Oh my. A Republican LTTE in My Local Paper (Gun Control)

[LAGC]

I wasn't sure whether to post this in the Editorials forum or the GUNgeon, so I'm just posting it here for general consumption. I figure the mods can move it as they see fit.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/letters/story/837671.html

GOP should adopt 'pro-life' stance on guns

As a lifelong conservative Republican, I cannot understand how instruments of death - guns - have become such a fixture in party politics. Sarah Palin's near worship of guns is a big part of the reason we lost the 2008 presidential election, I suspect. Had a more reasonable candidate like Mitt Romney (who supported the Brady Bill and a permanent ban on assault weapons) been selected alongside John McCain (who supported closing the gun show loophole) they probably would be sitting in the White House today.

Well, Palin is finished now. She's proven herself to be a quitter. But Romney is a rising star, and many polls show him as the front-runner in a theoretical 2012 presidential bid against Obama, who has done little in the way of promoting gun control since he got elected.

I look toward the inspiration of Sarah Brady, founder of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a lifelong Republican herself, in promoting awareness within the GOP regarding this critical pro-life issue. With so many people dying from gun violence every day in this country, it's time we take a "pro-life" stance in regards to gun policy in this country.

NICK ANDERSON, Boise

[Mythsaje]

1. Ooh, ooh, ooh... PLEASE?

I'd LOVE for them to get on board with that. Love it. Especially if the Dems back away from it.

[SacredCow]

2. It would be interesting, were the GOP to take such a stance....

but messy- Exploding freeper heads would leave a big, stinky mess.

It'll never happen- And the writer of that letter is just one of the anomolies of the GOP, having skipped the "you can have my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead, hands" flavor Kool-Aid.

[old mark]

3. Actually, the writer made 2 very good points - The Brady campaign

was begun and still is run by Republicans, who all give the Democrats hell for advocating gun control.

Republicans should not be allowed to own guns - the are too fucking crazy.
ONLY democrats should own guns.
Thank you.

markO8)

[DireStrike]

4. That's very bizarre

We should do whatever we can to support that kind of republican. They'd also be a headache but not as destructive as the pure insanity from the current party.

[aikoaiko]

5. Weird from a Idaho republican.... more typical of northeast republicans.

But there have always been republicans in favors of strict gun control.

[ieoeja]

6. With the White House, both houses of Congress and a majority on the Supreme Court...

... for six years, the Republicans did not repeal a single piece of firearms legislation.

Republican rank-and-file may be pro-civil rights on firearms, but the elected officials only pretend. In reality, the last thing the defenders of the rich and powerful want is for the citizens to be armed.

[virginia mountainman]

7. Republicans have always been the

Real Power behind the gun control movement for years..

It's no surprise, that they so willingly want to ignore the Bill of Rights, this behavior is to be expected from them.

[spin]

8. If you want to create the modern equivalent of a feudal society...

with the big international corporations in charge, you eventually want to disarm the serfs.

The Republicans who favor the big corporations have used gun control as a wedge issue to gain votes for years.

No matter how you cut it, allowing citizens to own firearms is an extremely liberal and progressive idea.

Republicans are neither liberal or progressive. If they ever regain power, they will sell out gun owners in a heartbeat.

[imdjh]

9. As a rule, when a LTTE starts with "as a lifelong (rep or dem)"

and then takes a position counter to the party, I look upon the claim of affiliation with suspicion.

"As a lifelong Democrat, I have to take a stand against this socialist healthcare scheme."

A Democrat is entitled, perhaps philosophically required to oppose capital-S Socialism, but employing the language of the right to oppose a government health insurance program that is not by any measure an NHS, is something of a giveaway that he is either a liar or an idiot.

It's possible for a Republican, a lifelong Republican to support gun control because there is no logical reason why gun control would be an issue defined by party. But if it were, then I should think that the point of sync to the GOP platform is not abortion but the famed and illusionary opposition to the "nanny state".

[imdjh]

10. To the group: What would you estimate is the Dem/lib/prog support for gun control?

I don't mean registration or "assault weapons bans" which seem reasonable to a lot of people. I'm talking about the true "gun grabbers".

I really don't meet a lot of them. I think the adamant ones are just really loud. I think their level of support is distorted because of people like my mom, who bought into the whole BS that the criminal was more likely to take your gun away from you and kill you with it than you were to defend yourself. BTW, she has since changed her mind. I would add that despite her confusion on the issue, she has owned a revolver since 1988 when women were being abducted/robbed in grocery store parking lots.

[eqfan592]

11. The assault weapons ban...

...is not reasonable in the least. The AWB is a piece of pure fluff that does NOT define an assault weapon in the clear terms the military does. That's because if they DID word it clearly, it would only ban firearms that are already "banned" for 99% of Americans for all intents and purposes. The AWB was written by and supported by people who have little to no knowledge of firearms, was totally ineffective at preventing any crime, and should be completely dropped from the party platform if only in the name of sanity.

[X_Digger]

14. I haven't met many

We have more here on DU than anyplace else I frequent. My wife has one kooky uncle in St Louis on our family mailing list who would fit right in with the grabbers here.

[Tim01]

15. I might dissagree with you about your terms.

Maybe "moderately anti 2nd amendment" and "anti 2nd amendment radical"

In any case, I think the radicals are a very small group who are really really loud. Crazies usually are though.

[gorfle]

12. What is "LTTE"?

Google returns "Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam"

[rrneck]

13. Letter To The Editor (I think) nt