Media, Democrats out of touch on gun rights

Glenn Harlan Reynolds:

Ever since the Sandy Hook shootings, we've been hearing that now, at last, it's time for the National Rifle Association to drop its "extremist" views and accept the sort of gun control that Democrats — and their allies in the press — were pushing long before Sandy Hook. When NRA Executive Vice President Wayne La Pierre proposed armed guards in schools, it was portrayed as evidence of how out-of-touch the organization was. Democratic pundits called on Obama to crush the NRA while it was on the ropes — when they weren't calling for its members and officers to be killed.

But then a funny thing happened. After the NRA school-guard strategy was roundly denounced as outright crazy by the pundits, — the editors of the New York Times called it "delusional, almost deranged" — President Obama came out with ... a proposal for armed guards in schools. It is no small feat for an out-of-touch, on-the-ropes organization to get the president to basically endorse its signature policy proposal at a time of national debate.

But, then again, it turned out that 55% of Americans supported the NRA proposal. Turns out, it was the people calling it crazy — like the editors of the New York Times— who were out of the mainstream.

Meanwhile, pundits denounced gun-rights activists who said that the right to bear arms is in part a protection against government tyranny. Only a crazed militia type could possibly believe that, right? Except that — go figure — 65% of Americans see gun rights as a protection against tyranny. And only 17% say they disagree. Once again, it's the critics who appear to be out of the mainstream.

And by out of the mainstream, I mean really out of the mainstream. According to a post-Sandy Hook Gallup poll, the NRA,with a 54% favorable rating, is actually more popular than President Obama. By contrast, Obama's most recent approval rating from Gallup was 48%. This is particularly striking given that the NRA has faced unrelentingly hostile treatment from most press and pundits, while President Obama has received treatment that is, to put it mildly, far more generous.

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I think the left has lost this fight and Obama will be in serious trouble if he tries to impose his will by executive fiat.  The left's biggest mistake was trying to dust off some of their old anti gun wish lists while failing to propose anything that would have had an effect on the situation at Sandy Hook.  Meanwhile, their attacks have added 250,000 new members to the NRA and gun dealers are trying to restock their inventory.  I think when they are back in stock I will be looking at an AR-15 .  It looks like a good weapon for dealling parasitic pest like coyotes..