The Worst Kept Secret in the World: Why Pro-Gun Activists REALLY Want Assault Weapons

Among the most laughable campaigns in gun lobby history is their recent attempt to re-brand assault rifles as "Modern Sporting Rifles." The gun industry commonly described semiautomatic versions of military-style firearms as "assault weapons" prior to the late 1980s/early 1990s, when a series of gruesome mass shootings with these rifles gave that term a decidedly negative connotation.

Since then, the gun industry's rebranding campaign has been hounded by two persistent problems. Number one is their own inability to complete relinquish use of the term "assault rifle" for marketing purposes. Second, and far more damaging, is the total inability of pro-gun activists to go along with the charade that "Modern Sporting Rifles" are for target shooting and varmint hunting. They simply take too much pleasure in telling us what they really want to do with their assault rifles. For example, consider the following comments that pro-gun activists recently left at the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Facebook page.

Pro-gun activist Kevin Lomason of Atlanta, Georgia was more than happy to tell us what assault weapons are for:

Our founding fathers wrote the second amendment so that we could arm ourselves and take control of the government if the government gets out of oppressie. Some say that was before assault rifles were invented and the general public should not have assault weapons. If the government has assault weapons and we have muskets, how would we ever protect ourselves against an oppressive government?

As was pro-gunner Jeff Thomas, who had his eye on a machine gun that is typically mounted on helicopters and light aircraft:

The founding fathers meant that we needed enough guns to fight against a oppresive govt. If the govt can buy 30 cal mini guns, we should be able to as well, it's the only way to keep them honest. Look at the gap in weaponry available to them compared to us, look at how corrupt govt. is. Is that a coincidence? As far as the technology of 200 years ago muskets were all the armies of the world had as well, naturally as technology progressed we should have had it available to us as well.

Pro-gun activist Rich Salter agreed with Thomas, and wanted to make it clear that his planned war on our government meant he had a right to any gun he could conceive of:

The 2nd Amendment is referring to all guns. It does not mean just guns for hunting and sports shooting. It is mainly talking about guns that can be used to keep tyrannical governments in check. Our right to keep and bear arms was established so that our government never has complete power over us like the government (Britain) of our founding fathers. Ask the Libyans, the Syrians, the Iraquis, and numerous African countries how it felt for them when the only ones allowed to own guns were their governments? Do you really think our government is so pure and will always look out for our best interests to the point where they would never try to make us do something we did not want to do?

So if "tyranny" is what assault weapons are for, how exactly do pro-gun activists define that term?

We have the 2nd amendment to stop tyrannical government. IE: Obama.

Well, guess Jermey Mecham of Provo, Utah made that patently clear. And if he didn't, pro-gunner Chad Hudson sure did...

theres nothing intelligent about the government people expect the same useless ass bastards that have been destroying this so called equal country for years to fix a obviously heated situation people will raally around anything useless as gun control its like war on drugs thats a failure and so is gun control seriously they do nothing but send jobs over seas and tell you whats right and wrong in their eyes in my oppinion someone should storm dc and kill off government start new and make this place about people instead of the dollar

And Al Winter...

lock n load stand ready for the time is soon

And Christopher Edwards Penta and Matthew Groom of Cocoa, Florida...

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it's natural manure." They didn't talk out of their asses. They just got through slaughtering representatives of the Crown over taxdollars and legislative representation. They would have been shooting YEARS ago.

And David Albert Desrosiers of Phoenix, Arizona...

You'll never get our ARs EVER. We will fight to the last patriot to stop it. I hope you're ready to kill a few million people because that's what you will have to do. Molon Labe ... Are you a statist? Then you have no grasp of the Second Amendment at all. You think it was to protect duck hunting? Target shooting? If calling me an insurrectionist makes your ivory tower feel all nice and shiny, go right ahead. I'll see you in November when this nonsense is dealt with as it should be.

And Steve from Twitter...

it doesn't matter what SCOTUS says there are more black guns in the hands of civs 2day than ever and any attempt to change this = CWar

And pro-gun activistJeff Pennington...

to all of you ignorant gun ban pussies. you don't like the second amendment? you don't like people being able to defend themselves? shut your shit stinking mouths or go find another country to live in. Great Brittan is a pussy country with no guns, so is Australia, among others, pick your place to be vulnerable to crime and go there and die. goodbye and good riddance. "we the people" will never allow our 2nd amendment right to be taken, not ever, even if it means civil war, and it will be the low life liberals like all of you that we will be after. you can count on that. We are taking our country back. this is not your country. oh by the way take your atheist's and homo freaks with you.

And this anonymous commenter at our blog...

the government is orchestrating these shootings to create a state of panic in the nation to justify banning guns thus starting a cival war, the likes of which has never been seen before, anyone that doesnt serve the constitution will be exterminated from this country!

