screen-shot-2016-11-17-at-10-17-41-am

“I read with some interest Dan Casey’s column about police responding to a distress call that ended up with the police at the wrong address (“Leisurely evening shattered by police,” Oct. 20),” Salem Virginia Doctor Scott Mange writes at roanoke.com. “In his piece, Casey explains the person calling 911 was reporting an assault and said, ‘When the police come, make sure they’re ready to shoot his a** or get shot.’ Obviously someone involved in this assault had a gun . . .

kimber_blk_logo_small

“When the police mistakenly arrived at the wrong address, the homeowners, believing they were about to be victims of a home invasion, grabbed handguns and prepared to defend themselves. It was then the police burst in with guns drawn and took control of a potentially out-of-control situation. Everyone, and I do mean everyone involved, was exceedingly fortunate that no shots were fired. There could have a been a bloodbath of innocents and/or officers.”

Now you and I might see this cock-up as an event that highlights the need for proper, cautious policing. (The adage “fools rush in where angels fear to tread” springs to my mind.) But Doctor Mange sees it as a reason to remove Americans’ gun rights.

This entire situation would have been less volatile if guns were not so available in our country which brings me to my next point.

It seems to me one of the best ways of limiting the sale of guns and driving the gun industry to it’s knees or out of business entirely is for existing business to put pressure on those companies that sell guns and ammunition, most easily by restricting their ability to advertise.

Now I don’t mean impose on their free speech rights which would be affected if the government imposed a ban on them advertising but this issue is completely bypassed by encouraging advertisers to stop taking their money. Private enterprises such as Lamar billboards, the Roanoke Times, etc. are not constrained by the First Amendment the same way our government is.

If we can convince billboard owners, newspapers owners and others to stop advertising for companies that sell or trade in guns, it would make it more difficult for people to buy and sell guns making them less valuable. People would have to rely on those they know in order to find local sellers.

But let’s not stop at just the billboard and newspaper companies. Let’s ask Google to block any search results for gun stores. Let’s ask UPS and Fedex to stop entirely all pick-up and drop-off services to gun stores. Let’s ask local merchants to put up those signs on their doors letting customers know guns are not welcome inside and refuse to serve those that are openly carrying weapons. Let’s ask the local pizza shops to refuse any orders that require delivery to a gun store . . .

As a last resort we should ask our local governments to refuse business permits and revoke the licenses of those companies that sell or resell guns and ammo.

It’s odd that Dr. Mange doesn’t realize that the mainstream media have been “blacklisting” the gun industry for decades. When was the last time you saw an ad for a firearm on a major TV network or a non-gun magazine (those things with pages)? How about never. (Just ask Daniel Defense.)

It’s an issue we face here at TTAG, where we’d like to make an ad-based appeal for gun muggles’ eyeballs. A billboard at La Guardia airport? Go sing, they said. Google Ad Words? Nope. How about TTAG sponsorship of an NPR radio program? Ha! (A denial worthy of a post all on its own.)

As for “asking” UPS and FedEx to stop delivering firearms, that’s just way out there. But, sadly, not impossible to imagine — especially if the presidential election had gone the other way and Ms. Clinton somehow managed to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

But the most revealing of Dr. Mange’s proposals: stop pizza deliveries to gun stores.

Given the number of OFWG’s manning the counters at local gun stores, the idea isn’t without some merit. You know, from a dietary perspective. From any other perspective, the LGS pie ban is petty and vindictive. Ironically enough, it’s the flip side to the ruling forcing a religious bakery to bake a cake for a gay wedding.

As a last resort, to protect our gun rights, gun rights advocates should take a page out of Dr. Mange’s playbook (which I call Dr. Mangelove or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Demonize Gun Owners). Anytime someone threatens our gun rights, we should shout “No pizza for you!” Or something like that.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

59 COMMENTS

  2. Does that Tantal come with every pizza or is that some sort of special promotional thing? If the former, please let me know the number for that pizza joint ASAP.

