Pro-Gun Activists on Trayvon Martin: "Nigs gonna nig."

Two weeks ago, we posted a blog that compiled a series of offensive comments made by pro-gun activists in the wake of the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by 28-year-old concealed handgun permit holder George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida. With controversy over the shooting still raging across the nation, pro-gun activists have yet to temper their remarks. Last week, several flocked to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence's Facebook page to leave a series of racist postings.

Pro-gun activist Eric Preisser of Fort Worth, Texas—the creator of the People Against the Brady Campaign [to Prevent Gun Violence] Facebook page—responded to the shooting of Trayvon Martin by stating, "nigs gona nig."

Preisser was echoed by pro-gunner Alexander Rocha of Oceanside, California, who replied, "damn that so sick, nigs gunna nig I guess." In the next breath, Rocha was telling us we should give more guns to "law abiding civilians" like him so the "criminals will be on an equal playing field."

Patrick Green, was outraged over the reaction to the murder. "Black kids like that get killed everyday," he wrote, "but as soon as one bad apple shoots him it's OMG WE NEED TO GET RID OF ALL FIREARMS OMGEE! to be honest you sound like teenage girls I mean cmon guys its the second amendment if you dont like it dont buy a gun its incredibly easy."

Pro-gun activist Thomas O'Neill found the topic of shootings involving children hilarious and commented, "Did you guys know that there is a new kind of bullet that is actually built with technology that can pin-point the trajectory to people's heads?! 1 to 4 year old specifically!"

McKenzy Mallon had a good laugh, too, writing, "NO! Guns are evil devices made by evil people! If Zimmerman was not allowed to carry an assault machine gun Trayvon would still be ALIVE!"

"FAMAS [a French assault rifle] assault clips killed mah baby jamal," said pro-gun activist James Butterscotch, mocking the loss of African American children to gun violence. On his Facebook profile, Butterscotch lists his high school as "FUCK SCHOOL NIGGA IMA BE A DOPE DEALER."

Then pro-gun activists began to impersonate African-Americans on the CSGV Facebook page. Posting as "Edward J. Bleachwood," one pro-gunner commented, "if it wasnt 4 guns that yung nigga be still alive." Another pro-gun activist(s) posting under another fake identity, Flight-Cpl Izmash Assaultclip, loved it, replying, "Which young nigger? There are alot of young niggers. People only care if guns kill them. If they are stabbed it won't even make a sidebar." On his Facebook page, "Izmash" then wrote, "1 black kid gets shot(Pretty good way to go) = OMG RACISM HORRIBLE WHITE PEOPLE (Hispanic, Actually) ARE HORRIBLE RACISTS THEY ARE ALL BABY KILLERS. (typed more like: dat racist yo. ma nigga got popped cuz he be BLACK, he aint do notin' wrong. )."

Then there is the fake identity created by a pro-gun activist, named "Gi Vemeaclip." The profile's "Favorite Quotation" is "Nigga you gay." The college is listed as Virginia Tech. The high school is listed as Columbine High School. In pro-gun circles, this qualifies as humor.

Writing to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, "Gi Vemeaclip" then made up a story about a dead brother, stating, "Hey people. While this tragedy about the 17 year old kid getting shot is horrific, this is our time to fight the gun nut's uppresor. My little brother was shot at a Detriot Pistons game by someone with a criminal record. He purchased these from a gun show. Unlike today's social media it didn't even get mentioned except a mention in a tiny article in the local newspaper. Detriot is like a Zone in that abandonment nuclear powerplant in ukraine. yet michigon allows open carry. Our governments should have the ablility to modify the constitution. Its what our forefathers would have wanted. If the people don't want the second amendment then it should be removed. If they don't want the first, then it should be removed as well. It should be 'for the people.'"

Finally, we end with a comment left by pro-gun activist Rooster Coburn, who lives just south of Sanford in Florida. On a Huffington Post blog about the NRA's "Stand Your Ground" law in that state, "Rooster" wrote, "Africa for the Africans. India for the Indians. Florida for the Floridians!"

Pro-Gun Activist on Reagan Shooting Survivor: "The Faggot Should Have Died"

March 30, 1981 was a dark day for America. On that day, a mentally ill man, John Hinckley, Jr., ambushed President Ronald Reagan and his entourage outside the Washington Hilton Hotel and fired six shots before being subdued. He injured four: President Reagan (a bullet lodged in the president's lung about an inch from his heart), D.C. police officer Thomas Delahanty, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy, and Reagan's press secretary, Jim Brady.

Brady was the most severely injured of the four. He was shot in the head and remains permanently disabled to this day. As he worked his way through a grueling rehabilitation process, Jim and his wife, Sarah, became passionate advocates for gun violence prevention. They were particularly disturbed by the fact that Hinckley was able to legally buy the revolver used in the shooting despite a history of mental illness. In those days, there were no background checks on gun buyers. Purchasers filled out a form that asked them about potential disqualifiers, but there was no process for law enforcement to check and authenticate their answers. It was an "honor system" of the most dangerous sort.

In the late 80s, Jim and Sarah pushed for the introduction of legislation to establish a background check system for gun buyers. President Reagan made his feelings clear about the legislation on the assassination attempt's ten-year anniversary:

March 30...marks an anniversary I would just as soon forget, but cannot ... Four lives were changed forever, and all by a Saturday-night special –a cheaply made .22 caliber pistol–purchased in a Dallas pawnshop by a young man with a history of mental disturbance. This nightmare might never have happened if legislation that is before Congress now–the Brady bill–had been law back in 1981.