One thing is certain about these folks. They have a profound lack of faith in the system of government established by our Founders. And that includes that voting thing, as pro-gunner Robert Wykes made clear:

Unless you can disarm all the governments, crooks and thieves, how would this make anything better? Especially when they are synonymous! If voting made a difference, they wouldn't let us do it. Wake up, we have a fascist government wanting to disarm you from protecting yourself....from them!

Because, after all, the Constitution...it's just a useless "piece of paper," right?

There is no such thing as a civil, safe or secure society without guns. The weak and defenseless become easy prey. Those who are hated by their gov't for whatever reason are made victims of genocide and every imaginable cruelty (eg the Jews in Hitler's time and Protestants during the reign of Catholicism in the dark ages). History and current events scream of the dangers of having no legitimate power of defense against common criminals and mos importantly gov'ts. A piece of paper is not legitimate (try using that on an attacker). Many countries have wonderful constitutions--in vain. Having guns doesn't mean violence it prevents it more than anything else. Common sense would dictate that if criminals knew you were armed they'd be less likely to threaten you, fearing for their own safety. This creates peace. If we were as armed as police and military they would fear to harm us if given the orders to do so. This creates even greater and more valuable peace and security. Why has America been one f the greatest havens in the world and enjoyed considerable absense of gov't threats to its citizens for so many years? Why did refugees flock here to escape their own countries? If every poor and oppressed person in 3rd world countries could bear sufficient arms able to defend themselves against their oppressors they too could enjoy the benefits we have in our civilized world. But, instead, they are brutalized, abused, kept in poverty and ignorance, and suffer oppression we don't even know of. And in the end, in spite of all this, and reason and common sense, many people with to see the only worthwhile place left on earth to live in full of defenseless, once-free people at the mercy and disposal of criminals who obey no laws and gov'ts [historically and currently known for mass murder ( not to mention the most gruesome and horribly unimaginable cruelties every devised)] guilty of the blood of unnumbered hundreds of millions of innocent civilians.

At least that's what pro-gunner Robin Fox tells us.

So much for keeping a secret, huh? These insurrectionists might as well be beating their chests and screaming, "LOOK AT ME!"

Well, OK, we see you, and read you loud and clear. And it makes us more determined than ever to renew the Assault Weapons Ban.

Blaming the Victims

When a mass shooting occurs, most Americans react with horror, mourn for those killed, and express sympathy for the wounded and those who have lost loved ones. But pro-gun activists aren't most people.

In the wake of the grotesque mass shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, in which a high-profile neo-Nazi with a history of alcohol abuse killed six people and wounded four others, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) posted an image on our Facebook page that decried Page's hate crime and emphasized our commonality as human beings.

Christopher M. Hay, a pro-gun activist from Lena, Illinois, took a different message from the image, however, telling us:

Its not about their religion. I don't care who they pray to. But when they commit international crimes against humanity I'll not hesitate to shoot them.

The fact that the Sikh religion stresses nonviolence and is one of the most peaceful on the planet apparently matters to him not at all.

Then were was "Oath Keeper" Lieben van Engel of Springfield, Missouri. He had the following thoughts to share with us about the gruesome mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado, in which deranged and heavily armed gunman James Holmes shot 71 people in the space of two minutes, killing 12:

Heh call me sick but this theater thing is just shit, yeah so some lives were taken , get over it people die, what they should do is take away all weapons, then make people file into a psychological profile test and a brain image test to compare a persons brain to that of any form of killers brain, Guns are okay (Even tho i think they are for cowards) in the hands of people who will protect and use correctly. not for being intimidating(which is the #1 reason for mugger deaths) not to use them to look cool, or for shooting off blindly or for anything except putting a solid round straight into the eye of a enemy threat if required and if theres no way to negotiate or calm the situation down or if theres no option to use your hands.

Andy Fortney, a pro-gun activist from Ashland, Ohio, took a "Blame the Victim" approach, calling those who ran from the gunfire in Aurora to save themselves and their families cowards:

these blind ass people who think taking guns out of Americans hands will stop violence is living in a fantasy world. they want some fairy dust in the morning on there cheerios...wow wake up the world will never be perfect but next time some asshole is shooting up a movie theater or highjacking a air plane with a fucking box cutter stand up and prepared to give your life to save others instead of being a cowered and dieing anyways.

Finally, there was Tom Luehrs of Ionia, Michigan, who informed us that allowing alcoholic neo-Nazis and the severely mentally ill to legally buy guns is quintessentially American:

Even as a homicidal maniac we retain most of our constitutional rights.Living in a free country does have some downsides.

Condolences? Sympathy? A reasoned call for cooler minds, more subdued rhetoric, and a de-escalation of the violence?

If you're looking to the pro-gun movement, you'd better look elsewhere.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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."