Maine and NH Legislators Pressure Gun Store to Stop Selling Rifles

Three Democrat Maine legislators are using their position to demand the biggest gun store in Maine, stop selling rifles the lawmakers disapprove of.  Kittery Trading Post has been a successful business since 1938.  From nh1.com:

The Democratic lawmakers wrote a letter to Kittery Trading Post, asking the store to restrict gun sales and to discontinue sales of what the lawmakers said are assault-style rifles. The letter was written by Deane Rykerson, Lydia Blume, and Patty Hymanson — who represent York and Kittery — alongside others from Maine and New Hampshire.

“Your store to us has been a symbol of a good business that is involved in the community and the area in which it does business,” said the lawmakers in the letter.

The legislators cite the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida, as one reason for the request, and say boycotts and protests are planned if the store does not respond to their letter.

Using legislative positions to force actions that could not be accomplished within the political system is an abuse of political power. The legislators have far more power than ordinary people. They are threaten boycotts and protests if their demands are not met. Ordinary people can boycott and protest within legal limits. Adding the power of legislators to the efforts, aimed a at singular local business, becomes an abuse of power.

Nice business you have there. Be a shame if anything was to happen to it.

This legislative bullying is all the more disturbing because it is aimed directly at the Second Amendment of the Constitution. Progressives have always disdained the Constitution. The Second Amendment draws especial vitriol because it is a direct and shining example of a limit on government power. The very essense of Progressive ideology is unlimited government power.

The exercise is bizarre because of its irrationality. Rifles are used in a tiny percentage of murders in a given year, about 3%. Semi-automatic rifles are used in a smaller percentage than that.  One of the clear purposes of the Second Amendment is to provide for the arming of local militias. It is hard to imagine a better or more appropriate militia weapon than an AR15 type rifle.

AR-15 style rifles were not used in a mass murder until 2007. That rifle was a police issued rifle. It was wielded by a member of the Sheriff’s tactical team, in Crandon, Wisconsin, in a domestic mass murder.

AR15 style rifles became more common in rampage shootings as the media emphasized their use and pushed for more infringements on the Second Amendment. The media push for more Second Amendment Infringements was, in effect, an incentive for mass murderers to use AR15 type rifles. Many mass murderers crave fame, hoping to achieve immortality through media coverage.

A study presented at the American Psychological Association projected a drop in rampage mass murder by at least one third, if the media would stop glorifying these events. From the study:

“If the mass media and social media enthusiasts make a pact to no longer share, reproduce or retweet the names, faces, detailed histories or long-winded statements of killers, we could see a dramatic reduction in mass shootings in one to two years,” she said. “Even conservatively, if the calculations of contagion modelers are correct, we should see at least a one-third reduction in shootings if the contagion is removed.”

Numerous cases illustrate this effect. One of the most famous is the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, Australia.

The legislators, by pushing for greater media coverage of mass murder, and by calling for the banning of AR15 rifles, are effectively promoting mass murder with these style rifles.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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