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Impeach Obama for Pagan Gun Safety Laws?
By: Hrafnkell HaraldssonJan. 14th, 2013more from Hrafnkell Haraldsson
That’s what Larry Pratt,the executive director of Gun Owners of America, wants. Pratt, you might remember, was the target of Piers Morgan’s ire the day he got himself put on a petition for his deportation by saying Pratt was “an unbelievably stupid man.”
Piers Morgan nailed that one, as events proved, not that it’s any great surprise given Pratt’s past history, including a stint as director of Pat Buchanan’s campaign co-chairman in 1996, when he tried to organize white supremacists and militia leaders on behalf of the racist Buchanan.
Now Pratt, who denies being a racist (I’m sure it’s just a joke we liberals just don’t get), sees the twice-elected President Barack Obama as a dictator whose “administration seems to view the American people as the enemy.” He compares Obama to King George III, an accusation sure to resonate with gun-toting Tea Partiers.
But it is Larry Pratt, who in December suggested eliminating gun-free zones as a means of protecting the American people from people with guns. It is Larry Pratt who, appearing on Fox News the other day, argued against expanded background checks on gun purchases.
It sounds to me as though it is Larry Pratt who sees us as the enemy; a herd to be culled at best.
According to Pratt, who appeared on Crosstalk with televangelist Vic Eliason of the VCY America Radio Network, Obama should be impeached if he signs ”an executive order to take away our guns.”
Never mind that neither Obama nor Biden are proposing taking away people’s guns.
Never mind that there are plenty of things Obama can do to with executive orders that are perfectly constitutional, by the way, without involving Congress.
Never mind that the Second Amendment is speaking to a militia that no longer exists, as these days America has a standing army and the National Guard.
Right Wing Watch relates how the topic came up:
Caller: If Obama’s going to be signing an executive order to take away our guns isn’t there something we can do to arrest this man? It’s a treasonous act. He’s swore an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States.
Pratt: Yeah, it’s called impeachment and that would be, along with defunding, the kinds of messages that need to go to Capitol Hill: When are you going to impeach this guy? When are you going to defund his illegal activities? Republicans can’t continue, at least I hope they cannot, continue to be spectators while the country is being torn apart.
Shrill and nonsensical would be the words best used to describe Pratt’s day of absurdities. But wanting Obama impeached for a crime he has not committed is just the tip of the iceberg for Pratt, who had yet to achieve full lunacy. That came when he said that gun-control laws are “pagan” and ”the most pagan of paganism.”
How are gun-control laws Pagan, you might be asking yourself. It’s simple, according to Pratt, who clearly doesn’t know the first thing about Paganism, either historical or modern:
Pratt: Frankly, it almost would seem that animism won’t go away. The left, which is largely made up of people who don’t believe in Jesus Christ’s blood as being necessary for our salvation, view inanimate objects as possessing their own will. That’s animism, that’s a return to the most pagan of paganism and look at what nutty political views it ends up supporting.
Okay, so let’s get this straight: a man who says we need a dead guy’s blood, and not just a dead guy’s blood but the blood of a guy who died and spent three days in a tomb before coming back to life, a guy who was not just a mortal man but also a god and more than that, a holy spirit, to save our souls thinks gun-control laws are nutty?
I am a Heathen. I know something about animism. Look, first of all, animism is a modern term dating from about 1720. Ancient Pagans had no term for the idea that inanimate objects have a spiritual essence. They did not think that these objects had wills of their own, that a gun, for example, would be able to shoot somebody without a human pulling the trigger, or that a rock would be able to hit a person without being thrown, or that water does leap up out of a pool and drown a person.
An animist respects those objects he feels possess a spirit, meaning that if Obama was truly an animist, he would respect guns, perhaps putting them on a par with humans. He might even leave a gun offerings.
This is clearly and demonstrably not the case. But Pratt thinks he is not the one being nutty.
Do these people ever think about what they’re saying? Sadly, no. They do not think about what they’re hearing either, or people like Pratt and Eliason would not have an audience.
Liberals and gun-control advocates do not view guns as having their own will. This is more of the NRA nonsense that guns don’t kill people, which is, I suppose, something you can believe until a slug turns your head into a canoe.
