No, Gov. Kasich, You Need to Find Common Ground with Us

 

Here’s the “common ground” I am willing to agree on, Gov. Kasich.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

So unless you’re willing to tell me what existing laws you’re willing to loosen, relax, or eliminate altogether, all you’re trying to do, Governor, is move the ball in your direction at the expense of my constitutional rights.

Not. Happening.

Don’t expect me or my fellow gun owners to make sacrifices in our legal rights unless you’re willing to make a sacrifice yourself. We’re tired of being talked down to and lied to. We know that any solution you provide won’t solve crime because criminals have an annoying habit of disobeying the law.

That’s why they’re called “criminals.” To borrow from the late, great Col. Jeff Cooper:

“The media insist that crime is the major concern of the American public today. In this connection they generally push the point that a disarmed society would be a crime-free society. They will not accept the truth that if you take all the guns off the street you still will have a crime problem, whereas if you take the criminals off the street you cannot have a gun problem.”

Work on the motive and opportunity of how crime happens, then work on the means. Means are flexible, means are adaptable, but without motive and opportunity, even the most destructive car bomb is just a truck hauling some fertilizer.

Published in Guns
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  1. James Gawron Inactive
    James Gawron
    @JamesGawron

    Kevin,

    Kasich is the most disgusting blowhard opportunist that is still calling himself a Republican.

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #1
  2. Boss Mongo Member
    Boss Mongo
    @BossMongo

    James Gawron (View Comment):
    Kevin,

    Kasich is the most disgusting blowhard opportunist that is still calling himself a Republican.

    Regards,

    Jim

    Jim, the competition is pretty stiff, though.

    • #2
  3. Valiuth Member
    Valiuth
    @Valiuth

    James Gawron (View Comment):
    Kevin,

    Kasich is the most disgusting blowhard opportunist that is still calling himself a Republican.

    Regards,

    Jim

    I think Trump still has him beat in this department.

    • #3
  4. DocJay Inactive
    DocJay
    @DocJay

    Boss Mongo (View Comment):

    James Gawron (View Comment):
    Kevin,

    Kasich is the most disgusting blowhard opportunist that is still calling himself a Republican.

    Regards,

    Jim

    Jim, the competition is pretty stiff, though.

    Viagra has consequences.

    • #4
  5. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Ahh, Kiasich, the champion of the crowd that cannot be named.

    • #5
  6. James Gawron Inactive
    James Gawron
    @JamesGawron

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):
    Ahh, Kiasich, the champion of the crowd that cannot be named.

    Bryan,

    It can’t be named but it appears to him in the mirror every morning when he’s shaving. Sort of like an old Twilight Zone episode.

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #6
  7. Chuckles Coolidge
    Chuckles
    @Chuckles

    China also thinks we should not allow an armed populace.

    • #7
  8. James Gawron Inactive
    James Gawron
    @JamesGawron

    Chuckles (View Comment):
    China also thinks we should not allow an armed populace.

    Using the Military against civilian populations is OK too according to the Chinese.

    What could go wrong?

    Regards,

    Jim

     

    • #8
  9. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    You have to know Kasich to understand that editorial.  It was boilerplate, and it was anodyne.  The essay said nothing, and proposed nothing.  Kasich has a year left before he is term-limited out.  His likely successor (if the party doesn’t blow it) is lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor.  Ohio gubernatorial politics sit on a knife edge, though R’s will very likely retain control of the Ohio House and Senate, and Kasich is trying to not blow it for Taylor.

    All he did was call for both sides to come together to work something out, and as we all should realize, the surest way to make sure nothing actually happens is to bury it in a committee.  I wouldn’t make any of this editorial.

    • #9
  10. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):
    Ahh, Kiasich, the champion of the crowd that cannot be named.

    I don’t know anyone who is championing him.  He made his bid for Prez, and he lost – as the last man standing in the primaries with a shot at defeating Trump.  But that was over a year ago, and he’s done plenty to wrong-foot himself with the party every since.  I doubt he will be at all looking to run again in 2020.

