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July 31, 2012

Pro-Gun Activist Says James Holmes Could Have Killed 12 People with Snow Cones

During the past week, pro-gunners have been eager to share their opinions about the gruesome mass shooting perpetrated by schizophrenic James Holmes in Aurora, Colorado on July 20, 2012. Using an AR-15 style assault rifle with a 100-round drum magazine and three other guns, Holmes was able to shoot 71 people in an Aurora movie theater in a span of just two minutes, killing 12, including a six-year-old girl. Had his AR-15 not jammed, the casualty total would likely have been even higher.

Pro-gun activist Lee Gaines was kind enough to send us this little missive:

Does it seem okay to you, to use the horrible events in Aurora, Colorado to advance a lie? You would exploit the deaths of a dozen innocent people, for the satisfaction of imposing your world view on each of us? The fact is, the firearms used that night were legally purchased, (not at a gun show), by a man with no criminal record. Yet, you use the deaths of these poor people to try to convince the "useful idiots" within your influence, that "guns came from a gun show and were purchased without background checks." My dear misguided zealot, the "Joker" would have killed those people, even if he had only snocones to throw at them. Your brand of gun control is only punishing the law abiding among us. You need only examine Canada's failed, and now abandoned gun control laws, to know that criminals will find their guns, without the obligatory background check. Your "control" has no effect. Your flawed cause, is without merit. I ask you, who has been more deceitful? The killer didn't lie on his federal gun paperwork. Yet, you lie when you convience people that he purchased those guns without a background check. It must be difficult for you to have to lie, to try to gain a following. The good thing is that people have learned that about you, and every other freedom hating group, like you ... and, should I die before I wake, I pray my guns my sons to take.

Snow cones, huh? And perhaps Mr. Gaines isn't aware that James Holmes was seeing a psychiatrist who specialized in the treatment of schizophrenia and had alerted her that he was going to commit mass murder. Or how about the fact that Canada has a gun death rate that's more than four times lower than that of the United States (and an overall homicide rate more than three times lower)? OK, OK, we know that a healthy dose of reality can be an inconvenience...

Reality was also an issue for pro-gunner Jesse Vankurin. You might recognize him as the vocalist for Dark Kingdom. Or not... Anyway, Jesse came to our Facebook page to tell us an interesting conspiracy theory about Aurora that's quite popular in pro-gun circles:

Oh and he picked all of that up at a local k-mart with his platinum credit card. Give me a fucking break. this has black op written all over it.

Never doubt the ability of a pro-gunner to blame everything on the government. And it's so much more convenient than taking responsibility for your role in personally lobbying for laws that allow homicidal maniacs to legally stockpile arsenals of guns!

Finally, there was pro-gun activist Jason Scarbrough, who posted on the Facebook Wall of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence to express his disappointment in Holmes' inability to kill more innocent Americans:

If the kid were using a proper rifle that doesn't shit where it eats and magazines that did their jobs properly, he probably could have broken the high score instead of only getting twelve.

After we posted a photo of a 100-round drum magazine like the one Holmes used, Scarbrough also told us why he feels such devices are so important:

We need these high capacity magazines because one of these days we're gonna have to shoot all of you gun grabbers to death and reloading is inconvenient.

Give him some credit, folks. At least he's honest about why he needs assault weapons.

July 19, 2012

Pro-Gun Activist on Murder-Suicide: "He killed his children out of love."

On the fourth of July this year, a gruesome murder-suicide took place in Dundee, Oregon. That afternoon, Randall Engels, 37, shot and killed his estranged wife Amy Engels, 35; their daughter Bailey, 13; and son Jackson, 11. Amy Engels had filed for divorce just weeks earlier on May 29, 2012, citing an "immediate danger" to her children. "My husband has threatened to steal them and not return them," she told a Yamhill County judge. "He has threatened to hurt them. He yells at them and makes them feel nervous and upset."

The Dundee community was shocked and saddened by the unspeakable tragedy, but one Oregon pro-gun activist saw the murders as evidence that Randall Engels "loved" his family.