  3. And, of course, if the police didn’t have guns either, think of how much safer that encounter would have been. And, if we took away ALL the guns in the world, well, I can dream can’t I? /sarc

    • Of course, doing so would totally ignore the data from law enforcement in the UK and Australia. Guns have been essentially banned yet LE is dealing with more and more armed criminals. UK cops acknowledge that firearms have been rather easy to obtain. Australian cops acknowledge what MA, NY, and CN have recognized. There are a lot of firearms which were never turned in; some held by criminals and some held by citizens who have acted in civil disobedience. In the UK, firearms are easily obtained through a number of sources.

  4. Mange is a class of skin diseases caused by parasitic mites! As in (that dog has a bad case of the mange).

  5. What’s next on his hit parade? Anything that doesn’t sit right with his point of view? Porn? Alcohol? Soda? What other industry offends him so much that he wants to “drive them to their knees?” How about publishers who print the Torah or Quran? How about publishers of any material the good doctor finds offensive.

    • “…encouraging advertisers to stop taking their money.”
      Well it seems the (not so) good doctor’s plan has at least partially come to fruition judging by the abysmal and useless ads on our beloved TTAG.
      Oh wait, gotta click on this one:
      *clicks on Heartbreak: Celebrity Suicide Shocker Rocks Hollywood.*
      NOT!!

    • Let’s see if I have this right – It’s not okay to refuse to bake a cake for a gay wedding, or to rent out your meeting space for a similar event. If you do this you are vilified and could lose your business and most of your savings after you are sued.

      But it’s okay for any business to refuse to sell ad space just “because gins”?

  6. “If we can convince billboard owners, newspapers owners and others to stop advertising for companies that sell or trade in guns, it would make it more difficult for people to buy and sell guns making them less valuable. People would have to rely on those they know in order to find local sellers.” — some dumbass doctor

    Right, because no one would ever learn about local gun stores by word-of-mouth or (gasp!) the Internet.

    I don’t know which is the bigger fail: the fact that this supposed doctor thinks an advertising void would end the firearm industry … or his claim that an artificially reduced supply of firearms would decrease their price. (That last claim directly contradicts the law of supply and demand.)

  8. The doc seems to know about the first amendment, but can’t seem to understand the second.
    No pizza for him.

    • Agreed Tom.
      I like the “no pizza for you” tag too.
      Let’s go with that and race to see who sticks it on the next Quote or Irresponsible Gun Owner of the Day.

  9. what if it wasn’t the cops that busted down the door? what if it was actually home invaders( which happens WAY more than the cops getting the wrong address) Mr. mange would have those people disarmed and defenseless.

    • Well, the real answer is that police should not be busting down doors unless they know for certain that a vicious and violent crime is occurring inside.

      A telephone report of a violent crime does not meet that standard.

  10. Well, its a good thing that he doesn’t want to impose on anyone’s rights, just make it difficult for homeowners to defend themselves.

  11. So, a large pool of people (jury of 12 peers) are fully capable of determining whether someone’s actions are destructive to society. And yet, a large pool of people (all of society) are somehow incapable of determining if an industry’s actions are destructive to society. Got it.

    Newsflash doctor: if the firearms industry were destructive to society, you would not have any trouble getting almost 100% of society to determine that the firearms industry was destructive to society. Since less than 50% of society has determined that firearms are destructive to society, the only rational conclusion is that firearms are NOT destructive to society.

    • I read somewhere at some poll that less than 30% of Americans actually want guns outlawed or the 2nd repealed. So it is a small fringe group of radical leftists. Considering the poll was probably run by leftists I imagine that it’s far smaller than 30%.

  12. SWAT teams have been “hitting the wrong houses” for decades and hiding behind their official “immunity”, to absolve themselves of responsibility, even when innocent civilians are murdered by their actions.
    The way I see it, police should be permitted to possess the same weapons as us civilians. “Equal justice under law”…
    Restrictions on firearms possessed by civilians should also apply to police…no exceptions…

  13. Are we sure it was a “wrong address” in the original story, because from the 911 call quote, it sounds a lot like an intentional SWATting inccident, with the intention of generating bodies.

    • That’s a possibility, but you must recall that the whole incident was reported by the mangy cur as a jumping off point for his diatribe on ultimate government control under his personal rule. IOW, I would suspect the “event” never happened at all, made-up BS.