The simple fact of the matter is that a man with an 18th century pistol or musket is going to kill one person (at best, assuming the weapon does not misfire, a common problem) before he is mobbed and disarmed. A man carrying an AR-15 with an expanded drum can kill dozens, and there may not be anybody left to mob and disarm him before he reloads and does it again.
The Founding Fathers did not foresee the AR-15 or expanded drums (the Aurora shooter had a 100-round drum magazine). The guns the Founding Fathers envisioned were single-shot muzzle loaders that did not work well in the rain. The British “Brown Bess,” or “Land Pattern Musket” might fire three to four times in a minute if the gunman knew what he was doing, and the 18 mm ball might travel 50 to a hundred yards.
Here was how you loaded a Brown Bess:
The procedure for the AR-15 is somewhat different: you slap a clip into it and pull the trigger. You can empty a 30-round clip in a couple of seconds and you can do so in the rain. A fully automatic AR-15 can fire 800 rounds per minute and they don’t go 50 to 150 yards; effective range for an AR-15 is from 400 to 600 yards. It’s true that these civilian models are not meant to be fired automatically, but even so, with an AR-15 you can fire as often as you can pull the trigger, which is many more times than three-to-four times a minute.
Even firing once per trigger pull, you can empty a half-dozen 30-round magazines in a few minutes’ time, a incredibly destructive rate of fire compared to that envisioned by the Founding Fathers when they voted on the Second Amendment.
One can readily see the difference between slaughtering a room full of theater-goers with an AR15 and trying to do the same thing with a musket.
But Pratt thinks gun-control laws are nutty.
Tell me you are going to see many mass murders by single shooters armed with muskets. And then convince me you are not nutty, Mr. Pratt.
But it is too late for that, as the rest of Pratt’s conversation demonstrates, with he and Eliason indulging in an all-too-familiar intellection circle-jerk:
Pratt: It’s the talk of a dictator, ‘I will do what I want, whatever seems right in my own eyes I’m going to do,’ and the idea that there’s any restraints imposed by the Constitution is simply not acceptable to the ruling crowd in Washington and they’re getting bolder because now they don’t have to stand for re-election. I believe, first of all, they understand they probably don’t have the votes in the Congress so why make their Democrat buddies go walk the plank and vote against the Second Amendment, they remember what happened in ’94 when that happened and I don’t think they want a repeat of that.
But what they may not understand is that people are watching. If there is an executive order issued in lieu of congressional action, which would be unconstitutional either way, then I’m hearing such resentment and anger and opposition that their simply going to lose any credibility the federal government might have had. It’s going to be a byword, it’s going to be a joke and people are not going to obey such an outrageous executive order.
Eliason: People would be marching in the streets.
Pratt: That would be the nicest thing that would happen.
Eliason: The frightening thing is this: if the President makes such an executive order and seeks to enforce it, is the military or who is there to enforce it if the order goes through?
Pratt: Then he has to ask how many of those police officers and soldiers would actually carry out such an obviously outrageous order. We had consequences rightly come to Lt. Calley for the slaughter of the people of the little village of My Lai and we hung Germans for following orders after World War II.
Perhaps Pratt and Eliason should buy homesteads in the Citadel (and take Pat Buchanan with them). They would no doubt be happier in the natural habitat of white supremacist, gun-fanatic survivalists who think they’re the last best hope for the Anglo-Saxon race.
What I want to know is, why the guys who claim they are exemplars of the Anglo-Saxon race, not only not look like Brad Pitt or Chris Hemsworth, but are inevitably mental rejects?
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RMuse
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 2:48 pm
Another racist gun-fanatic spouting the same fearmongering absurdity that anyone is going to legislate, sign an executive order, or imply the Black man is coming to seize guns. It’s getting old and a canard to ramp up the real crazies to start shooting. A sad commentary.
Jay
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 2:48 pm
The only people “tearing this country apart” are the delusional Republicans. I wonder, what color is the sky in their so-called reality?
MrsGunka
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 3:49 pm
50 shades of cloudy.
mjh
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 5:31 pm
The only people “tearing this country apart” are the delusional Republicans. I wonder, what color is the sky in their so-called reality?