"FancyJack," a prolific pro-gun commenter at the KVAL.com website, had plenty to say about the murder-suicide. When gun violence prevention blogger "Baldr Odinson" responded to an article about the incident by writing, "It's not the gun I oppose, it's the ease of which people like Mr. Engels are able to get them and use them," "FancyJack" was outraged and replied:

You squeeze a trigger, a nice steady pull, so as not to interfere with the aim, everyone is dead so his use of the firearm was proficient ... He did not flip out, he was methodical with the destruction of his family, again everyone is dead. Suicide is a tool, just like a firearm, it has its place in humanity, that you fear it as you fear firearms is not surprising. Once he made the decision, he would have been at peace, he took his family with him, he loved them and could not leave them to the mercies of the type people who exploit the dead to pursue a liberal social agenda, I'd bet Mr. Engels would have echoed my sentiment that he was protecting his family from people, people who think like you.

When another commenter facetiously pressed "FancyJack" to indicate whether it would be OK for parents to seek out an abortion to protect a child from the "liberal social agenda," "FancyJack" replied:

Yes, provided that we killed the mother when we killed the baby as she would not be here to protect the child. He killed his children out of love, liberal women kill their children out of selfishness, if abortion was fair, we would kill them both, but as we both know, abortion is a liberal social agenda whose intent was to clean up the gene pool, from my perspective, killing a mother that would kill her child is a just act and protects the family.

"FancyJack" also recently found time to leave his thoughts on the shooting deaths of young black men at the KVAL website. "Live by the hoody, die by the hoody," he wrote.

July 9, 2012

Pro-Gun Activists Applaud Shooting of Unarmed Teenagers Over Loud Party

Members of a pro-gun online forum are applauding the shooting of two unarmed teenagers at a late-night party on July 1, 2012. The shooting occurred in Springfield, Oregon, where a group of teenagers were hanging out, listening to music, and dancing. A neighbor across the street—who has yet to be identified by police— came out of his house carrying a gun and got into a confrontation with the teens. He pointed the gun at one teen's chest and pulled the trigger, but the gun misfired. As the teens scattered, he successfully fired multiple rounds at them, shooting Christopher Carson, 14, in the buttocks and April Hamilton, 15, in the thigh. Hamilton said, "I think he was coming out to tell us to be quiet, but I have no idea why he brought a gun."

Carson and Hamilton were treated at a hospital and are now home recovering from their wounds. They were not among the 10 teens at the party cited for underage alcohol consumption. The shooter, a concealed handgun permit holder according to the detective handling the investigation, has yet to be arrested or charged with a crime. It is reported that he "sustained injuries consistent with having been assaulted" during the altercation, but it's unclear what treatment he underwent, if any. Oregon has a "Stand Your Ground" law that removes an individual's duty to retreat from a confrontation in public even when he can safely do so.

This is all fine and dandy with pro-gun activists at NorthwestFirearms.com, who are describing the incident as a "good shoot." The online forum lists the following three goals as part of its mission statement:

1) Provide a family friendly online community for firearm enthusiasts of the Northwest to meet other enthusiasts, discuss various topics, share news, buy, sell, & trade, organize events, and much more.

2) Provide a resource for firearm owners to organize themselves for the purpose of protecting the second amendment and our firearm rights, as well as defeating gun-control legislation and anti-gun candidates.

3) Spread the message of safe firearm use and ownership, while promoting self defense, shooting sports, hunting, and collecting.

It's difficult to see what is "family-friendly" about the comments at the forum, however (you can see them all here). After "parallax" of Eugene, Oregon posted an article about the shooting on July 3rd, pro-gun activists jumped in to applaud the shooting of the two teens.

Senior forum member "eldbillbo" of Clackamas, Oregon wrote, "a armed society is a polite society maybe next time those boys will turn down volume when asked to do so."

"punk kids," replied "lv1986" of Southwest Oregon.

Senior member "JackThompson" of Vancouver, Washington commented, "Guns. The magic equalizer that gives a single old man the "Right" to ask 10 rowdy drunk teenagers to please be quiet at 2:00am without fear of getting curb stomped in return. Guns for President."

"Flyingswords" of Salem, Oregon stated, "Kids got what they had coming to em. You mess with fire and your liable to get burnt. They played with fire and 2 got burnt. The parents of those kids that were there should be cited and or jailed. The homeowners where that loud party was at should be cited and jailed.."