  14. Lately a local radio station (classic rock) has been running commercials for guns at Gander Mountain. Not just Gander Mountain “hunt, fish, camp!” More like “Come to Gander Mountain for your next gun!” And they throw in some specific makes and models of handguns they have available.

    Gander is too pricey for me, but still, it gives me the warm fuzzies every time I hear it. I hope it’s a sign of a positive trend.

    • I have heard on three of my local radio stations in SEATTLE (of all places) the following radio ads:

      AM Stations:
      – Ad / host endorsement for local gun range / store / training (several times per day)
      – Ad / host endorsement for second local gun range / store / training (several times per day)
      – Ad for 3rd local gun store / range (heard a few times, enough to note)
      – Ad for 4th local gun store only
      – Independent radio ad by FN USA (heard several times now)
      – Ad / endorsement for Ruger rifles and their new line of silencers

      FM Station:
      – Ad for second local gun range / store mentioned above

      It warms my heart when I heard these ads come across on the radio. The FN radio ad really caught my attention as it was an independent ad from the company without any local host endorsement. The Ruger ad for the silencers caught my attention, too, because AFAIK silencers are still very much a niche thing (though hopefully that’ll change). And the FM ad caught my attention because it was on a local FM general popular music station which was significantly more mainstream.

      Yeah . . . all these in the Seattle market.

      • I think silencers are soon to be a lot more than a niche, if we can get them decontrolled (no reason why not!!) I believe demand will be crushing. In fact, it may help bring good manufacturing jobs back to US! Somebody should tell Trump! Otherwise, science has to improve to allow no change to point of aim. Mine is predictable, so I know how to adjust the sight when I install the can, but no adjustment would be infinitely better.

  15. I wonder where this “Doctor” came from. He clearly is not from Virginia where I have live all my life. I think this might have been a setup by someone or somebodys that knew he has a screw loose and they were hoping for a different outcome. Wonder if he has any patients left if he is a real MD but I suspect he is a doctor that got a degree in some subject so he could teach at a liberal university.

    • Don’t know what part of the Commonwealth you live in, but here in Roanoke, we have plenty of hoplophobes, despite this being “gun country.” Dan Casey is the king hater. I have no idea why the RT keeps him around (other than the paper abhors guns and gun owners — remember, this was the paper that published a list of local CHP holders in 2007). He misses no chance to slander Republicans, Christians, gun owners, and Virginians in general. Not representative of Roanokers or Virginians at all.

    • I’m a godless atheist and I support private gun ownership 200%. Try not to broad brush too much comrade.

  18. If it makes anyone feel better, I just checked the comments on this particular article and I did not find one single person supporting it. He’s even going so far as to troll the people who dare disagree with him in his own comments section.

    • Pfft. For those who like sweet and spicy, I recommend ham, bacon, pineapple, and easy on the jalapeño. I shit you not, it’s good stuff. Just make sure it’s cooked enough so the pineapple doesn’t make the dough soggy.

      • In Canada we call that a “Hawaiian” (less the jalapeños but I think I’ll order those too next time).
        A funny story was trying to describe what a Hawaiian was to a local pizza place in New Orleans and having the pizza guy show up with a ham, bacon and cheese pizza along with a can of sliced pineapple and looking very confused.

  21. I’ve heard about some bizzare method for lubing your gun, but this takes the pie…

    So, Robert, you have me very curious about that NPR story you mentioned…?

  22. 1.) Well,1st .that pizza in the photo resembles a truck tire with 50k miles on it! Doesn’t look to appetizing…Not like a quality New England pizza…It’s kind of like going up to the far reachs of Maine and trying to order a “Grinder”! Everyone stares at you like your talking in Mandarin!

    2.) An Lawful Topping in my state…Requires multiple local and state police permissions and licensing…No anchovies please!

    3.) Does Dr. Mange use PPE when he provides “invasive exams”?

    4.)Does Dr. Mange “ask if you have a firearm in your home” during his exams?! Does he teach gun safety from the political exam table during a prostate exams?!

  23. “Now I don’t mean impose on their free speech rights which would be affected if the government imposed a ban on them advertising but this issue is completely bypassed by encouraging advertisers to stop taking their money. Private enterprises such as Lamar billboards, the Roanoke Times, etc. are not constrained by the First Amendment the same way our government is.”