Red.
To delusional republicans, nothing is blue . . .
.
Churchlady
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 6:26 pm
Seriously – haven’t you heard of their fave “teens with guns save America” flick – RED SKY????
Sally
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 3:25 pm
So let me get this straight. Obama is a Muslim born in Kenya hasn’t worked out. Obama hates white people hasn’t panned out. Benghazi was NOT another Watergate. So now, the only thing they can think of to impeach him on their fantasy of Obama himself taking away WMDs from deluded people who have never READ the Bible, let alone the Constitution. And for his information, I am a liberal BECAUSE I believe in Christ and his teachings. You know, the ones where he was for loving our neighbors, and our enemies, For turning the other check, for giving to the poor. For people, all people, to be respected and loved? Yeah, that Jesus. Jesus would have nothing to do with these hateful, greedy, angry and dangerous Republicans. Jesus would not be carrying anything other than a loaf of bread.
Churchlady
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 6:23 pm
The vast majority of Christians who believe in social justice (I can hear Glenn Beck screaming) are the same as you – the teachings on peace and justice rule out mowing down your neighbor or, worse, total strangers. And he is right – we’re not in the blood for salvation game. That’s the province of Dominionists who have made up a whole new idea about End Times and shedding of blood (not their own) that has very little if any foundation in the scriptures.
But follow Christ’s TEACHINGS? OMG – can’t have THAT.
They don’t represent a single thing that is Christian. They are just Old Testamentarians looking to impose rules that they mostly make up. For them Jesus is just a “get out of jail free” card they plan to whip out at the Pearly Gates. NONE of that is Christian, and they have nothing to offer the world but superstition and fear, and that they’ve honed to a fine art.
They’d be pathetic if they were NOT so violent.
MrsGunka
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 3:47 pm
Of course, the gun nuts are assuming that the Libruls all have muskets and they have AR-15′s. Do you suppose there is a reason that the military don’t let the boys take home their government issue firearms when they get out of the service? These are not meant to be in civilian hands. When one walks down the streets of America there is no reason to have an automatic gun in your arm and we are trying to keep it that way. If you want to pay for a license and go hunting, fine. No one is trying to take away your gun. We have law enforcement to keep the peace. We don’t need every idiot packing a concealed weapon. We have video camera’s in businesses to take pictures of anyone trying to rob the place. Give them the money and the police will track them down, with a loaded firearm and are trained to do it. We just don’t want any crazy person with an automatic firearm opening up on a school, theater, mall or sports complex because he has an axe to grind. Paranoia is a mental illness and they need intervention not an AK47 for their safety! Anyone against gun control needs to see a psychiatrist.
Singhx
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 10:53 pm
” Anyone against gun control needs to see a psychiatrist.”
Agreed; we need psychiatrist to prescribe people like Pratt high dosages of something that sedates, makes him and his fanatical pals passive. Maybe it can be slipped into the water supply at III Citadel…
Mojavi
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 4:28 pm
1: IMO, high capacity drums are for people too lazy to practice their aim. Easier to hose every one down than to pick off the target.
2: Civilians who own military weaponry with expanded clips are like those who are too lazy/ couldn’t hack it in the military or police boot camp or who suffer a midlife crisis and buy a luxury sports car…little dick & low self esteem
3: It’s one thing to buy weapons to hunt game or for home protection….however, can’t expect to pull the trigger & automatically hit the target. Gotta deal with aiming too….it’s called practice.
4: We’re not talking about gun range training either. Close Quarter Combat training must be taken as well. Shooting from a few yards away is not the same as shooting from a foot away. Also training in/around urban buildings is NOT the same as training in/around the woods.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 5:08 pm
They could do the same with paint guns
Churchlady
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 6:24 pm
Indeed, Mojavi – I REALLY don’t want gun policy made by Rambo wannabes too fat and lazy to be ready for real, NON Hollywood service.
Tan Vampire
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 6:03 pm
The 2nd Amendment, Batman Shooting & High Fructose Corn Syrup
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h...
Darrell
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 6:18 pm
These Republican is getting away with everything they are sick bunch of people I have ever seen.