"Good shoot," said Redcap of Lewis County, Washington. "mjbskwim" of Sequim, Washington agreed. "Yeah, good shoot," he replied. "bkb0000" of Northwest Oregon also chimed in, saying, "He was probably aiming for legs, but he wasn't necessarily a good shot for doing so- He probably emptied the mag. Whatever the case, good shoot."

"Stomper" of Woodburn, Oregon was fired up. "I'm down with donating to his defense fund if he gets tagged with any kind of criminal or civil suit. Not only would they have been digging bullets out of their legs, but they would have had to extricate my shoe from one of their arses, and my empty pistol from the other arse," he commented. "In gerneral, I flippin' HATE teenagers! It truly is the most dangerous time/phase of their lives."

Stomper's auto-signature is a good summation of the forum's attitude toward non-members. "You walk the path of a coward," it reads, "taking shelter behind those who are unafraid to stand AND fall; counted among those who live as nothing more than dross in the eyes of your betters... Enjoy your freedom."

If you haven't been shot unnecessarily by Stomper or some other gun-toter with an itchy trigger finger, that is...

June 20, 2012

The Dildo Guy

The latest pro-gun activist to contact us here at the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) brings a new refrain to former National Rifle Association president Charlton Heston's infamous warning, "From my cold dead hands."

"Billy," however, seems to be more obsessed with other aspects of the human anatomy. Commenting on a blog about NRA/ALEC "Stand Your Ground" laws posted by CSGV Director of Communications Ladd Everitt at Waging Nonviolence, randomwhiteguy@yahoo.com left the following missive, which would have intrigued Freud greatly:

From my cold dead hands you fucking whore cunt! If Jimminy Cricket had rammed a dildo up your fucking ass in private, and you had suffered rectal trauma, then you sure as fuck wouldn't be calling for an end to the private usage of dildos due to your own personal fucking rectal trauma. Neither would you be claiming rectal trauma was a pervasive problem in this country, a problem which is a result of getting a fucking dyke tool rammed up your fucking ass. So get your fucking head out of your fucking ass you fucking dildo whore.


June 14, 2012

Pro-Gun Activists Defend Law that Armed Seattle Mass Shooter

On May 30, 2012, Ian Stawicki walked into Cafe Racer in Seattle, Washington and shot five people,killing four: Joe Albanese, 52; Drew Keriakedes, 49; Kimberly Layfield, 38; and Donald Largen, 57. Fleeing the cafe, Stawicki then confronted Gloria Leonidas, a 52-year-old married mother or two, and beat her physically before shooting her in the head, killing her. Later that day, police confronted Stawicki in West Seattle. As they approached him, Stawicki knelt on the ground and shot himself in the head, taking his own life.

Shortly after the shooting it was revealed that Stawicki had obtained a concealed handgun permit in the state of Washington in August 2010 and legally purchased at least six handguns. This was despite a lengthy history of violence that included prior arrests for assault, domestic violence, and unlawfully carrying a weapon. Stawicki's family also revealed that he had a long history of mental illness. Stawicki suffered from delusions. He told his girlfriend he was married and the father of six. He told others he was a member of a CIA death squad. But the family never pushed to have him committed because they never heard him threaten to hurt himself.

The family did attempt to have Stawicki's concealed handgun permit revoked. When they contacted law enforcement, however, "the response to [them] was, there's nothing we can do, he's not a threat to himself or others, or we haven't had a report of it, or we haven't had to pick him up—call us when it's worse." Law enforcement wasn't simply being indifferent. They were powerless to act. The "Shall Issue" permitting law in Washington, written by the National Rifle Association (NRA), prevents the state from denying a concealed handgun permit to anyone who meets a basic set of criteria. And because Ian Stawicki had never been involuntarily committed nor convicted of a felony or misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, he met those criteria.

That a dangerous mentally ill man was allowed to retain his guns and carry permit despite these warnings is apparently of no concern to pro-gun activists, who came to the defense of the state's gun laws immediately after the tragedy. Dave Workman, the communications director for the Washington-based Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and a former member of the NRA Board of Directors, had the following to say about Ian Stawicki:

I don't know that there's anything you can do in these situations. We can't treat him like a child, he's got his own life to live and he can make his own mistakes no matter how horrific those mistakes turn out to be.

