"Bad guys" and gun rights extremists share many characteristics

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The NRA says the citizenry needs to be armed with rapid fire weapons because of "bad guys" like felon William Spengler who lured fire fighters to their deaths in Webster, NY before killing himself.   In addition to his .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle--the same weapon used at Sandy Hook--the shooter was armed with an arsenal which included a .38-caliber revolver and a 12-gauge shotgun like so many gun extremists. A similar "bad guy" in Pittsburgh armed with a semi-automatic AK-47-style rifle, a shotgun, a .357 Magnum revolver,   .380-caliber handgun and .45-caliber handgun, killed five policemen in 2009.   Bad guys have also killed policemen in Oakland and Miami.

But under the public's radar, the NRA actually defends the rights of such "bad guys" to own firearms. After the Sun Sentinel reported concealed weapon licenses issued to 1,400 probable felons (including a man who shot his girlfriend as she cooked breakfast, a pizza deliveryman wanted for fatally shooting a 15-year-old over a stolen order of chicken wings and six registered sex offenders), NRA lobbyist Marion P. Hammer said, "When you begin taking away the rights of people that you don't like, that's the slippery slope." What?

Lest someone go unarmed just because they are a violent criminal, the NRA got a program passed to help people whose gun purchasing rights were revoked petition for them to be restored as part of a provision for states to share more illegal firearm information with the federal government. And the gun lobby has managed to get "Tiahrt restrictions" on the books that literally obstruct prosecution of criminals with illegal guns by restricting law enforcement officials from fully accessing and using Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) gun trace data, which can show where illegal guns come from, who buys them and how they get trafficked across state lines and into our communities. Let's stop those bad guys!

Three years ago in Connecticut, where the Sandy Hook first graders were killed this month, the gun lobby defeated a "microstamping" bill that would require new markers on guns to make them easier to trace. Gun makers routinely tell state officials if gun legislation is passed, they'll move their operations to another state, taking the jobs with them. Are they including the jobs they create in emergency rooms, operating rooms, hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and morgues?

Recently a gun extremist who doesn't want to go anywhere without his concealed companion said people who are threatened by a mass shootings "would want me there." No matter how quickly law enforcement officials arrive at shootings, gun extremist always believe they, not law enforcement officials, should be the real order keepers. Many hold law enforcement officials in as much contempt as the bad guys.

Yet none of these self proclaimed deputies stopped Jared Lee Loughner's Tucson rampage despite all of Arizona's conceal and carriers. Loughner killed six people, including a U.S. district court judge and almost killed former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz). Nor did an armed guard stop the Columbine deaths. In fact there are few and possibly no published reports of these George Zimmerman-style "deputies" saving lives or even stopping violence. Worse, with their hatred of law enforcement officials, arsenals and vehemence against gun laws, many of these "deputies" look a lot like the bad guys they warn us about.

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Authors Bio:

Martha Rosenberg is an award-winning investigative public health reporter who covers the food, drug and gun industries. Her first book, Born With A Junk Food Deficiency: How Flaks, Quacks and Hacks Pimp The Public Health, is distributed by Random House. Rosenberg has appeared on CSPAN and NPR and lectured at medical schools and at the Mid-Manhattan Public Library.