Reynardine
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 7:20 pm
As somebody who actually remembers mid-Twentieth Century America, these Republicans are crazier than anyone they had then except Sen. Joe McCarthy.
Reynardine
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 8:06 pm
Q. What kind of squirrel drops a nut?
A. A clumsy squirrel.
Q. What kind of nut drops a squirrel?
A. A gun nut.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 10:59 pm
In 4 short years these idiots are going to be wondering what happened. There was no war for their saviors blood, no guns taken away and all they have is the money they gave to these fools. Oh wait, they wont have the money. But people like Pratt will and he will be laughing.
These people need to be put in jail for trying to start riots. After all we arrest old women for chalking the sidewalk
Roger
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 11:13 pm
[Spied this morsel on the magnetic net.]
(Howdedoo, I like to shair this whut I come up with. Clem)
HILLBILLY VURSION OF AMERICA’S END
All it took was one blackstard comin’ up with his doo-doo prosess of one man rool & signin’ his boney fingur to it!
Reynardine
Jan. 15th, 2013 at 3:53 am
You know you’ve lived a long time when you went to the movies and saw Charlton Heston playing Moses, and now you listen to these guys talking about Gahd playing Charlton Heston.
Tony
Jan. 15th, 2013 at 11:32 pm
Shiva I find it shocking that you are a moderator on a political website saying people should be jailed! This article is about the second amendment and then you comment that the government should violate the first amendment.
” Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
How can you possibly advocate arresting someone for there opinion?!?
I do not personally agree with this article, however, I like to read all sides of a story. You people are so closed minded. There is a not a single comment of any thought on the idea of an executive order for gun control, just bashing republicans!
Constitutionally the president can only sign an executive order that directly affects his branch of government, as congress rules the people, not the president!
I hghly recommend you all do research on Englands gun policies, they outlawed everything except hunting rifles and armed crime increased exponentially. Since criminals do it obtain fire arms legally anyway, the law abiding people now had no defense against armed criminals and the criminals knew it.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jan. 15th, 2013 at 11:39 pm
I am not sure what post you are talking about
Really? then Bush violated the constitution? You are dead wrong. The president can make an executive order for gun control. Previous presidents have done it. Look for the other story on the 2 that have done it on this site
The article is about a completely loon conservative trying to make up reasons to impeach a president. He failed
Shiva (Moderator)
Jan. 15th, 2013 at 11:55 pm
I wrote
“These people need to be put in jail for trying to start riots. ” Inciting riots is not the 1st amendment.
Earlier today we had a con here stating the people in Wisconsin who were singing and protesting peacefully should have been arrested. Please try to remain consistent
BTW, moderators have opinions too.
kmh
Jan. 19th, 2013 at 5:50 pm
first let me say that I am a gun not and a highly educated one at that. currently I own 14 assault rifles including 3 beltfed guns, the 3 of which probably cost more than most peoples cars.I have probably in the neighborhood of 100+ guns.
I am a federally lincensed gun collector and have 2 ccw permits. noone has ever been harmed with any of my firearms and mine are stored in a vaulted room along with my ammo, with the exception of my CCW pistol.
I am here to tell you that legal firearms are some of the best investments that a individual can make my 50 caliber rifle has increased in value from 10k to well over 18k now, and my 2 other beltfed firearms have went from 3k to 8k over night. Wait another year or so and I can add on probably another 2-3k. The 200+ mags that I purchased for less than 1,000 will be worth probably 5k in the next 5 years. all for doing nothing but setting in my vault.
consider this even if you ban assault weapons, individuals promoting violence will find a new means to kill. ever heard of a sawed off shotgun. try regulating shotguns in the US and that will be a uprising.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jan. 19th, 2013 at 5:54 pm
Well arnt you the proud peacock?