Workman's boss agreed with him about Stawicki's "mistake." Alan Gottlieb, a convicted felon who petitioned the federal government to have his "gun rights" restored, wasn't focused on the innocent lives that Stawicki took in the wake of the shooting. He seemed to have his own questionable history in mind, telling KING 5 News: "If you did that here in Seattle, you'd have a chief who gave out no gun permits. If it becomes discretionary, then people who deserve guns won't get them."

Workman and Gottlieb were certainly not alone. Keith Milligan, an Election Volunteer Coordinator with the NRA-ILA and author of the pro-gun blog "Shall Not Be Questioned, made it clear to us that he was concerned about individuals like Ian Stawicki being deprived of "life, liberty or property" and "due process." The lives and liberty of those innocent Americans Stawicki killed in cold blood? Milligan didn't mention it...

"Melvin Udall," a pro-gun activist from Virginia, concurred with Milligan, complaining, "So the precedent going fwd is GOV must deprive ALL ppl of life,liberty,pursuit IN CASE one might deprive others?" One? Udall seemed unphased by the fact that Stawicki is now at least the 20th concealed handgun permit holder to have committed a mass shooting since May 2007.

Pat Watson" (AKA "Hazmatpat") of Minnesotans for Firearms Safety Tweeted at us, "did he have a criminal record? Any reason to deny him his rights prior to crime? Otherwise you're talking #MinorityReport stuff!" Minority Report? Watson apparently neglected to read about Stawicki's criminal record, or review the Supreme Court's 2008 decision in D.C. v. Heller, which stated that "concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the [Second] Amendment [and] state analogues." Later, Watson told another Twitter user that if Stawicki was "not safe to be walking around, then prosecute!" For what? He didn't say. But apparently that wouldn't violate his "rights" like, say, preventing him from legally carrying a gun in public despite abundant evidence he was mentally ill and violent.

Finally, Ken Soderstrom, a pro-gun activist from Greenville, North Carolina, decided to just blame Stawicki's victims for getting shot. "We know he was a regular [at Cafe Racer] and knew those in the cafe wouldn't be armed," Soderstrom told us. "Defenselessness promotes violence." How simple. It was their fault for not arming themselves against their fellow citizens in a place they went to relax and enjoy the company of others.

After the shooting, Ian Stawicki's brother would say, "It's no surprise to me this happened. We could see this coming." But pro-gun activists have warned us that preventing people who are clearly dangerous from arming themselves and carrying guns in public is unacceptable, no matter what the ultimate body count is.

May 29, 2012

Pro-Gun Activist on Trayvon Shooting Range Targets: "GOOD! MAYBE MORE PEOPLE WON'T MISS!"

Ever since Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by concealed handgun permit holder George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) has been deluged with emails from pro-gun activists celebrating the teen's death. We have previously posted these comments here, here, here, here and here. Here's the latest batch...

When CSGV posted an article at our Facebook page about Trayvon Martin shooting range targets being sold online, pro-gun activist Jeff Robinson commented, "LOL.. GOOD! MAYBE MORE PEOPLE WON'T MISS!"

Despite the fact that the Sanford Police Department made it clear that "There is no indication that Trayvon Martin was involved in any criminal activity at the time of the encounter [with Zimmerman]," pro-gun activist Ken Soderstrom of Greenville, North Carolina Tweeted at us, "who went 2 the store to buy Skittles & iced tea and case the neighborhood?"

And Soderstorm wasn't done. He later Tweeted at us, "How much damage would have been done if Trayvon hadn't been killed? We shouldn't expect ANYONE to find out."

Ryan Webman of Aventura, Florida was another pro-gunner who checked into our Facebook page to celebrate Trayvon's death. "Who cares" that Florida's concealed handgun permitting system didn't know that George Zimmerman was on anti-anxiety medication, he wrote, "he took another criminal off the streets!!! Good for him."

