From The Firearms Coalition:
Yesterday I sent out an Alert about NRA Director Joaquin Jackson's TV
interview in which he opined that "assault weapons" were alright if they
only had a capacity of 5 rounds.
This story has actually been bouncing around the internet for a couple
of weeks and Ranger Jackson and NRA have released a response to the
concerns raised by the story.
It is very clear in the interview exactly what Jackson is saying and
what he means. Along with some other comments he states; "I think
these assault weapons basically need to be in the hands of the military
and they need to be in the hands of the police, but as far as assault
weapons to a civilian, if you... if you... it's alright if you got that
magazine capacity down to five rounds."
The interview took place on June 5, 2005 - not long after the Clinton
Assault Weapons Ban had been allowed to sunset - so the debate on that
issue should have been fairly fresh in Jackson's mind.
The interview can be viewed at:
http://www.klru.org/texasmonthlytalks/archives/jackson/jackson.asp
The pertinent segment is the last one on the page.
For the record, H. Joaquin Jackson is indeed a sitting member of the NRA
Board of Directors.
A complete listing of NRA Officers and Directors, along with their
mailing addresses, was published in the current (September) issue of the
NRA magazines.
A response has been posted on the NRA web site,
http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/InTheNews.aspx?ID=9899 that is supposed
to have been written by Jackson, but which does not really sound or feel
like Jackson. In that response letter, Jackson - or his ghost writer -
claims that the mistake is the viewer's, not his. That his only mistake
was in not making himself clear that he was talking about hunting and
full-auto assault weapons.
If that is true, then Ranger Jackson was advocating that the police have
full-auto weapons and that it is "alright" for civilians to have then as
long as the magazine capacity is restricted to only 5 rounds.
Here is the Statement:
Recently, concerns have been raised in response to statements made by
NRA Board Member Joaquin Jackson to Texas Monthly in 2005. We have
received questions from NRA members who are seeking clarity as to NRA's
positions on the subject matter discussed in Mr. Jackson's interview. To
be clear, NRA supports the right of all law-abiding citizens to Keep and
Bear Arms for all lawful purposes. We will continue, as we have in the
past, to vigorously oppose any efforts to limit gun ownership by
law-abiding citizens as an unconstitutional infringement on our Second
Amendment freedoms. These efforts include opposition to any attempts to
ban firearms, including firearms incorrectly referred to as "assault
weapons", and any attempts to place arbitrary limits on magazine capacity.
For more information on NRA's legislative efforts to protect and defend
the Second Amendment, please visit www.NRAILA.org and
www.Clintongunban.com.
STATEMENT OF JOAQUIN JACKSON
Recently, some misunderstandings have arisen about a news interview in
which I participated a few years ago. After recently watching a tape of
that interview, I understand the sincere concerns of many people,
including dear friends of mine. And I am pleased and eager to clear up
any confusion about my long held belief in the sanctity of the Second
Amendment.
In the interview, when asked about my views of "assault weapons," I was
talking about true assault weapons - fully automatic firearms. I was
not speaking, in any way, about semiautomatic rifles. While the media
may not understand this critical distinction, I take it very seriously.
But, as a result, I understand how some people may mistakenly take my
comments to mean that I support a ban on civilian ownership of
semiautomatic firearms. Nothing could be further from the truth. And,
unfortunately, the interview was cut short before I could fully explain
my thoughts and beliefs.
In fact, I am a proud owner of such rifles, as are millions of
law-abiding Americans. And many Americans also enjoy owning fully
automatic firearms, after being cleared by a background check and
meeting the rigorous regulations to own such firearms. And these
millions of lawful gun owners have every right - and a Second Amendment
right - to own them.
As a hunter, I take great pride in my marksmanship. Every hunter should
practice to be skilled to take prey with a single shot, if possible.
That represents ethical, humane, skilled hunting. In the interview
several years ago, I spoke about this aspect of hunting and my belief
that no hunter should take the field and rely upon high capacity
magazines to take their prey.
But that comment should never be mistaken as support for the outright
banning of any ammunition magazines. In fact, such bans have been
pursued over the years by state legislatures and the United States
Congress and these magazine bans have always proven to be abject failures.
Let me be very clear. As a retired Texas Ranger, during 36 years of law
enforcement service, I was sworn to uphold the United States
Constitution. As a longtime hunter and shooter, an NRA Board Member,
and as an American - I believe the Second Amendment is a sacred right of
all law-abiding Americans and, as I stated in the interview in question,
I believe it is the Second Amendment that ensures all of our other
rights handed down by our Founding Fathers.
I have actively opposed gun bans and ammunition and magazine bans in the
past, and I will continue to actively oppose such anti-gun schemes in
the future.
I appreciate my friends who have brought this misunderstanding to light,
for it has provided me an opportunity to alleviate any doubts about my
strong support for the NRA and our Second Amendment freedom.
####
Doesn't that sound more like it was written by a Washington PR suit than
a Texas Ranger?
Regardless of who actually wrote the letter, Jackson's name is on it.
As I said in the Alert yesterday, I like and respect Joaquine Jackson.
I am very disappointed that he would take such a misguided and bigoted
position on "assault weapons" and even more disappointed that he would
choose to try to blame the viewer rather than owning up to his own
remarks. If he thought civilians shouldn't have "assault weapons" and
has now seen the light and changed his position, I could accept and
respect that. Trying to claim that what he very clearly said - and
reiterated - is not what he actually meant, I find completely disingenuous.
I hate having to get into the middle of this at a time when The Firearms
Coalition is actively working to bring the gun rights community
together, but when you are guided by certain principles, you can not
ignore those principles in favor of diplomacy.