You might as well get used to it. Some states are already banning them.
kmh
Jan. 19th, 2013 at 9:22 pm
I would like to make a couple of other points.
first of all, many of the upgrades to the current issued military carbine, were either created for the civilian market or by civilians. It allowed for extensive trial and error by various individuals to help increase reliabilty and improve function.
secondly, selling to the civilian market created a secondary market and desire for more manufacturers to start producing rifles thus lowering the overall cost. it also allowed military contractors the ability to remain in business. As the military quite frankly wouldn’t be able to keep a company manufacturing mags in business. Furthermore, the surplus magazines are generally sold off to the american public as a recovery method for equiptment that no longer meets milspec.
by selling to the general public, more companies are interested in improving weapons, which keep our armed services with the newest and best weapons.
lastly, many individuals do not realize, that most of the major advancements in firearms/ weapons of war were invented not by some military man but by a civilian. many of the legal firearm manufacturers in the country are also general machine shops that have found a way to increase their income by also producing firearm parts and accessories.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jan. 19th, 2013 at 9:26 pm
So you are saying todays civilian assault weapons are military grade. Thanks. Ban em Danno
The civilians work for the defense contractors and the manufacturers. This has nothing to do with the subject. The military will get along just peachy if you dont have an assault rifle
kmh
Jan. 19th, 2013 at 11:05 pm
The standard m4 carbine that the military uses are a selective fire weapon; that means that they can fire either 3 rounds at a time or semiauto. otherwise they are constructed from the same materials as any other firearm.
you are incorrect in the fact that civilians work for the defense contractors. a vast majority of manufacturers are civilians, they are known in the firearms world as a 07 fed. firearms lincensee or a Special occupational tax payer. It is legal for anyone to make a firearm, but you must have a FFl to sell them.
you see that most firearm related incidents are not committed by semiauto rifles (only 2-3 percent) verses handguns which are the vast majority of gun related injuries. However being the fact that a handgun ban will never pass congress and you will also note that cities like chicago in example has a absolute ban on handguns, does have one of the highest murder rate in the country. Illinois also has what is known as a FOID card, otherwise known as firearms owner id card, which has to be presented to not only purchase guns but ammo. so the concept of regulating both guns and ammo has not worked within that state. Ironically, most gun manufacturers and ammo retailers will not ship either to illinois because quite frankly its to big of a pain in the butt. so the concept of internet sales of ammo is the leading cause of crime is wrong. have any of you actually visited a gun website. FFL holders will only ship guns to other fed firearms Lin. holders.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jan. 19th, 2013 at 11:11 pm
There is no absolute hand gun ban in chicago. You can get a license to get guns. Now no one is interested ion your whining.
kmh
Jan. 19th, 2013 at 11:10 pm
BTW what state/location are you in?
Shiva (Moderator)
Jan. 19th, 2013 at 11:15 pm
A small town outside Knoxville Tennessee
You of course are near La crosse
timbo
Jan. 19th, 2013 at 11:33 pm
“… he (Pratt) said that gun-control laws are “pagan” and ”the most pagan of paganism.”
OMG…would someone in a white coat give this man a sanity test!!!
He should be arrested for provoking violence by a bunch of gun-crazies. Sad part about this whole mess is that there are level-headed, moderate, law-abiding gun owners who are being sucked into this by the radicals.
kmh
Jan. 19th, 2013 at 11:39 pm
chicago’s handgun ownership was illegal until recently and is still non exsistent because of their dragonian laws, and yet they still have some of the highest murder rates in the country. incidently, I am truely amazed that your from TN and have such negative views of firearms ownership. esp. in a state that has some of the highest CCW holders within the US.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jan. 20th, 2013 at 12:16 am
You dont get it. I dont care who owns regular weapons. I dont trust a single person down here that has guns but the klaw is what it is. I do not think under any circumstances anyone should own military style weapons. assault rifles or whatever you want to call them
Every city as big as chicago has high murder occurances. Chicago has a high gang activity as well. Trying to use the gun laws in chicago and a high crime rate is laughable
kmh
Jan. 20th, 2013 at 9:50 am
you don’t get it. other than the number of rounds that a mag holds. there is no difference in a assault weapon verses a regular semiauto rifle. AR15 are and can be converted into numerous hunting platforms, and have taken just about form of game animal in the US. there is even a conversion that will allow you to convert your ar 15 into a 410 shotgun.
As far as school shooting go. Kids are locked down into a class room and hidden under desks or closets it wouldn’t matter if someone had a semiauto rifle, pistol or shotgun. it would result in numerous deaths. so yes I do support putting security guards in the schools, and yes I have children.