Kris Brown
Brady president Kris Brown (courtesy bradyunited.org)

What has gun control orgs and their media cheerleaders really worried during this national emergency? Yes, the coronavirus pandemic is bad, but that will pass in time.

Much more concerning for them are the thousands and thousands of first-time gun buyers who have mobbed gun stores across the country. People who will now be much more difficult to convince that what this country really needs is to make it harder to buy a gun and enact stricter controls over the right to keep and bear arms.

So when a relatively small group of governors and counties mandated that gun manufacturers and retailers shut down (at the same time they were emptying jails) the industry got to work lobbying the federal government and filing lawsuits against those who issued the orders.

The effort has been, by and large, spectacularly effective.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents retailers, manufacturers and distributors, led the push for new guidance, speaking directly to outgoing acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and incoming chief of staff Mark Meadows, as well as the office of Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the White House Coronavirus Task Force, according to a person familiar with the outreach. The organization also spoke to Mulvaney counselor Michael Williams, a former law clerk for the NRA’s lobbying arm who later served as general counsel for the American Suppressor Association, an industry group pushing to ease restrictions on suppressors — more commonly known as silencers.

The group began lobbying about two weeks ago, making calls and writing letters to the Department of Homeland Security, which issued the guidelines, as well as to governors, counties, cities and mayors. Their argument: The industry supplies the military and law enforcement agencies, and Americans have the right to protect themselves.

“Food, water, shelter and adequate medical care are paramount for survival, but so too is the ability for an individual to defend his or herself, their family, as well as their home, business and property,” Keane wrote in a March 20 letter to DHS.

In recent days, Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, and Michael Hammond, legislative counsel for Gun Owners of America, also reached out to the administration through emails and calls. They alerted their supporters to do the same.

Dudley Brown, president of the National Association for Gun Rights, said gun supporters were angered when Trump suggested Rep. Thomas Massie, (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Second Amendment Caucus, should be thrown out of the Republican Party after he delayed the House vote on the recovery bill last week.

Brown, who notified his 6.5 million members on Facebook about the saga over the guidelines, said the revision will help Trump with his supporters.

“It’s a cheap and easy way to garner support to an already grumbling and disgruntled base,” he said.

– Anita Kumar in States were closing gun shops. Activists turned to the White House.

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103 COMMENTS

  1. “….Gun Control Orgs and the Media Aren’t Happy About Losing the COVID19 Emergency Gun Sales Issue…”

    Not less happy than us loosing our God given right to defend our selves….

    • I haven’t lost mine. And neither has any of my neighbors. But, I don’t live in a Blue State either.

    • “Thomas Massie, (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Second Amendment Caucus . . .” Didn’t know this about Massie. TTAG rocks (again).

      • This is “fly over country”. As the Left likes to call it. Which is hated by the three L’s. Representative Massie has been a guest on the Glenn Beck program for a few years now. And he was at the protest in support of a kentucky clerk who refused to sign a homosexual marriage certificate. So the government put her in jail. Making many gays and straights happy.

        Thomas Massie calls himself a Libertarian conservative. As opposed to a Libertarian Socialist. And there is nothing wrong when you point out that the president of the usa is wrong on an issue.

        There should have been a recorded vote. Sadly He is not my representative.

    • Even worse for gun control groups, these first time buyers are discovering that guns aren’t as cheap and easy to buy as the gun banners have claimed. There is no gun show loophole, there are background checks and lots of paperwork to be filled out and in some states, waiting periods. The old lies would work anymore.

    • An emergency of any kind does not reduce or eliminate the need for self protection. The recent actions by politicians at all levels clearly illustrates the agendas they follow. They are anxious to place gun stores and manufactures out of business and excuses recently used are preposterous. They talk about “common sense” while displaying utter stupidity by closing gun stores and showing a callous attitude and contempt for “we the people”. Vote………..

    • They are not happy because people were able to experience the consequences of gun control and the people didn’t like the experience.

  2. Every Korean grocer in LA, and every other American, should be able to buy extra guns and ammo if needed during any more riots to come. Remember the last riots? They had to defend their stores by having snipers on the roof with shotguns and AR15s to drive the looters and worse away.

      • If you have a crowd of people you want to drive away, then, yes, it’s a thing.

