Wisconsin Crybullies Fail to Disrupt Charity Gun Raffle

Even in extremely liberal Madison, Wisconsin, there is a core of Second Amendment supporters. Friends of the NRA is not a political group. The events are meant to raise money for things such as shooting ranges and teaching firearms safety. They are not allowed to endorse political candidates. It is clear, though. that Friends of the NRA are Second Amendment supporters.  The Friends of the NRA in Madison, Wisconsin, held their 26th annual fund raising event on 11 April, 2018. The event has been non-controversial for 25 years. This year the event drew some crybullies who want to tell other people what they can and cannot do for charity.  From nbc15.com:

Protesters want a 308 Winchester semi-automatic rifle to be removed from the event scheduled to take place at Rex's Innkeeper on Wednesday. It is one of several guns and other non-weapon prizes in a raffle.

"That gun just doesn't belong in our community, in any community,” said Jodi Benz, a parent of two children in the Waunakee School District.

Benz said she plans to protest outside the event on Wednesday night.

"None of this protest is about anti-gun. It is about the ARs, the AKs, the big brother of it,”said Benz.

(snip)

Benz said she still believes the gun is a danger to their community.

"It’s not wiping out the Second Amendment, [it’s] not taking people's guns away. It’s about safety and the safety of our children is number one,” Benz said.

The Madison Friends of the NRA refused to be bullied. They went forward with the charity event. There were a few protesters, and some counter-protesters. From wkow.com:

There were counter-protesters, too. One man drove into town and joined protesters on the sidewalk as he wore a helmet, ammunition, and an assault rifle strapped around him. Another counter-protester held a sign that said, "Liberalism Is A Mental Disorder."

Some of those voicing their concerns about the gun that was raffled off, included students from Waunakee High School.

"We could walk to our school from here. We're undergoing ALICE training currently, so we're learning how to deal with active shooters during the week when they're auctioning off weapons used to kill students," said Ben Wagner, a student at Waunakee High.

Notice the hyperbole of the claim. "They are auctioning off weapons used to kill students". While the claim is false, it does not deter the crybully.  None of the guns auctioned had ever been used to kill students. Emotional arguments do not deal in facts. The crybullies insist on "action now!" to avoid time for calm reflection.

 The fact that the organizers of the event could not remove the rifle without violating state law did not phase the crybullies.

Downey didn't seem surprised by the protest but said the auction items, including the AR-15's "Big Brother," was set in stone earlier in the year and under state gaming laws, once it was advertised, organizers couldn't change the selection.

"We'd be violating the law," he added.

The idea that high schools students should be dictating policy is so silly that no one can logically defend it.  High school students lack judgment and experience. It is a strong reason that children are not suitable voters.

The cause and cure for school shootings is controversial. Mass school shootings have involved revolvers, manually operated rifles and shotguns, semi-automatic handguns, and semi-automatic rifles.  Mass school shootings increased after the federal government banned guns in schools. AR-15 rifles were not used in a mass murder until 2007, and that was a police issued rifle.

Some experts believe the increase in mass murder rampage shootings is caused by media coverage, which makes celebrities of mass murderers who use guns.  Since 2012, media coverage has focused on the use of the AR15 rifle. Not surprisingly, the use of the AR-15 in mass shootings increased substantially after 2012. While the AR-15 rifle has been widely available since 1965, mass murder with that model only shot up *after* the tremendous publicity given to the rifle in the Aurora and Sandy Hook rampage murders.  From politifact.com:

Among other factors also worth considering is media coverage of mass shooters, which Adam Lankford, a criminology professor at the University of Alabama, said rewards perpetrators with fame and can lead to copycat effects.

"Although firearms availability is the primary reason why the United States has more public mass shooters than other countries, media coverage of perpetrators may largely explain why the United States has seen more public mass shooters and deadlier incidents over time," Lankford said.

The copycat effect that appears to fuel rampage murders is based in part on detailed and intensive coverage of the mass murderers' methods and tools. The intense focus on the AR15 very likely induces more copycats to use the rifle.

Ironically, the more the crybullies focus on the AR15, the more likely the make it that the next rampage shooter will make it their weapon of choice.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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