{"id":87078,"date":"2022-10-28T13:05:51","date_gmt":"2022-10-28T18:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=87078"},"modified":"2022-10-28T13:20:23","modified_gmt":"2022-10-28T18:20:23","slug":"87078","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=87078","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

THE AYOOB FILE<\/a>
\nREADERS KNOW MASSAD AYOOB AS A WRITER, BUT HE\u2019S ALSO A LEADER<\/p>\n

American Handgunner<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0GUNS Magazine<\/em>\u00a0readers have known Massad Ayoob over the years for his insight and careful analysis of self-defense incidents, and for his several books on the subject, but there\u2019s another side of this multi-talented fellow with the deep voice and New England accent.<\/p>\n

He also serves as president of the Second Amendment Foundation, a gun rights organization that has become the national leader in firearms litigation. It\u2019s also where I hang my hat as editor and communications director. It was a SAF case \u2014\u00a0McDonald v. City of Chicago<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 which won a Supreme Court ruling that incorporated the Second Amendment to the states via the 14th Amendment. It is SAF, sometimes with national and\/or local partner organizations, which now has nearly 40 active lawsuits challenging restrictive gun control laws across the states.<\/p>\n

And it is SAF, along with the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, which annually sponsors the Gun Rights Policy Conference. This year, the event was in Dallas, Texas, and it was Ayoob \u2014 a pal of mine for decades \u2014 who delivered opening remarks and later on the agenda, some timely and important tips on how to win the \u201cgun battle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suffice to say, Ayoob did it with a style all his own; a bit of activist, some diplomat, a dash of cop humor and a heavy dose of reality.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In his opening remarks, Ayoob detailed how \u201cthe other side has tried to demonize all of us as a bunch of white supremacists.\u201d But, as he noted, a look around the conference ballroom proved how demonstrably false such an allegation happens to be. There were men, women, people of all races, creeds, colors and gender.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed,\u201d he observed, \u201cour entire movement crosses every line of the socio-economic barrier; the rich, the poor and the in-between.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the first time I went to the Bianchi cup shooting match,\u201d Ayoob recalled, \u201cthe so-called Wimbledon of pistol shooting. I noticed not only did the multi-millionaire who flew there to shoot in his Lear jet shoot on the same relay as the young man who worked in the auto body shop, after which they went to lunch together. Our values cross all those lines. We\u2019re here together in a common cause and a righteous cause.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople try to make us look like we\u2019re outsiders,\u201d he observed. \u201cThere is no more inclusive culture in the United States \u2026 than gun owners.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

When Ayoob talks, people listen, as they did at the Gun Rights Conference.<\/span>
\nHe said the battle over Second Amendment rights is \u201cabsolutely about human rights.\u201d<\/span>
\n(Dave Workman photo)<\/span><\/p>\n

As he explained to the audience, both in person and via\u00a0live stream video<\/a>, \u201cI do not believe in gun rights \u2026 all of us are here today about CIVIL rights; the civil rights of gun owners.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it is absolutely about human rights,\u201d Ayoob continued.\u00a0\u201cLord William Blackstone, the great commentator on the common law, said that self-defense was the highest of all human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

He recalled how the current Second Amendment movement began back in the mid-1970s. It was a time when there were seven states with no provision for the law-abiding citizen to carry a loaded gun in public.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, there are none,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery single state has such a provision. Back then, the states that did have a provision were predominantly \u2018may issue,\u2019 which in all together too many places became a code word for \u2018We\u2019ll give you the permit if you\u2019re white, male, rich and politically connected.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But the movement made progress, Ayoob said. The \u201cmay issue\u201d states became the minority, and then came the ruling earlier this year which turned the world upside down for the gun prohibition movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn June of this year, with the Bruen decision, the United States Supreme Court put a stake in the heart of that elitist system,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

Countering Critics<\/span><\/p>\n

Later in the program, Ayoob was back at the microphone, telling activists what to do and not to do in the great debate about Second Amendment rights.<\/p>\n

He explained the 10-80-10 principle.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn any polarized debate,\u201d he said, \u201cthere are going to be 10 people who are hardcore with you, 10 people who are hardcore opponents and will never change their mind, and 80 percent in the middle who may be inclined to lean one way or the other (but) still have their minds open and are willing to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

His advice to anyone speaking before a town or city council, or legislative committees is to \u201ckeep it short, keep it sharp, keep it memorable; above all have it logical (and) always press that common-sense button.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven more important than that,\u201d he added, \u201cnever exaggerate. Make sure everything you give them is true and verifiable.\u00a0How much credibility has the other side lost with their exaggerations?\u00a0We must avoid falling into that trap.\u201d<\/p>\n