Pro-gun activist Eric Sharples of Daytona Beach, Florida was equally blunt, writing on our Facebook page, "How is it gun violence when the man was attacked by the gangster wankster, he wasn't some small young boy that was just skipping down the ghetto streets singing and laughing with his skittles that he probably stole anyways. If you see any recent pictures of him, hes tall, hes built, he flips off the camera to look like a hardass. He clearly wants people to think hes a tough guy, well... Look where that tough guy shit gets you. The more tough guys, the more gun violence. May you should start another useless coalition called, The Coalition to Stop Tough Guys. Fuggin idiots. If anything, YOU are keeping this issue alive. YOU are keeping racism alive and well. Dont put up this innocent front to spread your hate. Dont martyr this kid, how fucked up is that. Youre using, I repeat, YOU are USING this kids death to gain attention and popularity for your useless cause that will never go into affect. Guns don't cause these problems, people do. What if we had swords instead of guns, would you try to outlaw spears and guns. How would you defend yourself, how would you hunt? Your ideas are pointless and will solve nothing. If people want to kill other people, theyre going to regardless of what weapon they are allowed to have. Dumb people are holding back the process of evolution, so either evolve of shut the fuck up. Outlaws spears and swords**, not guns. Now I sound like you guys lol." As it turns out, Sharples speaks from experience. His criminal record suggests he has some "gangster wankster" issues himself.

When subtle racism doesn't work, pro-gunners go with something a bit more hardcore. Pro-gunner "Sabine" took this route when he Tweeted the following at us: "Dat tall dk boy not b yelling skeered. But dat lite dude under? He b crying lika baaaby cuz he gone die 2nite iffn he don't shoot now!"

Pro-gun activists also continued to impersonate African-Americans on Facebook. One pro-gunner created the personae of Zeke Fulton, whose employer is listed as "y wrk wen u can steel stuff" and whose interests include "Hot Gay Sex," "Lil Wayne" and "Basketball." "Zeke" visited our Facebook page to comment on the District of Columbia's tough gun laws: "wow DC is keeping gunsaway frm peole is good. makin it safe for me."

Then there were a series of anonymous comments left by pro-gunners on our blogs. One commenter made it clear to us that the entire gun violence problem in the United States is the fault of African-Americans, writing, "Most perpetrators of firearms crimes ARE dis-proportionally black. The fact that this group seems to lump in 'suicide' under the auspice of 'gun violence' shows the despicable anti-constitutional rhetoric we in the firearms community have come to expect. I think perhaps you should look under the USDOJ which has shown that the Black Community is six to seven times higher in their rate of violent crime, yet groups like yours would wish the good people who need to live in those same areas to be left defenseless. You should be ashamed."

"Sporko" made a crude joke that we're still struggling to understand: "What?! That's DISGUSTING. Why would someone even SUGGEST they NOT raise their son to be a THUG? That's so fcuking racist. IT'S PART OF THE BLACK CULTURE. What's next? Asking a Chinese restaurant to start serving cheeseburgers? When will it end?! THINK OF THE CHILDREN."

In a blog we wrote about another unarmed African-American teenager who was killed by a concealed handgun permit holder in Florida, a pro-gunner commented, "Yea, kids roving around robbing people need protection. We need to stop this whole "every life is precious" bit, because not all are. If you think otherwise you're blind."

Finally, when CSGV's Ladd Everitt blogged at the website Waging Nonviolence to discuss Trayvon Martin and the NRA's "Stand Your Ground" law, a pro-gunner called "vaccuum" made his feelings about the dead young man clear: "Let's ask someone who has been killed in a fistfight what exactly 'deadly force' is. I'll be damned if my family is left without a provider because some jerk's parents didn't raise their kid right and has ALWAYS minimized his behavior as victim of some sinister plot designed BY idiots, FOR idiots."

May 14, 2012

Pro-Gun Activist Warns of "Zionist Instigators"

The linkage between pro-gun extremism and Anti-Semitism has been well documented over the decades, but it is still jarring to find modern-day examples of such bigotry. The pro-gun movement has long tried to have it both ways when it comes to this element in their ranks, on the one hand showing remarkable tolerance for the Nazi "paraphernalia" and "literature" that is a common staple at gun shows across America, while on the other disparaging proponents of gun violence prevention as Nazis and wannabe Hitlers. Two comments recently received by the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) highlight this dynamic in its barest hypocrisy.

