More on MTV (Thursday) "True Life" On Gun Owners

[Master Blaster]

Well I watched it they did not include any target shooters, or skeet shooters of any type,which should have been a 5th group in the show, showing the gang bangers for such a large portion of the show perhaps spoke to the Urban demographic of the shows viewers, and their familiarity with hip hop culture.

It was pretty fair overall considering the source, I didn't hear any gun banner cliches in the show at all, well except from the paralyzed , social worker in Ca, so that was good. It was certainly much more fairly presented than the last Gun story, I heard on Fox News which concerned the .50 cal. and mentioned you could blow up a chemical plant or shoot down an airplane with one, nobody needs one to hunt BLAH Blah.

The Girl with the CCW, did scare me a bit by putting that Glock 19?? in her purse with all the junk to roll around, Good chance for a negligent discharge, if something like say a lipstick got caught in the trigger guard, or if grabbing for it in an emergency. GET a special purse or a holster dear.

As far as the machine gun charge for Lucky goes, he was caught in New Jersey, and IIRC they have a state law which considers some semi autos to be the same as a machine gun if they are named in the statute, and have more than a 15 round magazine. Maybe someone from Jersey can enlighten us.

 

[MuzzleBlast]

My reply to MTV

This is what I wrote to MTV:

Dear Sir or Madam:

I would like to comment on an episode of the series “True Life” entitled “I Am A Gun Owner.”

First, I must comment on some aspects of this documentary that I found highly offensive. The producers seem to put legitimate gun owners and criminal gang members on the same level. I assure you, there is quite a difference. While it is technically true that an armed felon is a gun owner, the fact remains that they own, carry and use their guns in violation of law, and use their guns to harm others. There is simply no way you can logically and rationally say that a young woman who has gone through all the legal hurdles to arm herself against being attacked again is on the same level with murdering thugs. If there is any similarity between the two in your mind, then you have a seriously distorted view of reality. Also, there is a strong undercurrent of racism in this documentary. All of the black and Latino subjects of this film were in knowing and willing violation of numerous gun control laws on the local, state and federal levels. Your portrayal of all minority gun owners as being violent criminals is highly objectionable.

Having said all that, I am willing to give credit where it is due. I am assuming the producers of this film are young, urban, blue-state dwellers. It is extremely difficult and rare for persons of this demographic to approach the issue of firearms with anything close to an open mind. They are operating from an environment of deep-seated cultural bigotry, and as such, there is generally a tendency to show legal gun owners in the most unflattering light possible; as being stupid and possibly deranged and dangerous hicks. The two people in this film who were legally exercising their rights were not shown in this light. They were simply shown as what they were: quite normal people with quite legitimate reasons for being armed.

The last point I would like to make is that there was a large part of the gun issue which was missed by the producers of this episode: Fun. All of the uses of guns portrayed involved crime, fear and death. There are a great many gun owners who do not hunt, and have not armed themselves out of fear, they simply enjoy owning, shooting, collecting and discussing guns, and being in the company of like-minded people. Perhaps the producers would have found a shooting match to be illuminating. For a match that would be TV-friendly, somewhat more politically correct and provide an opportunity to poke fun at the participants, I would suggest a “Cowboy” match, put on by the Single Action Shooting Society. These are matches in which grown men and women dress up like characters from John Wayne movies, take on pseudonyms like “Black Bart” and “Pecos Bill,” and shoot at targets using guns designed in the 1800’s.

Thank you for taking the time to read my comments.

 

[Trip20]

...Wisconsin and Virginia (relatively free states regarding gun control).

Can't CCW in Wisconsin. To me, that's about as "gun control" as it gets.

 

[ambush]

As far as the machine gun charge for Lucky goes, he was caught in New Jersey, and IIRC they have a state law which considers some semi autos to be the same as a machine gun if they are named in the statute, and have more than a 15 round magazine. Maybe someone from Jersey can enlighten us.

No NJ state statutes that I know of (and I know all) consider a semi as a full auto. Remember the "assault weapons ban"???? We still have it here in NJ. You can't even own a magazine that holds more than 15 rounds, even if you have no gun for it Any semi-auto with a detachable mag that holds more than 15 is considered an assault weapon in NJ....now illegal. Granfathered weapons had to be registered ($50 fee for EACH one) and all sales and transfers are now illegal. Any rifle that "looks" military is considered assault. This state's firearm laws are a horrible, mish-mash of cobbled together stupid laws put together by politicians that know little to nothing about firearms. Its really a mess here, I mean a slingshot is considered a firearm......any toy gun that is spring loaded is considered a firearm....you can't buy a BB gun without a NICS check...its bad.

 

[outofbattery]

Overall,it wasn't that bad but I wish they had done a little better on finding a girl who shoots regularly and CCW's responsibly.It was clear that she did not have any formal training or at least it seems like she forgot whatever she learned in the " Completing an approved hunter education or hunter safety course
Completing an approved firearms safety or training course
Having participated in approved organized shooting competitions or military service
Having previously held a valid license to carry a handgun in Virginia" necessary to obtain a CCW in VA.I wonder if she did actually obtain it even?Far be it from me to criticize a crime victim,but it seems like some counseling would have done her a fair bit of good as she was not in the clearest of mental states,though to be fair to her she was in a much better frame when they concluded.Maybe it should have been"True Life:I'm a victim of violent crime" and "True Life:I'm a POS Thug".

I don't think you could have asked for a better spokesman for a hunter than the gentleman shown.It showed a hunter as someone who isn't Jeff Foxworthy and company sitting around a campfire stewed to the gills and blasting away at anything.He passed on the doe,took several days to stalk and make a clean kill,quartered and packed it out on his own.I'd love to shake his hand-and it did breifly show him shooting clays with an Auto 5 early in the show.He's a far better spokesman than ranting and raving Ted Nugent.