If someone questions you about why you own and even carry a gun, the best explanation is to compare it to a fire extinguisher. It\u2019s is an emergency lifesaving rescue tool.<\/p>\n

Following the Uvalde outrage, Ayoob was contacted by the BBC (the British seem fascinated by the American \u201cgun culture\u201d but not in a friendly way) for comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was asked, \u2018in the year 2022, how can the Second Amendment possibly be relevant in America?\u2019 I was able to get it with three words: \u2018Ask a Ukranian,\u2019\u201d he told the announcer.<\/p>\n

He reminded the audience of news footage of Ukranian officials handing out genuine \u201cassault rifles\u201d to civilians as Russian invaders moved into their country. Those images are etched into the memory of every grassroots gun activist in the country.<\/p>\n

Ayoob also touched on suicide prevention efforts in the gun community, and he said there are still people who insist the Second Amendment applies only to the states\u2019 rights to form a National Guard. They simply will not accept the right to keep and bear arms is an individual right, included in the Constitution by men who had just fought a revolution, and the sound of gunfire was still \u201cfresh in their minds.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Smirk<\/span><\/p>\n

Ayoob proved to the audience he also has a razor sharp sense of humor, and it shined when he mentioned one of the left\u2019s oldest and silliest arguments against gun ownership.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many times have we heard, \u2018They just buy those guns to compensate for sexual insecurity?,\u201d he inquired. \u201cThe gun is a phallic symbol.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking specifically to the men in the audience, he offered the ultimate put-down response.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf guns were phallic symbols, would any of you ever have bought one with a two-inch barrel?\u201d The remark brought one of the biggest laughs of the conference.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

In other news,\u00a0The Guardian<\/a>\u00a0recently reported homicides and suicides are at their highest rate in three decades, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n

Last year, the report noted, firearms were involved in a combined total of 47,286 homicides and suicides, after 2020 produced 43,675 such fatalities. This was a subject upon which Ayoob also touched, calling it disingenuous for anti-gunners to combine those totals.<\/p>\n

When anti-gunners conflate suicides with crimes, Ayoob said \u201cthey are twisting the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

New York Attorney General Letitia James quickly vowed to defend the Empire State\u2019s new gun control \/ concealed carry law just days after U.S. District Court Judge Glenn Suddaby declared many tenets of the law unconstitutional. James and other New York anti-gunners are furious with the judge\u2019s ruling, and have promised to fight to the bitter end.<\/p>\n

The new law, according to the\u00a0Spectrum Local News<\/a>, \u201cis facing multiple legal challenges, including one from upstate churches who are contesting the ban on guns in houses of worship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Democrat lawmakers in Albany scrambled to pass a new concealed carry law after the U.S. Supreme Court scrapped the old \u201cgood cause\u201d statute as unconstitutional in a 6-3 decision authored by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas.<\/p>\n

\u2018Shoot \u2018Em\u2019 Says the Sheriff<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get on the wrong side of a Polk County, Fla., resident by looting their home in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, because Sheriff Grady Judd recently offered\u00a0some advice<\/a>\u00a0to his neighbors: \u201cYou take your gun and you shoot him, you shoot him so that he looks like grated cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n

The career lawman was interviewed by Fox News\u2019 morning program \u201cFox & Friends,\u201d and he pulled no punches.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s total devastation,\u201d Judd said, \u201cand people have a right to be safe in their homes. They have a right for their property to be safe even when part of their home may be torn away. And these looters, that\u2019s unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

He justified plugging a looter by observing, \u201cBecause you know what? That\u2019s one looter that won\u2019t break into anyone else\u2019s home and take advantage of them when they\u2019re the most vulnerable and the most weak.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t say you haven\u2019t been warned!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE AYOOB FILE READERS KNOW MASSAD AYOOB AS A WRITER, BUT HE\u2019S ALSO A LEADER American Handgunner\u00a0and\u00a0GUNS Magazine\u00a0readers have known Massad Ayoob over the years for his insight and careful analysis of self-defense incidents, and for his several books on the subject, but there\u2019s another side of this multi-talented fellow with the deep voice and … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,24,8,29,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gun-schtuff","category-rights","category-rkba","category-safety","category-self-defense"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=87078"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87083,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87078\/revisions\/87083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=87078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=87078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=87078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}