The Brady bill became law on November 30, 1993. To date, the law has stopped nearly two million prohibited purchasers from buying guns through federally licensed firearms dealers (FFLs). There is no telling how many lives this has saved, but it is certainly many. Jim and Sarah Brady remain engaged in the battle for better gun laws to this day. During a trip to Capitol Hill last year to advocate for legislation to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines (like the ones used in the January 2011 massacre in Tucson), Jim encouraged gun violence prevention activists to "fight fiercely." "I wouldn’t be here in this damn wheelchair if we had common sense [gun] legislation," he noted.

Most Americans admire Jim Brady for his courage, determination and unflappable sense of humor—in the face of the worst personal tragedy imaginable. Some pro-gun activists, however, wish nothing for Jim Brady but death.

The Starbucks Facebook page has become a hotbed of pro-gun extremism as of late, and recently someone (crudely) impersonated Jim Brady there. When confronted by Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) Director of Communications Ladd Everitt about it, the pro-gun activist in question responded as follows:

Personally I wish he would just let go of that last thread of life already. He's already undone a lifetimes worth of constitutional law. As far as I'm concerned he should die a traitors death.

Pro-gun activist Joe Adams of Colorado was equally blunt in commenting on a photo of Jim Brady at CSGV's Facebook page, writing:

lol the faggot should have died when he got shot!

It's impossible to understand why anyone would direct that type of cruelty at a man who has sacrificed so much for his country and fellow citizens.

The Starbucks Militia

On Valentine's Day, the National Gun Victims Action Council (NGVAC) called for an ongoing boycott of the Starbucks coffee chain because of their company policy allowing individuals to bring loaded guns into their stores. The President and CEO of NGVAC is Elliot Fineman, whose son Michael was murdered in 2006 by a paranoid schizophrenic who legally obtained a gun. Fineman says that Starbucks is "[betraying] their claim to be a socially responsible company" by implementing a policy that follows state gun laws, even where they are weak and involve little or no screening of gun carriers. Currently, 28 states allow residents to Open Carry loaded guns in public without any permitting, screening or training requirement. There are also four states (Alaska, Vermont, Wyoming and Arizona) that allow residents to Concealed Carry loaded guns in public without any screening, training or permitting. All of these states also allow "private sales" of firearms, which do not require any background check. Individuals bringing loaded guns into Starbucks in these states could be felons, wife beaters, sex offenders, severely mentally ill, etc., and law enforcement would have no way of telling if they are dangerous until they pull the trigger.

Despite these problems, pro-gun activists were outraged when they heard about the NGVAC boycott and quickly announced a "buycott" of their own. Here is what the "buycott" called for, as described by the "Guns for Everyone" blog:

First, make sure to visit Starbucks on February 14th and carry proudly. Even if you don’t carry, or don’t OC [Open Carry], let them know that you appreciate their policy. But seriously, just man up and carry that heater like a BOSS. Stop being a pussy.

Pro-gun activists then began to flock to the Starbucks Facebook page to tell of their gun-carrying exploits, post photos of their handguns and assault rifles, and attack all those who disagree with the company's policy concerning firearms. This led to some truly ugly rhetoric, some of which is chronicled here:

There was pro-gun activist Joe Amber Barrett of Leesburg, Florida, who told one woman "FOAD [Fuck Off And Die] you dirty hippy" when she announced that she was boycotting Starbucks:

Pro-gun activist Josh Sumpter invoked the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre to justify Starbucks' current firearms policy. When CSGV Director of Communications Ladd Everitt pointed out that both the Virgina Tech Review Panel and the families of the victims and survivors of that tragedy are unanimous in their support for stronger gun laws, Sumpter said, "that just proves that the VT review panel and the families [of the 32 students/faculty killed and 25 wounded during the massacre] are okay with the tragedy happening again." Pro-gun activist Jonathan Kiviniemi of New Albany, Indiana thought this was wonderful and jumped in to echo Sumpter, adding, "they are essentially saying they want it to happen again."

There was a bizarre comment from insurrectionist gun blogger Kurt Hofmann, who thanked Starbucks for "refusing to be conscripted into the anti-gun jihadists' culture war."

Another woman, who posted a "No Guns in Starbucks" photo, was called a "twat" by pro-gun activist Andy Rau.

Pro-gun activist Shay Robertson thanked Starbucks for "having a backbone" and said, "Not everyone in America is a snivelling developmentally disabled functioning retard who is afraid of inanimate objects." Pro-gunner Jeff Adamson loved it and commented, "Please don't insult snivelling developmentally disabled functioning retards by comparing them to anti-gunners."

Other commenters were labelled "faggots" and "homos" by pro-gun activists Adler Smith and Eric Fanning of Oregon City, Oregon.

One pro-gun activist, James Sarah, had a warning for children. He told a commenter, "Keep your children out of Starbucks. I go in to enjoy a cup of coffee and read a paper. It is very disturbing to have some snot nosed little brats running around and making all sorts of noise. My hand gun has never made a peep in Starbucks."

Pro-gun activist Ray Brower of Loveland, Colorado posted a photo of his AR-15 assault weapon and wanted everyone to know it was his "anti-socialist freedom rifle. And he was certainly not the only pro-gun activist to share gun porn on the Starbucks Facebook page. Their photos wall is covered with it. Here are some examples:













You've got to give Starbucks executives some credit, though. Their store policy might be OK for us, but they personally want no part of these guys when they're armed. "They surely know the threat to safety people carrying guns pose," says Reverend Jackie Lynn, Executive Director of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship. "Why else would Starbucks ban guns from its corporate headquarters, Starbucks shareholder meetings and have a company policy forbidding employees (partners) from bringing guns to work?"

Great question.