      • At least one of the Roof Koreans was sporting a very stylish uzi submachine gun. In the hands of a trained shooter this would be excellent for crowd control.
        (smile)

      • he was poking fun at Crazy joe biden’s remarks to the construction worker I think. Joe called them AR-14s.
        Don’t feel bad…it’s hard to keep up with all of Crazy joe biden’s remarks as of late……..

        • Creepy Joe has been quiet lately. Has the DNC realized the best thing to do is to tie him to a chair and put a gag on him?

    • From what I remember the media was incredulous the Koreans had the nerve to take up arms against the rioters, it WAS the JOB of the POLICE to protect the Korean businesses according to the lying fake scumbag media.
      The police who fled the area and were NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.

      Then the jack boot cops would stop, confiscate firearms , and arrest the Koreans driving To protect other businesses from looters.

  3. They needed the shops to close to stop all the first-time buyers from learning the ugly truth about guns being easier to buy than fruit or books or about background checks not already being a thing.

  5. Grabbers and their media enablers arent happy? As Donald would say, “that’s too bad”!

  6. when a Mom demanding Hot Action is caught buying a gun their little group is doomed. That picture would be worth a thousand words. Here’s hoping a gun store makes the connection and recognizes one of the noisy crickets filling out a 4473.

    • I loved that photo of Congresswoman Giffords with an AR when she was looking for votes from the gun community.

    • and when one finally does ID her, they should refuse to sell her one. See how she likes being told no.

      • Her head would explode when someone DARED to say NO to her.

        Mop and bucket aisle 2!

  7. The entire gun control argument has been lost. Not only are there now “EVEN MOAR GUNNSS!?!” there’s even less violence. The problem isn’t guns in the hands of private citizens.

      • I’m sorry, were you trying to make a point??? ‘Cause, if you were, you failed.

        Some of us feel an obligation to try to actually communicate a complete, coherent thought, when we post. Others, not so much.

        • “I’m sorry, were you trying to make a point??? ‘Cause, if you were, you failed.”

          No, you did something worse. You failed to comprehend properly.

          You are aware that gang-bangers and their ilk are private citizens, aren’t you?

          “Some of us feel an obligation to try to actually communicate a complete, coherent thought, when we post. Others, not so much.”

          Yeah, and that just happens to be, *YOU*.

          There’s an ancient Chinese saying that applies to you –

          “The mouth that is closed collects no foot.” 😉

  8. The media started a completely unnecessary panic in order to crash the economy to get Trump out of office. The result was people who never owned guns before lining up to buy guns and Trump’s handling of the ‘crisis’ has wide approval. The economy will recover, this will help Trump get reelected and the media won’t learn their lesson. Because they are profoundly stupid people.

    • Democrats led the charge to close states and cities as soon as they could. The economic crater will be worth it to them if Joe Biden gaffs his way through the swearing in next year.

      • Doctors Fauci and Birx were not talking politics yesterday, or any day in the White House briefing room. For the first time we have actually seen Trump scared and subdued and constantly deferring to underlings.

        Yes Hoplophobes are silly panicking dip-shits on guns, they actually think guns cause bad human behaviors. It’s amazing and a pain in the ass.

        The pandemic and what is needed to prevent however? That shit’s very real. Even Trump has now spoken about having sick friends, diagnosed with this thing. One is in a coma.

        I don’t care if the advice on how to not get this bug comes from this or that party, I’m following it. And if any politician tries to squeeze in their anti-gun bullshit, well we’re already seeing that act booed off the stage.

        • It is no more or less dangerous than any of the other asia-originated flus that we now simply refer to as “seasonal flu”. In fact, according to the CDC, H1N1 is literally kicking it’s ass globally. The death rate for H1N1 is ACTUALLY higher, not merely statistically higher.
          It’s also killing more healthy people per capita. This panic, in which you are apparently participating, is indeed a crisis not gone to waste by the left. Under NO circumstances is it dangerous enough to allow the GOV to step on your rights.

        • By any measure Big O should ahve turned off the country years ago when Swine Flue A was killing 17000 people and infecting 60 million. 2012 would have been a different year politically
          But there was the media covering for him as usual.

        • Those recent prior virus situations were not worse than this one. When these doctors make these models and issue these warnings they are looking at factors that together multiply the concern. The ease of transmission, the times from infection, to being infectious yourself, to realizing that you are sick. This one is worse especially due to the length of time a person may have it, be infectious to others and not have symptoms themselves.

