|
Gun manufacturers face a problem: Success. Their American market is glutted. We own more guns per person than any society in the world—except maybe Iraq—more handguns than any modern, western society.
Consider that in America annual homicides by gun are consistently over 11,000. This is about twice the annual killing of Americans during the Vietnam war.
Consider how the glut of handguns has raised the problems for the gun industry, and along with that a growing awareness of Americans to the dangers handguns present. Having a handgun in the home according to many studies brings disaster (homicide, suicide, accidents) by factors of four to eleven or more over self defense. If a drug had side effects that grave, it would be whipped off the market.
Sources: http://www.ichv.org/statistics.htm; http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/1018791175.html; see also A.L. Kellerman, R.K. Lee, J.A. Mercy, and J. Banton, “The epidemiologic basis for the prevention of firearm injuries,” Annual Review of Public Health 12:1740, 1991
Gun marketing must anticipate that these extreme numbers will backfire one day. Or, so one might hope.
Here in the city we see drug deals but would we add untrained gun slingers to that scene? Rural folks may be a stable market for guns, but the handgun trade needs city buyers to grow.
So in spite of these trends, how do gun manufacturers figure to sell more guns? Or at least to prevent a downturn in sales?
The government to the rescue! Go to Madison for help.
This new market? It is close at hand. For the next buyer look no further than the author and most readers of this essay—folks who say they don’t need a gun, or the rest of us, who swear we will never buy a gun.
Would the makers try to sell Sell a gun? Get real.
Why would I or anyone buy a gun tomorrow when today I swear “Never!”? Well, if National Rifle Association fear mongering can market Wisconsin, minds may change.
The NRA Plan
For starters, Wisconsin has already opened its borders to the NRA marketing strategy. Our state is on Step 2—the blitz is on. The gun industry literature promotes concealed carry as an opportunity for sales, and we are blithely down that path.
Senate Bill 403 is one part of the NRA plan, a camouflaged move, but clear upon a close reading of Senate Bill 403. Argue with me if you will, but please read the bill first. SB-403
Laying the groundwork for the NRA Plan was Madison’s decision under Governor Thompson to void local gun ordinances in the 90s, centralizing gun controls in Madison.
Then in 1998 the “bearing arms” Amendment to the Wisconsin Constitutional was ratified:
“The people have the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or any other lawful purpose.” (Article I, Section 25)
In 2003 the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hamdan, using that Amendment to overturn the conviction of a business owner for having a concealed gun in his store. But there is more to Hamdan than the ruling itself, which I explore in Part 3 of this essay.
In Hamdan, the Supreme Court suggested something to the legislature, and it is at the heart of today’s debate. I quote:
“We urge the legislature to thoughtfully examine Wis.Stat.§941.23 [the statute forbidding the carrying of concealed weapons] in the wake of the amendment [quoted above] and to consider the possibility of a licensing or permit system for persons who have a good reason to carry a concealed weapon. We happily concede that the legislature is better able than this court to determine public policy on firearms and other weapons.”
Let me be clear where Wisconsin is today:
- The Constitutional Amendment could be argued to be a broad license for individuals to go armed anywhere in the state; it is the legislature’s duty to define the words “lawful purpose.” If they do not, the courts probably will.
- Early 2005. The NRA helped write SB 403. This is the puppy favored by legislators today. Both Assembly and Senate have approved their own versions of this bill and it will be finalized and sent to the Governor, who will veto it. The veto could be overridden.
- The Supreme Court did not write SB 403; the NRA did. The bill is a radical departure from current Wisconsin law, as I have pointed out in Part 1 of this essay.
- The Supreme Court did not suggest removing most rules against guns in public places; the NRA wants that to open new markets for their sponsors.
- The Supreme Court did not ask for secret licensing; the NRA wants that to immunize its members from criticism if they apply for a license.
- Inaction by the loyal opposition in Madison is a serious miscalculation; they seem to have abandoned citizens who advocate for gun safety.
The NRA Plan and clever promotion of SB 403 will of course include claims of gun safety, and the familiar security-by-cowboy myths will be trotted out for yet another public airing—guns need to be in the hands of “good” guys who are willing to play Lone Ranger for clueless but innocent citizens. The claims will be short on statistics, but long on anecdotes (“If only I had a gun when…”). Politicians love these quaint unverifiable stories out of Texas.