    • #10
  11. Postmodern Hoplite Coolidge
    Postmodern Hoplite
    @PostmodernHoplite

    I’m not sure I have anything much to add to the discussion posts here, but I’ll throw this out for what it’s worth:

    Kasich states, “Every one of us, gun owners and control advocates alike, is horrified by the toll of gun violence in America.” This isn’t true. I am not horrified by the toll of gun violence. I am horrified by the rise of a dominant culture that casually accepts the nihilistic worldview that life is without meaning or truth, self-centered and self-actualized, that pervades our broader society.

    Yes, the recent spate of mass murders has been facilitated by access to firearms. And yes, perhaps the availability of semi-automatic weapons has added to the lethality afforded to otherwise poorly-trained or marginal attackers. But as events in all recent civil conflicts has shown, a suicidal killer will find the means necessary to inflict as much suffering and pain upon others around him, with or without access to firearms.

    So, no, I’m not ready to have some silly national “conversation” about firearms and the right to keep and bear arms (up to and including those necessary for equalizing the tactical disparities between government-controlled forces and the militia) until we first discuss how to fix the broader culture and restore a wider sense of civic virtue within our society.

    • #11
  12. Trinity Waters Member
    Trinity Waters
    @

    Valiuth (View Comment):

    James Gawron (View Comment):
    Kevin,

    Kasich is the most disgusting blowhard opportunist that is still calling himself a Republican.

    Regards,

    Jim

    I think Trump still has him beat in this department.

    What?  Seems that this quality might impinge on elect-ability.  Seems millions agree Trump rules Kasich, and correctly so.

    The word Republican has lost its original meaning, as did the word conservative some time ago.  So, let’s skip the labels and just talk about the individuals.  Right after I get back from buying more ammo.

    • #12
  13. Trinity Waters Member
    Trinity Waters
    @

    SkipSul (View Comment):
    You have to know Kasich to understand that editorial. It was boilerplate, and it was anodyne. The essay said nothing, and proposed nothing. Kasich has a year left before he is term-limited out. His likely successor (if the party doesn’t blow it) is lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor. Ohio gubernatorial politics sit on a knife edge, though R’s will very likely retain control of the Ohio House and Senate, and Kasich is trying to not blow it for Taylor.

    All he did was call for both sides to come together to work something out, and as we all should realize, the surest way to make sure nothing actually happens is to bury it in a committee. I wouldn’t make any of this editorial.

    Trouble is, sir, that the solution involves things like personal responsibility, Christianity, ethics and disastrous government policies.  Merely talking about guns is not only irrelevant, but brutish in its ignorance.

    • #13
  14. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    Trinity Waters (View Comment):

    SkipSul (View Comment):
    You have to know Kasich to understand that editorial. It was boilerplate, and it was anodyne. The essay said nothing, and proposed nothing. Kasich has a year left before he is term-limited out. His likely successor (if the party doesn’t blow it) is lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor. Ohio gubernatorial politics sit on a knife edge, though R’s will very likely retain control of the Ohio House and Senate, and Kasich is trying to not blow it for Taylor.

    All he did was call for both sides to come together to work something out, and as we all should realize, the surest way to make sure nothing actually happens is to bury it in a committee. I wouldn’t make any of this editorial.

    Trouble is, sir, that the solution involves things like personal responsibility, Christianity, ethics and disastrous government policies. Merely talking about guns is not only irrelevant, but brutish in its ignorance.

    Not disagreeing, just saying that, in his job as a lame duck governor who wants to keep his party in power through next year’s election, he’s not going to rock any boats.

    As governor, Kasich signed a number of bills that eased up Ohio’s restrictions on CCW, removed some frankly stupid laws on transportation of firearms, and on magazine capacities, and has generally been (admittedly grudgingly) gun-friendly.

    And all politics is local politics, and this was a local-politics type piece.

    • #14
  15. Trinity Waters Member
    Trinity Waters
    @

    SkipSul (View Comment):

    Trinity Waters (View Comment):

    SkipSul (View Comment):
    You have to know Kasich to understand that editorial. It was boilerplate, and it was anodyne. The essay said nothing, and proposed nothing. Kasich has a year left before he is term-limited out. His likely successor (if the party doesn’t blow it) is lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor. Ohio gubernatorial politics sit on a knife edge, though R’s will very likely retain control of the Ohio House and Senate, and Kasich is trying to not blow it for Taylor.

