Bradys, anti-gun churches, spawn new demonizing term

[WhiteFeather]

If one side can frame the debate they usually win the media propaganda war.

Saturday night special, Assault weapon and dozen of other created names to demonize guns with a evil sounding name. Now the Anti-gunners are upping the debate by using religion as a tool.

Its people using religion to control people for a agenda is the reason so many people don’t like any religion.

Plenty in this one for everyone to comment on........

Bradys, anti-gun churches, spawn new demonizing term
by Dave Workman, Senior Editor

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and anti-gun clergy have spawned a new term to demonize gunowners they see as "a religious movement without spiritual grounding."

"Gundamentalism," according to the Rev. Rachel Smith of North Carolina, is "rooted in the sale and promotion of violence."

At least, that's the report in FrontPage magazine, which noted last month that the Brady Campaign's "God Not Guns" project calls anyone who does not embrace gun control a "gundamentalist." The article identified Smith as "Rev. Nancy Smith." It was written by Mark D. Tooley, director of the United Methodist committee at the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD).

Tooley told Gun Week that he was not familiar with the God Not Guns Coalition until a few weeks ago. He said part of his job is monitoring activities like this and informing church members about positions that church leaders may be taking that their congregations know nothing about. As an example, he said the United Methodist convention adopted a position about four years ago in favor of banning all private handgun ownership.

Positions like this, he said, do not represent church members, and contribute to the decline of church congregations.

Founded last year, the God Not Guns Coalition held its first Sabbath observance last Sept. 28-30 in communities across the country. Anti-gun Rev. Jesse Jackson preached a sermon at a New York church in conjunction with the event. During that observance, according to the GodNotGuns.org website, "congregations pledged their commitment to help make their communities safer from gun violence by recognizing and addressing the epidemic of gun violence and the spiritual and moral crisis that this epidemic reflects."

The group has been quick to brand gunowners with the mark of fanaticism, while Rev. Smith, identified by Front Page as the founder and leader of the anti-gun coalition, herself remarks in a short statement, "I believe the first commandment which says 'You shall have no other gods before me' and I believe that guns are revered as idols in our culture."

But comments from readers have blistered Smith for what they suggest is some fanaticism on her part.

One reader observed, "I truly cannot believe that someone has this much extra time on their hand to sit around and create new terms and ideologies to support their bizarre views. Come on now....Calling shooting enthusiasts and gunowners as worshippers of the gun. Sounds like a Monty Python skit to me. Can't believe anyone listens or writes about this dribble."

Another reaction came from a man identifying himself as a priest in the Oithodox Christian Church.

"The inane drivel of the 'liberal churches'," he wrote, "never ceases to amaze me. These holier-than-thou folks are mere spoiled brats with an ax to grind who haven't an idea what it is to suffer for Christ, offering trite and irrational slogans with nothing more than a false spiritual sounding dichotomy—`God or guns'?

A third response noted, "Ms. Smith seeks to use her office to oppose a Christian's fundamental right to self- defense, defense of family, and defense against tyranny. Instead of lifting the name of Jesus Christ before a lost world of sinful, unrepentant men, she's allowed herself to become the willing tool of totalitarians bent on the destruction of American uniqueness."
On the God Not Guns website, Rev.

Smith implored in her blog, "What do we need with so many guns? What happens when the perceived 'right' to gun ownership is complicit in the deaths of so many?"

According to the Front Page article, God Not Guns "includes agencies of the United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, and the National Council of Churches, along with several Jewish groups. The American Humanist Association is also a member..."

Basic ignorance of firearms appears to be no barrier to Rev. Smith's blog diatribes, however. In one recent column, she complained, "A friend of mine who is a pastor recently visited the home of someone in his congregation. After dinner the host said, 'I want to show you something,' left the dinner table, and returned with a double barrel pistol. The gun's top barrel was a .410 shotgun and the bottom barrel was a .357 pistol. My pastor friend, who happens to be Vietnam vet, was astounded. What, he asked, does anybody need with a weapon like that?

"I wondered that same thing," she continued, "when the Assault Weapons Ban was allowed to expire a few years ago. Why does anybody need a military- style assault weapon?

"I also wondered the same thing when concealed carry laws became so prevalent," Smith added. "Why does anyone feel the need to take a gun to work, or to the mall, or to a public park?"

The Brady Campaign is soliciting contributions for the God Not Guns project.
The New GUN WEEK, August 1, 2008

[Pector55]

What a weird combo... a .357 and .410 double barreled pistol? Crazy!

So do we need to come up with propoganda terminology? Perhaps Firearmaphobes? Firearm is much less menacing than "gun." Perhaps a direct retaliation to another assault weapon ban could be semi-autophobe?

Apparently "Shutthehellupyousocialist-commiebastard" isn't working for us.