But hiding the truth of SB 403 with perfumes of distraction is oh so easy; and the proponents have surely come up clever with distractions, some are good sound bites, easy to insert into the news.
Camouflaging SB 403
I suggest four perfumes camouflage the NRA Plan. The media has been snapping them up because they make bumper-sticker headlines, trigger polls, and give us popularity moments in history.
First Layer of Camouflage. The advocates want you to believe that their bill is an attempt to embarrass Wisconsin Governor James Doyle, who will veto the bill. “Puh-lease believe,” they beg, “that the governor is ‘playing politics’ here, wasting citizens’ precious time, ignoring the Supreme Court, and this bill is just ordinary drama on stage in Madison.” Claims of “drama,” however, are phony. The Governor will veto the bill, but the suggestions of “drama” play better in the press than the ugly details of this radical legislation.
“Democracy Secrets” is an oxymoron and SB 403 has plenty of them—secret licenses, hidden guns, unknown armed posses poised to perfect democracy. These secrets will move like a vampire in our media night, unreported, and will suck the blood of citizen participation from democracy. The secrecy provisions of SB 403 are probably more dangerous than the bullets it will trigger. But this bill will be sold to us because the media has not taken the time to read it. Those who bump into Vampire Number 403 will be reassured by his ever faithful companions, Senator Plale and 13 other Senators, that no harm will come to you with this teeny weeny exception to your democratic vascular system. A small prick on the neck.
The Fact: The governor is, to the NRA, irrelevant. If he vetoes the bill, he riles the membership of the NRA, which suits the NRA just fine. Members are inspired to sign up or renew when they see politicians attacking their “gun rights.”
Second Camouflage: The proposed law is named “Personal Protection Act” as if it were no more dangerous than just another deodorant. Proponents claim that SB 403 protects fundamental rights to guns. Rubbish. Those rights are quite secure these days, with a pro-gun U.S. Supreme Court; a Wisconsin Constitutional Amendment joined with the favorable Hamdan ruling in Wisconsin; and an activist (See Part 3) Wisconsin Supreme Court.
The Truth: What this legislation is about is overturning a century-old Wisconsin law that prohibits concealing and carrying a gun. This radical legislation is a severe escalation of gun owner “rights” and the NRA has been effective in paralyzing and walking over their puppets in the Legislature. The words “gun rights” bring some gun owners to the polls stuffed with righteousness like dead turkeys, but this crowd is soft on bullets flying through bedroom walls. And when that baby bites the big one, they pontificate: “We are all sorry about this ‘accident’ but remember: Guns are good. Short loud sounds scare bad guys.”
In fact, SB 403 establishes a new set of rights to hide a gun and intrude themselves upon the rest of us.
Third Camouflage. There will be background checks to screen licensees.
The Truth. The much touted “background check” screens out some bad hombres, but citizens who have not yet run afoul of the law must be licensed if they pay the fee and sit through the “training.” This list of eligible applicants includes folks taking or selling drugs, men who are stalking women and have not yet been restrained by the court. Background checks do not include examining the records from other states, nor asking the neighbors obvious questions about the applicant’s hostilities.
Fourth Camouflage. We need this bill because the Supreme Court asked the legislature to do it.
The Truth. This bill was composed, written and directed by the NRA. The Supreme Court suggested the Legislature clarify standing law, but it did not order SB 403.
What you won’t hear during this debate are any laments about “activist judges” as if by magic they have now all gone away. But if a judge dared to rule, in the meantime, that the Constitutional Amendment does not allow you to carry a gun to that Devil May Care concert, I predict a cry to the high heavens about judges “who don’t know their place” in our government. While ready to assault the judiciary, the proponents also run to hide like frightened toddlers in its robes.
Posting And Verbal Notification in SB 403
If you do not want guns on your premises, you must post a sign to that effect, and you must personally and orally notify everyone who enters.
There is good reason for the NRA to unload this responsibility on bystander citizens.