The first comment was left on a post at the CSGV Facebook Wall. A young pro-gun activist, Albert Erdmenger, had posted there to tell us that our page is "Anti-Constitutional." "I smell rebellion pretty damn soon," he warned. When we questioned Erdmenger to inquire as to whether he believes he has an individual right under the Second Amendment to shoot and kill elected officials when he senses "tyranny," another pro-gun activist, Terri Angel Fogler of Tallahassee, Florida, jumped in and left the following comment:

Albert: He's baiting you; trying to get you to say something you CLEARLY never suggested or said. That's what zionist instigators do, they're pathetically ignorant that way. The FACT that OUR Constitution gives us inalienable RIGHTS goes against the grain of his obvious agenda (i.e. Agenda 21). We have Rights and we do not have to justify nor should we have to explain it to anyone... besides, guns don't kill people; people kill people.

Fogler's comment was Liked both by Erdmenger and another pro-gun activist, Mike McCausley of North Carolina. It is unclear why Fogler believes CSGV is connected to Agenda 21, a nonbinding resolution enacted by the UN in 1992 that encouraged nations to conserve energy and protect pristine lands by steering development to areas that are already populated. But Agenda 21 has increasingly become the source of "One World Order" conspiracy theories promoted by Tea Party groups.

The second comment was Tweeted at us by Keith Milligan, an Election Volunteer Coordinator with the NRA-ILA, author of the pro-gun blog "Shall Not Be Questioned," and fixture here at Things Pro-Gun Activists Say.

When we responded to pro-gun activists on Twitter who claimed that the ownership and carrying of firearms was a "nonviolent" activity, Milligan (who goes by the pseudonym "Sebastian") reacted angrily and directed the following Tweet at us (which was also re-Tweeted by a New Jersey pro-gun activist):

The thing you should realize about @CSGV...they believe all violence is bad. They would have let Hitler finish his final solution.

CSGV is a coalition of 48 national organizations. Among our member organizations are the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Jewish Community Center Association, Jewish Women International, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Union for Reform Judaism, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, and the Women's League for Conservative Judaism.

When Milligan was informed of this fact, he offered no apology, but backed up somewhat, saying, "If that is the case, I would not say they supported it, certainly, but it's a naive position. Only armed force would defeat the Nazis."

What "position" was Milligan referring to? He couldn't say, at least not by documenting any statements that CSGV or its member organizations have made, either recently or in the past. He just appeared generally enraged that some Americans would support efforts to find peaceful, nonviolent resolutions to conflicts that can lead to gun violence.

May 7, 2012

Pro-Gun Activist to African-Americans: "[Guns] for life. Fuck you monkeys."

In the wake of the slaying of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin by concealed handgun permit holder George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) has been bombarded with a series of racist messages from pro-gun activists. You can read some of these comments here, here, here, and here.

And the comments are still coming...

Responding to our previous blog on this topic, in which a pro-gun activist described the slaying of Trayvon Martin as "population control," a pro-gun activist left the following comment: "It's good that these apes can't learn how to legally register guns themselves. they just shoot each other down with unregistered guns. /k/ for life, fuck you monkeys." '/k/' is a symbol that is used by pro-gun extremists to refer to weapons, and firearms in particular, on online message boards.

When we posted a photo at the CSGV Facebook page of a pregnant African-American woman with the words "AM I NEXT?" on her stomach, we got this response from pro-gunner "Tango Down" of Boynton Beach, Florida: "If her and her husband raise the child right and raises it to be a good kid and NOT A THUG, if the raise it to respect the law and respect others as it would want to be respected. If the kid is thought right from wrong and doesnt't attempt to kill someone else then it should have no problems!"

Pro-gun activist Terry Barcus of Cheshire, Ohio was more blunt, leaving the message "zimmeman is my hero!!!!!!!!" on our Wall.

That thought was echoed by pro-gunner "LOU1011" at the U.S. News & World Report website. "LOU1011" was responding to a blog posted by CSGV executive director Josh Horwitz about NRA/ALEC "Stand Your Ground" laws entitled "Carrying a Firearm Puts the Community at Risk." "Nothing's changed here," LOU1011 wrote. "A Black thug assaulted a guy on the streets, who defended himself.One less Black thug in this world..thank you Zimmerman!"

