Stop Handgun Violence founder: "The dirty little secret is that the NRA loves high-profile mass shootings."

Earlier today I was browsing the net looking for interesting stories to share with you,when I stumbled across the above statement over at Crooks and Liars.

Here is the post that caught my eye, and sent a shiver up my spine:  

Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation announced on Thursday that sales had spiked 48 percent in its second fiscal quarter of 2013, setting a record of $136 million. 

"The increase was led by continued strong sales across all of the company's firearm product lines, including M&P™ branded products, such as pistols, modern sporting rifles, and the recently launched Shield™ pistol designed for concealed carry and personal protection," the company said in a statement. 

Smith & Wesson also predicted year-over-year growth of 30 percent for the remainder of the 2013 fiscal year. 

Those are the kind of statistics that boggle the mind and make you ask "Why?" Why with so muhc gun violence in the news would gun sales ACTUALLY be going up?


Apparently some questions are better left unanswered.


Stop Handgun Violence founder John Rosenthal told Current TV's Elliot Spitzer on Wednesday that gun companies were making record profits because lobbying groups like the National Rifle Association had been successful at making sure that the industry was largely unregulated. 

"The dirty little secret is that the NRA loves high-profile mass shootings," Rosenthal explained. "The more gun violence, the better. The more fear, it causes people to buy guns, more profits for the gun industry. And then they funnel it into intimidating Democrats into submission. And then they fund the Republicans and the Republicans just roll over."

 "The dirty little secret is that the NRA loves high-profile mass shootings. The more gun violence, the better. The more fear, it causes people to buy guns, more profits for the gun industry."

Have you ever read something that you hoped with all of your might wasn't true, while at the same time being absolutely certain that it was?

That is how I responded to the above statement. On the face of it it seems counter intuitive. But when you think about the psychology of how human beings react to fear, you realize the obvious truth.

The stunning, frustrating, yet obvious truth.

So how do you counteract a primitive response to fear married to a society that conditions people to believe that possession of handguns equals safety?

I quite literally don't know.

Sharing statistics like this: Family and intimate assaults involving a firearm were 12 times more likely to result in death than non-firearm associated assaults between family and intimates. Means nothing to somebody who is frightened and believes that simply possessing a handgun  will calm their fears.

I think many gun owners literally have NO intention of ever using their gun for anything other than target shooting, and that is undoubtedly the truth for most. But a handgun in the house is an instrument of death readily available to ANYBODY who is suddenly frightened, angered, or unable to make rational decisions.

And it provides the power to end a life to any person in the vicinity with the ability to flex their finger. No matter their state of mind, no matter their gender, and no matter their age.

Guns don't JUST kill people. They make killing them something even a child can do.