          That factor greatly amplifies the potential spread. The lack of a vaccine and drugs to treat the infected with a high degree of efficacy further amplifies the potential for death.

          Science Matters.

        • Science also means accounting for undocumented cases, which we don’t know about because of the lack of testing.

          But the statists don’t seem to be worried about details like “accuracy”.

        • “The media started a completely unnecessary panic in order to crash the economy to get Trump out of office.”

          Trumps own White House team is projecting 100 K to as much is 240 K deaths.

          We have not achieved anything near complete population penetration, as the seasonal flu has for several years. There are no vaccines for C 19, unlike seasonal flu.

          Regarding the pandemic scorecard, I suspect C19 shall be the winner.

        • Yeah, because EVERY SINGLE “expert” agrees on what causes the Chinese Lung Rot, how to prevent it, how to treat it, etc., RIGHT?????

          Please don’t be more of an @$$ than you have to be. Like virtually ALL government advice, on health, diet, disease prevention, economics . . . name your topic . . . the government, and its “experts” are all over the map, change their advice frequently, contradict each other, etc., etc., et ad nauseum cetera.

          So, Sooper Genius, exactly WHICH “expert” am I supposed to listen to, believe, and model my behavior on? And which PARTICULAR definitively brilliant advice of theirs am I supposed to follow? This week’s? Last week’s? Last month’s?

          Or, and here’s a wild idea, perhaps educate yourself, not just on what the “experts” are saying, but on actual underlying issues, like prior infectious outbreaks, what responses seemed to be effective and what didn’t, and maybe, oh, I don’t know . . . actually DEVELOP AN INFORMED POINT OF VIEW. Or, continue being a mushroom. I have rarely met an “expert” who wasn’t functionally a moron outside their particular specialty, and they ALL suffer from the “myth of omnicompetence”.

          Jeebus, when did Americans become such lackwit, dependent, “let’s depend on the gummint!!” pussies??????

        • “Yeah, because EVERY SINGLE “expert” agrees on what causes the Chinese Lung Rot, how to prevent it, how to treat it, etc., RIGHT?????”

          Well, yes, actually the scientific consensus is rather consistent. The infection is caused by viral protein of the coronavirus family, called C 19. There are two strains that are virtually genetically identical and seem to have identical effects.

          Regarding treatment, there are minor variations but we’ve been treating coronaviruses for decades and the course of treatment is pretty well-established.

          We have learned a lot since 1919, when the United States inept handling of the Haskell influenza caused 50 million deaths worldwide.

      • Lysol is a “cute” for corona virus?

        Just how should a patient use Lysol to cure their coronavirus?

        • How is making all the healthy people stay home from work going to cure your corona-virus?

  9. Unfortunately the gun grabbers had another tool to use against people exercising their 2nd amendment rights. The so “instant” background check was anything but instant. I already own guns, but I wanted a Ruger 10/22 and the so called instant background check was 3 business days before they gave an answer. Another tidbit of information in Alabama if you buy from a small independent gun shop if the criminal background check doesn’t reply in 3 days you get your gun. However the gun I wanted was only available from big chain retailers and they almost always aim to please anti 2nd amendment people, by that I’m referring to the they handle the so called instant background check, they will not release the gun till they get an answer from the govt no matter how long they withhold an answer.

  10. The sudden proliferation of guns the media reports is sending a message to the dim wits who prey on people for fun and profit that they might be out of jail and not arrested but a mother alone with her kids might just sentence them to the hereafter.

    Some may argue and bicker on the specifics and question the outcomes but if a looter or rapist gets plugged by a new gun owner defending life and property that will be in the news. Or not, but at lest there will be one less looter. Remember the signs in Hurricane Andrew ’92 You Loot, We Shoot.

  11. I understand the principle of keeping gun stores open. I also understand the potential future benefits of otherwise anti gun folks coming to Jesus and buying a gun. But my inner self says F them! Close all the gun retailers. WE certainly don’t need them right now. And maybe these born again lefties, who suddenly felt vulnerable, might understand what we have been saying all along. Probably not.

  13. It isn’t only new buyers. Plenty of existing owners ran out to hoard up parts and probably firearms as well. I doubt many new owners are building their own rifles (many parts are now sold out). These hoarders are probably the same people that rushed the stores for toilet paper.