    You totally want to restrict their first amendment rights, you just dont want the government to do it. Statist logic at its bests, it AMAZES me some of these people remember to breathe.

  24. So, we’re supposed to disarm citizens to prevent cop-on-citizen; citizen-on-cop bloodbaths like the one that only happened in Dr. Mengele’s head?

    • Fake disarming seems appropriate for the imaginary consequence Dr Mengele’s [sic intended] going on about.

  25. Mainstream media by and large blocks gun advertisements. As RF noted, good luck getting a billboard and so on. Though yes, on the local country station, I’ll hear back-to-back gun shop ads. Clear Channel must flex a bit when it’s obvious money being left on the table.

    Good luck with Google.

    Facebook is pretty much off-limits, too. I have affiliate links on my site, and I cannot engage in paid advertising on the platform. I’m guessing RF runs into the same issue.

    However, despite all this, the gun industry thrives.

  26. Actually back in 2009 I saw two gun ads on cable TV. One was for I.O. Inc., the worst gun maker in the country, and the other a local gun range.

    My network provider was Comcast, in Maryland, right outside Baltimore in a college town!!! I should have played the lottery that year.

  27. Dr. Mange’s thoughts lead me to ask “is he a Proctologist”? Rather than focusing his efforts on tunnel vision down a deep dark dirty hole, maybe the good Dr. could tell us what happened that no shots were fired.

  28. “This entire situation would have been less volatile if guns were not so available in our country which brings me to my next point.”

    Actually, the situation would likely be precisely the same, unless you remove the word “so” from that statement, leaving “if guns were not available”. Otherwise, lawful citizens of the type normally residing at “the wrong address” (like 98% of the time) would still be able to be armed in their own homes, and willing to resist armed invaders. No change.

    OTOH, did anyone notice the BS sequence of events, as manufactured by the mangy POS? No explanation of how the cops “took charge” or whatever. If I see trouble coming and gun up to prepare, the first guy in the door gets shot, no questions. That’s why I say the story is crap IMHO. If it happened at all, the residents saw a uniform, or were called out by bullhorn, or something similar, their being armed made no difference.

  29. If, hypothetically, FedEx and UPS were to stop delivering firearms to gun dealers, it would only be a matter of time before some brilliant entrepreneurs filled the void with a guns-only shipping service. There would be so much money to be made there, there’s no way it would go unnoticed.

  30. So, encroach on every American’s right to keep and bear arms by driving out the business of selling said arms. Like they did in Seattle? Chicago? New York?

  31. Wow that pizza looks disgusting. Now that I think about it, their seems to be an inverse relationship between the quality of pizza in a city and that city’s support of gun rights.

  32. I read for myself the actual account on the Roanoke Times.
    Casey: With guns drawn, cops stormed their house late at night.

    http://www.roanoke.com/news/dan_casey/casey-with-guns-drawn-cops-stormed-their-house-late-at/article_7bf0a85a-8284-55e4-8957-a8179655db8e.html

    1. Many times in the past few years, I have heard where the police went to the wrong address and
    did not identify themselves or they tried to invade a house with no search warrant or probable cause.

    In those cases when the home shot and killed the police many of those cases were ruled as justifiable homicide.
    A lesson for the police. I am sure.

    2. Scott Mange in his opinion piece
    Mange: We can control guns without government action.

    His premise that potential violent confrontations with police would be avoided if the civilian populace were disarmed and only were armed,

    “This entire situation would have been less volatile if guns were not so
    available in our country which brings me to my next point.”
    I think this is one of the first lines that came out of the mouth of every despot that has ever lived.

    His solution to avoid these potential volatile situations is to get businesses to (voluntarily ?)
    stop selling gun and ammunition.

    Businesses would never go that. That is insane.
    Good ole capitalism still reigns in America.
    If one business decided it could no longer sell guns or ammo,
    sales would drop and might go out of business and
    ten others would take its place.

    However, it he is “shooting” for the government to step in enforce a forced disarmament then
    we would wind up in a one of the most bloodiest civil wars that has ever been and ever will be
    for all times.

Comments are closed.