SB 403 takes the responsibility of posting and notification off of the NRA membership. Posting and notification become the burden of those who do not subscribe to the Safety-By-Gun Myth of the National Rifle Association. You will now be forced to discuss (perhaps debate and argue) about guns in places where you once felt you had a claim on privacy, sanity, and civility. Your right to challenge a concealed gun may ensue if your legal title as owner or occupant were challenged.
The law makes talking about guns and carrying a gun “normal.”
If you don’t carry a concealed gun, you will carry the burden of enforcement of all strangers’ “rights” to a gun. The law will nudge us skeptics into gun discussions in every meeting, public place, church service, polling place and convention (welcome to Milwaukee). There will be only nine public locations where SB 403 gives you freedom from someone’s concealed gun:
- police, sheriff, or state patrol offices,
- prisons or jails,
- taverns or restaurants with 50%+ revenues from liquor,
- kindergartens and schools,
- airport secure areas,
- hospitals,
- youth sport events,
- day care centers,
- state buildings that provide electronic screening and storage for weapons.
Your Own Home?
Perhaps Senator Plale didn’t perceive this puppy peeing in your parlor, or was hoping you wouldn’t notice the smell. You will be required to notify visitors “[p]ersonally and orally “ not to have a gun when they arrive at your home. You will lose your rights to a gun-free home unless you assert it.
Property
To keep guns off your non residential property you must both post a sign and notify “[p]ersonally and orally “ all who come onto your property of your wishes.
And about those signs you now post on your land—”Guns Prohibited”? Those signs will now bear the name of the owner or occupant. So if you want guns off limits on your property you must put your own personal name out there in public saying so, while those who “benefit” from the law are a state secret, protected by the Department of Justice.
As a marketing tool The NRA Plan extends into the marrow of our bones, the private places of our lives, and for those who practice nonviolence, it is disturbingly close to collaborating in the fostering of a state religion, salvation by weapon, distrust of others, assumptions of fear, sacraments of hate, faith that people are evil and not redeemable.
Signs on the building warning away carriers are not enough. You must participate actively and verbally, too. You must personally and orally address anyone and everyone who enters your polling place, mall, park, home, bingo parlor, whore house or strip joint, medical clinic, funeral home, pharmacy, race track, fast food stores with or without playgrounds, box office, convenience store, gas station, book store, tennis court, bus, train, cab, parks with playgrounds, bus stops and rail stations, cinemas and theaters, concert stages and carnival rides, highways and highway rest stops. Guns will be everywhere, but you won’t know until it is fired.
Church
I am astonished that our State will now intrude on religious liturgy. The pastor must post a sign, and personally and individually warn each person who enters the church of the prohibition. The law does not provide for the pastor to delegate this task.
NRA Marketing Plan Unwrapped
What a marketing coup this bill will be! Guns promoted by the conversation of the very folks whose disagree with the agenda. Folks who believe the statistics. Folks who know that guns are more dangerous than helpful. The marketers’ wet dream: a law that gets your resistant, target market population talking about your product, accustomed to and engulfed by the idea of prevalent guns—why, you’d feel the sucker to resist.
There you have it, SB 403, state-sponsored marketing of handguns—marketing that feeds on the ratcheting of our fears. Maintaining anxiety about crime rates, which are dropping, requires co-opting large segments of society, from politicians to TV “news” to sell fear, and to discuss guns. Cheap marketing in their view because the cost is not borne by the NRA.
And we won’t know because SB 403 forbids study of itself and its results. See Part 1.
Democracy as I learned it, is a practical form of government; what does not work gets thrown out and a new experiment introduced. SB 403 keeps the results of its experiment from being evaluated.
SB 403 is cheap for the NRA’s plan because the NRA does not pay to implement its Plan; we do. SB 403 is expensive because democracy itself pays the price by hiding the evidence of the law’s results.
SB 403 is designed to sell guns today as televisions were sold in the 1950s—on Wednesdays everyone at work chortled about comedian Milton Berle. But when he wasn’t funny only his jokes died.
Contact Senator Jeffrey Plale at
Plale mailbox
to express your opinion about his support of this bill.
-Room 108 South
-State Capitol
-P.O. Box 7882
-Madison 53707–7882
-(414) 764–5292
-(608) 266–7505
Contact Sell at
mailbox
See Sell’s archives for previous efforts.
| 