Should Joaquin Jackson be vilified and made a pariah in the gun rights
community? No, absolutely not. But he should not be a member of the
NRA Board of Directors.
Jeff Knox
www.FirearmsCoalition.org
Related Link:
http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Find-Freedom.htm?At=023255
---
From John Farnam:
28 Aug 07
Pro-gun Democrats?
We just completed a Concealed-Carry-Pistol Class in MN. Several years
ago, MN was extremely restrictive, much as WI and IL are today. It was
impossible for state residents to carry concealed legally. Today, the
State has one of the best and least restrictive CCW systems in the
nation. CCW permits may be obtained by any legal resident who has no
criminal history, and there are few limitations.
The intrepid authors of this pivotal legislation were students in my
class! They reported this historic CCW statute, that MN residents now
take for granted, would never have passed at state level without open
and unapologetically enthusiastic support from a number of pro-gun,
Democratic state senators and representatives. These courageous
Democrats openly broke with the DNC and the state Democratic Committee,
who, of course, had (and continue to have) a predictable, knee-jerk
opposition to any and all pro-gun legislation.
So, there are indeed audacious, pro-gun Democrats, and they need
encouragement!
The 2008 Democratic presidential nominee will almost certainly be
Hillary Clinton, and I hope some politicians, like the ones described
above, can get to her and explain that, on the brink of victory, she is
going to lose this election, and frightened gun-owners voting, not for
her Republican opponent, but AGAINST her, on this critical issue, will
be the proximate cause!
I'm saying this, mostly to my Democratic friends, of whom I have many.
The Party needs to rethink its foolish, self-crippling stance on this
issue before it costs them yet another election. Americans today are in
no mood to be told they are too stupid to own, and carry, guns!
Both leading Republican contenders have anti-gun backgrounds, and
American gun-owners are warming up to neither. Democrats have an
decisive opportunity, if they can only get over their blind, unthinking
allegiance to hatred and fear of guns and gun-owners.
Are any Democrats listening?
/John
(I have met some Democratic candidates in rural Arizona who have been
more pro-RKBA than some of their Republican opponents. However, I harbor
no illusions about a national-level Democrat, particularly Hillary
Clinton, reversing her national party's opposition to the RKBA.)
29 Aug 07
I was today sent a photo of a young lad in the UK. He was posing with a
Thompson Submachine Gun (actually a deactivated model). The lad's
trigger finger is solidly in the "register" position, not wrapped about
the trigger as one might expect from an American-television-watching,
clueless, modern youth.
As it turns out, this lad is a nephew of one of our UK students who
comes over to CONUS every year to train with us. Although I've never
personally worked with this lad, his uncle has, and, while never
actually having fired a shot from a functional gun, the kid already has
a solid foundation in correct gun handling!
It is exciting indeed to contemplate that we have positively influenced
aspiring warriors, even ones we've never met. This lad, along with
others his age, using skills gleaned from us, may be called upon to
defend the Empire one day, maybe a lot sooner than anyone thinks!
The body of knowledge and skills that we teach resides in a Priesthood
that exists both in and out of the military, in and out of
law-enforcement. It has been gradually acquired and refined over many
years, and at great price! As modern-day Operators, it is our privilege
to both live it and teach it. So great an honor is at once our joy and
duty!
"The pervasive expansiveness of the (Roman) Empire which we see today
did not come about as a result of accident or precipitous good
fortune. These Legionaries do not sit around congratulating themselves
in the wake of every victory, nor are they idle in peacetime. Rather,
they are constantly training and refining their warrior skills, so as to
be ready at a moment's notice. Indeed, they seem to have been born with
weapons in their hands!"
Josephus Flavius, 90AD
"The stone soldier grows younger and slimmer each year! Wasp-waisted,
he casually holds his rifle and perpetually muses through lush bangs,
cascading down his forehead."
/John
(Elmer Keith opposed toy guns, particularly cap pistols, because they
encourage poor gun handling. Think about this the next time you see a
kid playing with a toy gun - it may be an opportunity to teach some
basic safety rules.)
31 Aug 07
Protest at DSA in IL:
The much-vaunted, press-ballyhooed "protest," at DSA in Lake Barrington,
IL, last Tuesday, organized by the Jackson crowd, and personally
attended by Jesse himself, was a complete flop! Fewer than one hundred
protestors showed up, after "thousands" had been confidently predicted.
Scraggly, bussed-in, "protestors" were all dirty, tired, bored, and
blatantly disinterested. Few stuck around long. The "event" wasn't even
carried on national news. It barely even made the local news! Jackson's
rambling, mumbling speech was disorganized and confused. Several times,
he lost his train of thought, finding it difficult to so much as put
together a single, coherent, English sentence. He was greeted mostly by
yawns and apathetic looks.
So embarrassing was this washout of a protest, it has apparently already
become part of Jackson's repressed memories, as the whole event is
conspicuously absent from his Web Page.
The blazing failure of this protest was due to the pervasive
non-credibility of the Jackson Organization itself (which is old news)
and indeed the non-credibility of the entire "gun-control" issue.
Americans have waxed weary of all the stale, predictable,
intelligence-insulting, endlessly recycled lies about guns and
gun-ownership, which have shown themselves to be absolutely false time
and time again.
More than anything else, Americans want the ability to control their own
lives, which includes the ability to effectively, and unilaterally,
fight off violent criminals. It's in our blood, and, to us, all that
soothing, leftist rhetoric will continue to sound hollow, tinny, and
fundamentally unpersuasive, no matter from whose lips it issues!
/John
--
Stephen P. Wenger
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