    • no doubt there’s collectors buying (there always will be) but I believe this surge really is lots of new buyers or “necessity buyers”. i’m hearing that small polymer handguns and cheap riot shotguns are flying off the shelves. there’s lots of collector and high quality firearms still out there and still collecting dust on the shelves and on gunbroker.

      • I’m not doubting the surge is mostly comprised of new owners. I just think existing owners are contributing. When there are still 5.56 rifles on the shelves, but the 6.5 Grendels and bolt carrier groups are sold out, it makes you wonder.

    • The kind of people you’re talking about are unlikely to also be the kind of people that don’t keep ANY supplies on hand in case of emergency.

      • There’s no way this recent run on guns, parts, and ammo was solely from new owners, especially the parts and ammo. People usually panic buy and hoard to ease their mind, whether it’s guns or tp.

    • If you didn’t have the necessaries before this craziness started, well, OK, do what you can to obtain them, but . . . WTF were you thinking????

      If you DID have the necessaries (ammunition aside; there is literally no such thing as ‘too much’ ammunition), now is not the time to be frequenting retail establishments for unnecessary purchases.

      Just sayin’.

      • WTF are you talking about??? I’m making an observation. I didn’t say anything about not having necessities or frequenting retail establishments. The observation is based on perusing online stores. I was thinking about obtaining or building a particular rifle long before last December. It isn’t anything I need which is why I’m in no hurry to do it. When I checked for certain parts this morning like 6.5 Grendel bcg’s and barrels, some were suddenly sold out. Most people don’t build a 6.5 Grendel for their first firearm.

    • If the Dow is still at 22K or lower it’s going to be a tossup. Many people still think when times turn to shit we need democrats to save us. They forget how FDR prolonged the depression until WW2 came along and changed everything.

      • Maybe they’ll remember that the Dow didn’t surge past 22k due to New Deal type policies.

        • Yeah, because Leftists are always SOOO good about learning the lessons of history, even after having their noses rubbed in them, amirite???

      • “Excepting 1937-1938, unemployment fell each year of Roosevelt’s first two terms (while) the U.S. economy grew at average annual growth rates of 9 percent to 10 percent,” writes UC Davis historian Eric Rauchway.
        What about the New Deal’s most “massive government intervention” – its financial regulations? Did they prolong the Great Depression in ways the official data didn’t detect?
        Nope.
        According to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, “Only with the New Deal’s rehabilitation of the financial system in 1933-35 did the economy begin its slow emergence from the Great Depression.” In fact, even famed conservative economist Milton Friedman admitted that the New Deal’s Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was “the structural change most conducive to monetary stability since … the Civil War.”

        • Gosh, must be nice to be in such an intellectual bubble. Ever study REAL economics (no, of course you didn’t) or maybe read a little history (give Amity Shlaes a quick look, why don’t you).

          No one who has any INKLING of economics disagrees that FDR, and his ridiculous statist policies, dramatically extended the Great Depression, and the only thing that pulled us out of it was WW II. But you do you.

        • *BUT the FDIC wasn’t a government work program or welfare system. You gave the exact same response when this topic came up before. You must have responses ready for particular subjects so you can just copy and paste as needed. No thinking required.

        • “You gave the exact same response when this topic came up before.”

          Yes, the facts of history have not changed.

          The great depression was caused by the laissez-faire economic policies of two consecutive Republican presidents, Coolidge and Hoover.

          And just like the recession of 2008, we needed a Democratic president to step in and fix the situation so the ordinary Americans wouldn’t starve to death.

          For extra credit, you should check out the capitalist plot to engineer a military coup in America during FDR’s term.

          I am particularly proud that an Appalachian coal Miner named Smedley Butler was able to stop the billionaires’ attempt to destroy America’s freedom.

          Ol’ Smedley Butler was one of the few Americans to win not one, but two medals of honor. But his real heroism was when he stepped forward and spoke truth to power to stop the military coup by the capitalist billionaires.

        • No matter what you say, or how fast you change the subject, the essence is always the same: Democrats Good, Republicans Bad. It doesn’t seem to matter what the topic is, or even what century it is, the answer is always the same.

        • Dude, I did not bring up FDR and the success of his economic policies.

