you at risk, not inanimate objects.
If I was the wounded vet he just gave the Dodge Challenger to, I’d very publicly auction it and donate the money to the NSSF, just to spite him and the Bloomberg-funded astroturfing harpies who made him cave to their demands.
I’m not though.
The day i see a Twatter-storm stop a shooting, I’ll start giving a shit.
Does Moms Demand receive one penny from foreign sources to overthrow our Constitution?
Wish I knew Jay Leno’s e-mail address. I would like to ask him to put his big boy pants on and grow a spine.
Wow what a baby. Pretty sure his fans( I used to be one) noticed. I would think car guys are overwhelmingly GUN GUYS. Enjoy your oblivion Leno…
Disappointing. Shame on you Jay, why don’t you support 2A?
Well now WE know who has the sack. It’s not Leno.
COWARD
It’s okay, Jay. I still like you and all of your awesome cars.
I’ve heard (but no idea if actually true) that although Leno himself tends to be center-right on many issues, his wife is not. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had the final decision in him not going to shot show.
If true regarding his wife, it would be further proof of his lack of manhood.
Typical Hollywood coward. This goof will stand by his 2 miles per gallon hotrod but back down with his tail between his legs when it comes to an actual freedom and right. Shame on Leno as much as shame should be put on this and all anti-gun groups.
The I am God What I want means I do not give a shit about you and your wants. Bloomberg has a armed, illegaly armed private police force to protect, but he wants/demands you be subject to be murdered or raped.
the Statment I am all for safe gun handling means in their opinion, only those that believein me shall have access to guns. the fact that bad guys do not the law in any case does not seem to matter.
By even acknowledging that Moms Demand Action had a right to suggest that this was their business, Jay Leno abdicated power over his life and livelihood to a bunch a ignorant bullies. I was impressed by his donation of a 2015 Dodge to a wounded veteran the other day, but this move by him tarnishes that gesture.
Jay’s response to Moms Demand Action should have been this, “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of my awesomeness.” But instead, he’s bent over, grabbed his ankles and taken it up the A$$ from this nutty group.
^^ This!
How much more proof do you need that MDA are a bunch of jackbooted fascists. They do not respect the Constitution in any way shape or form.
{to many replies to read}{not sure it was said ^^^up there?^^^
I’m think’in Jay should now be required to turn in his “Man Card” and donate any & all weapons he has to [as much as it pains me to say] the nearest Po-Po office. If your Character is that weak, that it only takes a couple of hours [without any “meaningful” reply’s/rebuttals] of their hysteria, then just dam you got a problem!
I have always enjoyed Jay Leno and unlike the people who attacked Leno, this is a free country and if wants to cancel he can…..I still like fast custom cars and I still own my guns and enjoy shooting….the facts are that a society that allows it’s people to have weapons has less crime and will never be conquered……those are facts and can’t be altered…..you look at the states that restricted gun carry verses free states….more deaths in the restricted states……Jay is free to make up his own mind…..that is what this country is about……Semper fi
We’re criticizing his decision to be a coward in the face of an astroturf pressure group that seeks to disarm the U.S. populace.
He is free to take or disregard our criticism, just as he was free to take or disregard MDA.
You know, if all of you would tweet your dissatisfaction to Jay Leno, it might have more effect than just talking about it here. Seems like we should learn from the unpatriotic people like Shannon what’s-her-name, and start using social media ourselves.
I tweeted Jay Leno and told him I was disappointed in his cowardice.
Everybody else should do the same.
If I were in school now, I would feel like a sitting duck. I worry about my grand kids, who are in school.
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