    All he did was call for both sides to come together to work something out, and as we all should realize, the surest way to make sure nothing actually happens is to bury it in a committee. I wouldn’t make any of this editorial.

    Trouble is, sir, that the solution involves things like personal responsibility, Christianity, ethics and disastrous government policies. Merely talking about guns is not only irrelevant, but brutish in its ignorance.

    Not disagreeing, just saying that, in his job as a lame duck governor who wants to keep his party in power through next year’s election, he’s not going to rock any boats.

    As governor, Kasich signed a number of bills that eased up Ohio’s restrictions on CCW, removed some frankly stupid laws on transportation of firearms, and on magazine capacities, and has generally been (admittedly grudgingly) gun-friendly.

    And all politics is local politics, and this was a local-politics type piece.

    Understand.  Thanks.  Our first two amendments make me edgy…

    • #15
  16. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    SkipSul (View Comment):

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):
    Ahh, Kiasich, the champion of the crowd that cannot be named.

    I don’t know anyone who is championing him. He made his bid for Prez, and he lost – as the last man standing in the primaries with a shot at defeating Trump. But that was over a year ago, and he’s done plenty to wrong-foot himself with the party every since. I doubt he will be at all looking to run again in 2020.

    He was presented as more conservative than Trump. There is no way, as President he would had done as much conservative as Trump.

    • #16
  17. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    SkipSul (View Comment):

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):
    Ahh, Kiasich, the champion of the crowd that cannot be named.

    I don’t know anyone who is championing him. He made his bid for Prez, and he lost – as the last man standing in the primaries with a shot at defeating Trump. But that was over a year ago, and he’s done plenty to wrong-foot himself with the party every since. I doubt he will be at all looking to run again in 2020.

    He was presented as more conservative than Trump. There is no way, as President he would had done as much conservative as Trump.

    No argument here.  His end-run around the state-legislature on the Medicaid / Obamacare crud was shameful.

    I did vote for him in the primary as a way to stop Trump, as I thought Kasich, being a closer to the political center, had (at that time) a better shot at defeating Hillary by attracting centrist Dems (and defeating Hillary was always goal number 1 for me).  But would he have been as conservative as Trump has been up to this point?  Maybe?  Hard to say, but I’m guessing he would have been more like a very curmudgeonly Bush.

    • #17
  18. Boss Mongo Member
    Boss Mongo
    @BossMongo

    Postmodern Hoplite (View Comment):
    So, no, I’m not ready to have some silly national “conversation” about firearms and the right to keep and bear arms (up to and including those necessary for equalizing the tactical disparities between government-controlled forces and the militia) until we first discuss how to fix the broader culture and restore a wider sense of civic virtue within our society.

    Concur.  Wholeheartedly. 

    • #18
  19. OmegaPaladin Moderator
    OmegaPaladin
    @OmegaPaladin

    If you take away my right of self-defense, I expect 24-7-365 armed protection.   If I cannot protect myself, you had best find a way to protect me, because you just took on the duty of care toward me.

    That’s why I do not mind being disarmed on entry to a courthouse or nuclear power plant or as a hospital patient.  Those are secure areas with controlled access.

    So Gov. Kasich, we can talk about gun control.  (I think the ban on full-auto weapons is fine, possibly a restriction on where you can shoot the really big calibers – .50 cal is pretty insane for the urban environment but fine in the country)  But if you tell me I cannot have a weapon to defend myself, we need to talk bodyguards.  I hear there are some mighty beautiful ladies who have recently left IDF service…

    • #19
  20. Eeyore Member
    Eeyore
    @Eeyore

    Hard to trust a guy who insists the primary means for self-defense remains manual.

    • #20
  21. Boss Mongo Member
    Boss Mongo
    @BossMongo

    Eeyore (View Comment):
    Hard to trust a guy who insists the primary means for self-defense remains manual.

    Waaa-KA-CHAA!!

    • #21
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