More on Kerry's gun thing

Donald Sensing has a picture-rich take on Kerry's gun hypocrisy referenced below.

The Posse has nothing to add on the technical aspects of the debate. For one thing, we aren't all that versed in long weapons (an unfortunate side effect of living in the 'burbs for the last few years).

For another, Rev. Sensing has covered just about every angle of the stock/pistol grip discussion.

Instead, we will focus on the core argument, namely that certain features make a firearm more dangerous than others.

It is, of course, ludicrous. Logically, whether a rifle has a pistol grip or folding stock makes no difference in how it operates. These are devised solely for the comfort and convenience of the operator.

Moreover, they are easily modified. One need not be a gunsmith to swap grips.

So banning these features has never been about safety, it has been about banning guns.

Once "military-style" features were declared illegal, only "outdoorsy" ones would be left. This would reinforce the message that guns are to be used only for hunting, not for self-defense.

Then, just as in England, hunting weapons could be targeted because safety always trumps sport.

It is no accident that anti-hunting supporters tend also to hate firearms. One is hard-pressed to find a firearms enthusiast who believes hunting to be unethical or wrong. Similarly, the numbers of pro-gun control hunters are very small.

Thus it is easy for people with no exposure to nature (suburbanites) and who have no experience of firearms (suburbanites) who harbor a vague fear of crime, though they personally live in a safe area (suburbanites) where the police are trusted to respond quickly to an emergency (suburbanites) to support the idea of making guns - particularly "bad" guns - harder to get.

If one were to distill the core constituency of gun control, it would be the much-discussed "soccer mom."

Add in a smattering of college-educated professionals and you've pretty much got the movement described in full.

These people have no knowledge of firearms. That is why they think that something with a matte black finish and a pistol grip is somehow more lethal than something with a satin finish and a wood stock.

Given the choice between a Mini-14 and a Hi-Point Carbine, they would naturally think the Hi-Point is deadlier.

The Hi-Point may have more shots in its magazine, but the 9mm simply cannot compare to the .223 in terms of lethality. If one broadens the comparison to include bolt-action rifles, the gap widens even more. An M-1 Garand has a quite archaic look to it. One can even sporterize it to remove the unsightly bayonet mount.

However in terms of killing potential, it is a far more deadly weapon than almost any handgun and most modern combat rifles. Yet somehow, this widely respected implement of battle escapes the notice of gun controllers. The simple explanation is that they are ignorant of firearms altogether, so they go after the scary-looking ones.

One of our goals is to promote firearms education and to let people know the truth about guns. To that end we frequently take people with no experience of guns to the range. In every instance, they were pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable shooting is. Even suburbanite women, the heart and soul of the "Million Moms" have found shooting to be very pleasurable.

Indeed, one thing we have noticed is that women tend to derive more enjoyment in shooting their first time than men. Perhaps it flows from the sense of empowerment, but there is no denying the giddy grin that accompanies the realization that guns don't bite the user and that with training, one can control them quite well.

In the end, this is the only real antidote to the idiocy being sold by the gun control movement. It feeds on ignorance.

And there lies the rub. Rural areas are not ignorant of firearms. Backwoods mountaineers are as likely to own a break-action shotgun as an SKS. Guns are tools and often heirlooms. A candidate seeking votes in the South must be willing to demonstrate that he, at least, is unafraid of guns.

Yet in so doing, he risks challenging the ignorance of the suburbanite gun control enthusiasts.

Thus, in the end, gun control is self-defeating. Bill Clinton discovered this, Al Gore lost because of it. Now Kerry is tasting the bitterness of this realization.