Timothy Archetko, a pro-gun activist from Canton, New York, emailed us to tell us how happy he was that Trayvon Martin was dead. "I believe in the 2nd amendment take me off this fuckin [CSGV email] list," he wrote. "I am a concealed carry holder, my license plate is the model of my favorite assault rifle, I bought 5 guns in the past year and just bought 1000 rounds of m16 ammo, I shot hundreds of birds last season. I am glad the unarmed teen was shot he obviously shouldn't have provoked it. You hippies think you can say what you want with no consequences."

The 'N' word also remained popular with pro-gun activists. When the CSGV staff posted a cover photo on Facebook with hoods up to pay tribute to Trayvon Martin, pro-gunner Donald Attis of Halifax, Nova Scotia left two comments. The first was a threat: "BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG." The second was, "Fuck yo coalition nigga! Fuck yo coalition!"

Finally, white pro-gun activists never waste an opportunity to blame the entire gun violence problem in America on African-Americans. Pro-gunner Brandon Ashby Smith of St. Petersburg, Florida wandered by our Facebook Wall to leave the following comment: "By the way, right after Trayvon Martin was killed-- there was like 6 black people who were killed by other black people because they are too stupid to take advantage of free things from the state and they'd rather sell drugs than work."

Pro-gunner Michael Liechty was pointing the finger, too, and wrote the following on CSGV's Facebook Wall: "maybe you should talk to the black communities where most of the gun violence is taking place." The fact that this claim is patently false? Well, being off on that "truth" thing never really bothered the gun guys...

April 9, 2012

Pro-Gun Activist Calls Murder of Trayvon Martin "Population Control"

We have already published several blogs here at "Things Pro-Gun Activists Say" cataloging the disturbing comments that pro-gunners have made about Trayvon Martin since the 17-year-old was gunned down by concealed handgun permit holder George Zimmerman on February 26, 2012. Sadly, more than a month after the murder of this young man, pro-gun activists continue to direct these angry and offensive comments at the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV).

One of the pro-gun blogs we heard from is "Guns for Everyone." They made their feelings patently clear to us on Twitter, stating, "#zimmerman = population control...... #dealwithit." Guns For Everyone was created by pro-gun activist Joshua Chase of Atlanta, Georgia.

That was just the warm-up, however. They later directed another Tweet at CSGV and former Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence president Paul Helmke from Oklahoma pro-gun activist Dustin "guns get shit done" Gerhart, where Gerhart bragged about buying a gun through a private sale in a parking lot. Private sellers are not required to conduct background checks nor maintain records of sale under Oklahoma law—these transactions are totally unregulated by government and law enforcement. "whatchu think bout that nigga!" Guns for Everyone asked us.

Then there was pro-gunner Donald David Dalby III, who posted the following "joke" on the CSGV Facebook page: "I was going to kill some defenseless children. since, despite the 2nd amendment, guns are bad, what should I use? I have a 14" machete, a led pipe, and a LugerP08 semi-automatic pistol. I'll be sure to use one of the former two, since guns are bad and all.. suggestions?"

To pro-gun activist "Calvin Raven Eagle" from Atlanta, Georgia, the slaying of an unarmed Trayvon Martin came down to an issue of parenting. "PROSECUTE HIS PARENTS FOR NEGLIGENCE," he wrote on the CSGV Facebook Wall.

Then there was Florida pro-gun activist and conservative businessman "Subnetted," who wanted us to know he was getting drunk and thought Trayvon deserved to die. In the word of his Tweet to us: "Drunk at the bar with sexy girlfriend, life is good. P.S. #OWS are dirty. #Trayon deserved it. What else? @CSGV are retarded. And yes #tcot." Needless to say, for the parents and family of Trayvon Martin, life is anything but good today.

But the most offensive contribution came from a pro-gun activist going by the pseudonynm, "Gi Vemeaclip," who we have discussed on this blog before. He posted a "Trayvon Tribute" video to our Wall that he created under the YouTube account 1BoredKidProductions.It speaks for itself, and is nothing short of disgusting.