The military training exercise in the Southwest is a smokescreen for gun confiscation!

April, 2015.


Recently, the U.S. military has been planning to perform a training exercise in the Southwest throughout this coming summer.  We should be thankful that they practice, after all.  And isn't a strong military, particularly along our border with Mexico, what the conservatives want?

But the minds of pro-gun activists are ever filled with paranoid, anti-government thought.

Naturally, they see the exercise as some sort of government "invasion" (of our own land, duh) and a "prelude to martial law."  Extrapolating from that already wild thought, they then try to find a reason for the supposed invasion, naturally jumping on the half-wit theory that it is to confiscate their guns! 

One military officer, Lt. Col. Mark Lastoria, sought to calm the extremists.  From an article:

Lastoria answered questions for two hours from a crowd of more than 150 people at a special meeting of the Bastrop County Commissioners Court, hoping to allay locals’ concerns that the training operation is a way for the federal government to take over Texas and much of the Southwest.

Instead, Lastoria was told that he couldn’t be trusted and was asked whether Jade Helm 15 will involve bringing foreign fighters from the Islamic State to Texas, whether U.S. troops will confiscate Texans’ guns and whether the Army intends to implement martial law through the exercise. The answer for all three was no.

“It’s the same thing that happened in Nazi Germany: You get the people used to the troops on the street, the appearance of uniformed troops and the militarization of the police,” said Bob Wells, a Bastrop resident, after the meeting. “They’re gathering intelligence. That’s what they’re doing. And they’re moving logistics in place for martial law. That’s my feeling. Now, I could be wrong. I hope I am wrong. I hope I’m a ‘conspiracy theorist.’”

Lastoria answered questions for two hours from a crowd of more than 150 people at a special meeting of the Bastrop County Commissioners Court, hoping to allay locals’ concerns that the training operation is a way for the federal government to take over Texas and much of the Southwest.
Instead, Lastoria was told that he couldn’t be trusted and was asked whether Jade Helm 15 will involve bringing foreign fighters from the Islamic State to Texas, whether U.S. troops will confiscate Texans’ guns and whether the Army intends to implement martial law through the exercise. The answer for all three was no.
“It’s the same thing that happened in Nazi Germany: You get the people used to the troops on the street, the appearance of uniformed troops and the militarization of the police,” said Bob Wells, a Bastrop resident, after the meeting. “They’re gathering intelligence. That’s what they’re doing. And they’re moving logistics in place for martial law. That’s my feeling. Now, I could be wrong. I hope I am wrong. I hope I’m a ‘conspiracy theorist.’”
- See more at: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/meeting-does-little-to-sway-critics-of-army-traini/nk4h4/?icmp=statesman_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_statesmanstubtomystatesmanpremium#23b53c28.3342480.735716

Yes, sir, you are a conspiracy theorist.  Go put on your tin hat and clean your gunzzz.....

In response, some far-right politicians reacted by pandering to these idiots (as one sane politician put it), such as by the Governor of Texas sending national guard to the region to "monitor" the drills.

Just another wacko pro-gun conspiracy theory!

The government is going to use drones to spy on gun owners!

April, 2014.

Pro-gun activist types are always paranoid about the government (or any authority, really) and about being "spied on."

Now, one extremist site, Off Grid Survival (which, of course, is in the business of selling things to survivalist types) insists that the government, specifically the ATF, is trying to buy up drones to "spy" on gun owners.

They base this fevered assertion on a single promotional video put out by a manufacturer of drones, called Shadowhawk, which simulates a law enforcement usage of a drone to monitor an illegal gun sale.  Extrapolating from this to a ridiculous degree, the web site somehow makes the leap in logic that this video is evidence that the government is doing this.

Even more fantastic, this same survivalist site then goes yet another step further.  They cite a statement from the attorney general, where he states that the ATF has considered using drones but that only the FBI has done so already.  Naturally this means the ATF has already done so, right? 

Of course, there is no actual evidence of any of this, but we wouldn't want facts to color their judgement...

Just another wacko pro-gun conspiracy theory!

President Obama is conspiring to ban ALL ammo!

May, 2015

The latest hate thrown down on, of course, President Obama (as usual), by the brain-addled leaders of the NRA is (drum roll please) the banning of ALL ammo for everyone in the U.S.

Not satisfied with the usual paranoid line that all guns are going to be banned, this month the NRA has projected that delusion to ammunition.

Previously, pro-gun conspiracy theorists had claimed that Obama was going to buy up all the ammunition to keep it out of civilian hands, and that this government buy up of ammo was going to be joined by martial law (and take your guns away, too!).

Now, according to the nut jobs at the nation's biggest gun lobby, they don't just want to buy it up, but ban it altogether.

According to an article at MediaMatters,the argument is based on the movement to ban lead from our environment, mostly due to hunter's bullets, which have been responsible for a dangerous increase in lead intake by scavengers such as the endangered California Condor.

In the May issue of the NRA's magazine, America's 1st Freedom, LaPierre wrote, "President Barack Obama is setting the table to ban your ammunition -- all of it," and claimed that "the remaining two years of Obama's term pose the greatest threat ever to the Second Amendment and our freedom."

LaPierre imagined a ludicrous scheme where "two fatal turns of events" would lead the EPA to ban all lead ammunition and, subsequently, the Obama administration to ban all non-lead ammunition. According to LaPierre, "The president's bureaucrats at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are partnering with private enviro-radicals to ban lead projectiles -- including all hunting bullets -- as hazardous."

Despite the fact that the EPA has given no indication that it is preparing regulations on lead ammunition, LaPierre insisted that the agency is still seeking a ban.

Of course, there's no shortage of non-lead bullets to go around.

And the argument is also due to a failed attempt at stronger regulation of AR-15 bullets that can (and do) pierce the protective vests of law enforcement:

The ATF announced its intent to try and ban a particular type of AR-15 ammunition known as M855, or "green tip," in February. Citing concerns for the safety of law enforcement officers, the ATF said the move was necessary because the round contains a steel penetrator, which makes it more powerful than other types of ammunition used in the AR-15.

If Obama "can set a precedent by banning AR-15 ammunition," LaPierre wrote, "he is well on his way to banning any and all of the ammo his anti-freedom heart desires."

But the proposed ban was withdrawn.

But, hey, it's easier to whip up a frenzy in the pro-gun, paranoid minds of NRA followers if you exaggerate and irrationally extrapolate these minor examples into an all-out ban, right?  That's the only way the NRA can get memberships.


Just another wacko pro-gun conspiracy theory!