Regarding carry in bars,I did it legally last night though I do not drink alcohol at any time,I could have.There is no restriction on carry in MA outside of schools,gov't buildings and a bar could place a sign that said NO LTC's Permitted,I have never seen any type of store in MA with a sign not allowing concealed carry.Again though,it's one more reason why I question if she was the best person to have shown-although she is probably more typical of the American gun owner in terms of training and usage (outside of the paranoia) than the makeup of THR.

 

[Sportcat]

Nice letter MuzzleBlast. Let us know if you get a response.

 

[MuzzleBlast]

Nice letter MuzzleBlast. Let us know if you get a response.

Thanks. I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Ironbarr]

(CNSNews.com) - A pro-gun lobbying group is complimenting MTV for treating law-abiding gun owners fairly in its "True Life: I'm a Gun Owner" documentary, which aired Thursday night. But Gun Owners of America argued that the producers featured misleading and inaccurate statistics and focused almost exclusively on anti-gun anecdotes, giving viewers a false impression about the effects of gun ownership in America

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200512/CUL20051230a.html

For whatever it's worth.

-AndyB

 

[spacemanspiff]

havent watched it yet, but i'm assuming MTV chose the subjects for this 'documentary' that would intentionally cast a bad light on gunowners.

didnt our old friend Betty get interviewed for this piece some time back?

 

[Carl N. Brown]

One Hispanic ex-gangsta, reformed, working to change attitudes.
One black gangsta, donwannaworkatjob githismoneyondastreetwiddagun.
One white chick college student nearly raped, getting gun out of fear.
One white clean-cut ethical hunter guy, deserving to be on Outdoor Life Network instead of MTV.

I have known white trash criminals on my "'hood" streets AND a black
ethical hunter at my gun club, so thanks MTV for supporting stereotypes.
80,000,000 gun owners, 400,000 gun felons, that's what, one felon per
200 gun owners. Very balanced two per two.

OK, it could have been worse and I have seen worse on CNN and Fox as
"news" about guns. The rural white family looks like some of my rural
white relatives: perfectly sane and not the "Deliverence" stereotype
beloved of blue staters and Hollywood.

Edit it all down to the guy going hunting in Alaska and you have 10 minutes
of good video. Some of the commercial breaks outlasted the timer on my
VCR's pause mode and I had to re-hit the record key when the show finally
did come back on (that never happended with X Files or Farscape
MTV = mostly commercials television ).

"Lucky" the gangsta exposed himself with all his "street-wise" street dumb
talk. And he gets a break and blows it after his lawyer telling him don't do
anything stupid after she got him off (acquitted, guilt not proven).

Now VPC or HCI would have Lucky break down and cry THE EVIL GUN
INDUSTRY MADE ME DO IT. There was none of that that I noticed.
The hispanic ex-gangsta was going around trying to change the attitudes
and actions of people involved in gangs.

Showing the girl pick out a gun, then cutting to her walking out with it:
W H A T - A - C H E A T !
If they had shown the typical gun purchase here in Tennessee: -- the filling
out the 4473 form; the thumb-print the Instant Check Form; the call to the
instant check system; (busy signal); now we're through; reading off name,
ID number, gun type, etcetera; waiting; fingers drumming on counter top;
OK, you're approved, free to go; -- the show would have been two hours
long.

I may want to review the tape before I recycle it just to clear up a point:
one, was she carrying the gun in the bar? For a long time in Tennessee,
you could not carry where alcohol was sold (even off-premises); after
several baby-step changes, now you cannot carry where alchol is sold
for on-premises consumption. Yes, some states allow carry in bars IF YOU
do NOT drink. I am not sure about the girl's jurisdiction. That is not clear
in the video as some have pointed out.

A very revealing look at gangster attitudes, a hopeful look at a person
trying to change attitudes and actions on the streets, an iffy look at
a self defender and a surprisingly fair look at a trophy hunter. Very mixed.

 

[KONY]

The Girl with the CCW, did scare me a bit by putting that Glock 19?? in her purse with all the junk to roll around

It was a Kahr actually. Think it was a K9.

 

[Bill2k1]

Can't CCW in Wisconsin. To me, that's about as "gun control" as it gets.

CCW is the only thing you can't do. You have to look at the fact that we can use semi-auto rilfes for hunting, own silencers and all of that fun stuff. No Firearms Owner cards or anything. I too would like CCW, but I dont think Wisconsin has gun control by any means. Its just a matter of time for CCW.

 

[Trip20]

Bill2k1 - it's all about perspective. Unfortunately, due to the frustration I feel regarding the CCW legislation up for approval - it's "glass half-empty" time for me. You're right, there are many wonderful things about WI and guns.

I'd be more than happy to trade up hunting with semi-auto rifles, if I could carry a darned old sidearm. I use bolt-action

 

[Bill2k1]

Bill2k1 - it's all about perspective. Unfortunately, due to the frustration I feel regarding the CCW legislation up for approval - it's "glass half-empty" time for me. You're right, there are many wonderful things about WI and guns.

I'd be more than happy to trade up hunting with semi-auto rifles, if I could carry a darned old sidearm. I use bolt-action

I have been trying to wrap my head around CCW. It is going to be weird knowing that there will be more guns than normal at the grocery store (not a bad thing). I guess I need to buy something a bit smaller than my full size handguns. I just spent 20 minutes trying to figure out how to carry my g17, but I can't prevent it from printing. Guess its an excuse to buy another gun

 

[buy guns]

rerun starting now