          I was responding to the following comment:

          “They forget how FDR prolonged the depression”

          Again, the facts of history do not change. If you want to know why we suffered the great depression, explore the financial policies of the Coolidge and Hoover administration and their lack of regulation of wall street and the financial industry.

        • “If you want to know why we suffered the great depression..”

          And I’m not talking about that. I was talking about blind partisanship, which you clearly display. The problem with that is, you aren’t likely to call out your party of choice when they do bad things. And, yes, there are people on both sides that are currently doing, and have done bad things.

          How do you handle changing platforms? Just a few years ago, the top stars of the democratic party (Hillary and Obama), called for strict border enforcement and marriage only between a man and a woman. Do your views change exactly with the party? Or did you not vote for Obama because you disagreed with that? He went into office with those views. It’s almost like there should be some nuance.

    • If history is any indicator it is likely to lead to a conservative, right swing in the nation. Which is not a bad thing.

      • If it wasn’t clear before, it should be now. Borders matter. Outsourcing most manufacturing doesn’t only hurt our workers, it’s strategically stupid. Oh, and China is our enemy.

        • China is everyone’s enemy. How many countries have they debt-trapped with their belt and road program? China doesn’t give aid. They hand out loans at rates the country’s can barely afford.

          1920s ideology, with 1950s mindset, and 21st century technology.

        • Yeah, darn Republican President Nixon for sneakin’ over there w/o Congressional knowledge or approval, and granting the ChiComs special trade status.

          And he did it right after they helped kick our ass in Southeast Asia, if he’d been a Democrat they would’ve impeached him.

          But he was doing the bidding of the capitalist billionaires who wanted access to the Chinese virtual slave labor.

          And thus, Walmart.

        • Chinese slave labor. Created by socialism. Which is what the dems want here in the US.

          With all sincerity. Thank you for making 8 years of Trump a reality.

        • The peoples Republic of China is not socialist.

          They are a dictatorship with a thin veneer of communism. And when you scratch a little deeper, it’s nothing but crony capitalism with billionaires wielding the real power.

          Billionaires such as Mitch McConnell’s father-in-law, he and his family own the shipping company that brings all those fine goods from the slave labor factories in China to your local Walmart.

        • “Yeah, darn Republican President Nixon…”

          As usual, it’s about partisanship for you. Call out bad policies no matter who did it. I don’t care if they were republican or democrat.

        • communism, socialism, fascism are all the same animal. Look at the wealthy folk claiming to be socialists here in America. bernie, biden hillary and the list goes on.

          miner you’re to blind, bigoted and narrow minded to see the truth. The perfect socialist.

          You are a stellar example of why we have Trump for 8 years. I’m thanking you while I’m feeling sorry for you.

  15. Think like a farmer. Or if that doesn’t click, think like an urban gardener. Seeds of doubt about gun control are being planted. We need to water, fertilize, shine some light on, etc.
    You know, tend this crop. Sure there will be weeds and bugs, but also a harvest eventually. What is it those guys say about letting a crisis go to waste? That sword can have two edges.

  18. Kris Brown looks sexually frustrated to me. Maybe that’s why she hates guns with long hard barrels that have bullets shooting out of’em? . AFAIC, she needs to go F*** herself.

  19. Where I first learned what parts I needed for an AR and how to put them together. RIP.

  20. The same Jim Crow Gun Control lowlifes went after gun rights on 9-11. The azzwipes are like an eager ambulance chasing lawyer waiting on the next car crash. Anything sets them off which generally makes them look like the despicable fools they are. For the moment the wounded sleazebags are crawling back under their rocks gearing up to strike again.

  21. ““Governors should feel empowered to make whatever decisions are best for their state without the pressure from the federal government and without pressure from [a lobby other than ours]”

    Fixed it.

  22. Libertarians Liberals and the Left totally support making sure Americans have an equal opportunity to get AIDS and HIV. Back in the 1980s. Just as now they support Americans having an equal opportunity to get the “chinese flue” in 2020, by supporting open borders. And making sure child molesters or people with diseases can come and go as they please.

    Back in the1980s they called people homophobes who wanted sick people kept out. And in 2020 they called President Trump a racist when he campaigned on closing the borders.

    Nothing has changed. They support taking away civil rights of healthy people. And make sure those who carry a transferable illness are allowed to run free.

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