[mjfletcher]

What a weird combo... a .357 and .410 double barreled pistol? Crazy!

So do we need to come up with propoganda terminology? Perhaps Firearmaphobes? Firearm is much less menacing than "gun." Perhaps a direct retaliation to another assault weapon ban could be semi-autophobe?

Apparently "Shutthehellupyousocialist-commiebastard" isn't working for us.

How about "Terrorist Sympathizer?"

If you take guns from law abiding citizens, Al Queda will be free to carry out any operation they want, anywhere in the US they want, with no resistance at all until its too late to matter.

[pex]

Was Obama's attempt at fracturing just not self-executing? Can the 'gundamentalism' slur work in Pennsylvania, a place that 'clings to guns or religion'?

By the way, it's 'gundamental' that we retain our rkba through owning arms because we'll surely need it against an ever-increasing tyranny.

[knighthawk06699]

Are you kidding me?? These people are bat shit crazy!!! If we are "gundamnetalists, they are for fucking sure socialists!!!!

[adymond]

Was Obama's attempt at fracturing just not self-executing? Can the 'gundamentalism' slur work in Pennsylvania, a place that 'clings to guns or religion'?

By the way, it's 'gundamental' that we retain our rkba through owning arms because we'll surely need it against an ever-increasing tyranny.

Prediction: Obama overwhelmingly carries PA. Too many in the cities who will just vote color and way too many white guilt votes elsewhere. If any critisism is cast on the Mesiah you MUST be a racist. Even if you are black.

[dc dalton]

Oh the humanity! Will this stupidity never cease?

Tell you what (and not trying to be rude to anyone here) ... let's take one of the church leaders spouting this CRAP and drop them into the worst area known to man, I mean a real shit hole with gangs, druggies all over the street, gun fire left and right and then ask them:

"You have a choice, you can let god protect you and this person that is armed and knows how to use it"

Methinks I know what the answer would be

[GunLawyer001]

Liberalism today contains a large slice of masochism. Self-hatred explains so much:

The adoration by liberal women of Bill Clinton, the quintessential bad boy who uses women like I use paper targets.

The belief that everyone else is better than "us", so that white liberals elevate blacks and Hispanics as having more nobility, rich liberals worship the poor (albeit from afar), American liberals defer to Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and even Cuba, and human liberals demand sacrifices for the benefit of the Crested Whooping Loon or whatever species is living where I'd like to build a house.

The willingness to be injured or killed by thugs, rather than take an active role in self-defense. If pressed, some liberals will quote Ghandi, and bask in the noble joy of the prospect of evil men killing us all until they are sickened by the sight of our blood (a concept that worked when the enemy was the civilized British Empire, but didn't work very well against the pragmatically sanguinary NAZI's, and doesn't work at all against urban gang-bangers raised on "Grand Theft Auto" killing games.)

These do-gooders who want us to die for their inane societal theories have no game plan, other than forgiving those who kill us. They say that prisons don't work, the death penalty doesn't work, all crime is "our" fault because we've ignored the cities, or skimp on students by only spending $6,000 per year for mediocre education, or we don't provide fulfilling jobs for the illiterate druggies who may or may not show up for work. Since most of us will not be rising from the dead on the 3rd day, I'll forgo the forgiveness and just shoot any attackers dead.

[elston32]

I agree with this unnamed priest:

Another reaction came from a man identifying himself as a priest in the Oithodox (sic) Christian Church.

"The inane drivel of the 'liberal churches'," he wrote, "never ceases to amaze me. These holier-than-thou folks are mere spoiled brats with an ax to grind who haven't an idea what it is to suffer for Christ, offering trite and irrational slogans with nothing more than a false spiritual sounding dichotomy—`God or guns'?


Weapons are inherently morally neutral. The user of a weapon determines the morality of the actions committed with it.

God Not Guns Coalition's espousal of anti-Gundamentalism is anathema to judeo-christian principles; another example of shifting moral responsibility from human actors to inanimate objects.

Unfortunately, some in the Roman Catholic community have signed on to this nonsense; thankfully not the Diocese of Scranton, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops nor the Pope.

Stay well.


---elston

[PennsyPlinker]

A few weeks ago I entered our church to prepare to teach my Sunday School class, and discovered a Brady Bunch booklet on my lectern. It was their literature for the God not Guns campaign. Handwritten on the cover was my name.

I recognized the handwriting immediately, and went looking for the pastor. As soon as he saw me coming, he started laughing. I told him I recognized his handwriting as soon as I saw it, and he confessed to his nefarious deed. He went on to say he had not read the thing at all, but as soon as he saw what it was about, he knew he had to bust my chops with it.

In other news, he is going shooting with me again this week. We get together regularly to shoot and are both members at Topton. I guess that tells you how far the Brady Bunch will get in our church.