Bob Costas and Pierce Morgan have gone on record that this is a call for more gun control which has been met with true vitriol from the gun loving public and with good reason. This is one of those really rare instances where the NRA, the Republicans and myself all agree on something: gun laws are not making us safer and, other than keeping them out of the hands of nutbags who should be monitored within an inch of their lives, the gun laws we have are already too draconian. Let's look at some facts shall we.
Contrary to what the anti-gun lobby says, at least 700,000 people used guns to thwart crime last year. That number is also considered to be low as many cases are never reported in things like attempted muggings. This means that a huge number of lives are being saved from robbery, rape or murder due to the fact that we have free access to guns. More importantly, if the TSA decides to start raping us on the street, as is being discussed, I have a feeling the 2nd amendment may have to be used to discourage such totalitarian attempts to thwart our freedoms. That is why we have the 2nd amendment and has been clarified in numerous texts from Founding Fathers like Monroe and Jefferson.
We need guns to protect ourselves from an out of control government. If Obama ever did decide to ban guns, of which there is zero evidence of, there will be a lot of dead police in the street as people will kill to keep their weapons. Not to mention the fact that it will create a new black market and a new source of income for the criminal class. We should be trying to eliminate them, not give them more money. Also, all the taxes currently being gained from gun sales, which are at record highs, will disappear, further depressing our economic issues.
The facts are more people support gun ownership than ever before. In 1990, gun laws support was just over 50%. Today, it is in the low 40's and falling. People are seeing what our government is doing and feel unsafe NOT having weapons to protect ourselves. If you live in places like Oakland, the police are telling their residents to get a gun because budget cutbacks have eliminated their ability to protect and serve within the town borders. Guns are a necessity in today's world and, for the most part, are used accordingly.
Morgan and Costas really stepped in it this week, especially Costas who went on a rant during Monday Night Football about gun control. This did not go over well and many are demanding he be fired. While I don't think that is the right call for action, he should show restraint when it comes to voicing very unpopular ideas as, in today's polarized climate, saying something really stupid can doom your career or business.
Just ask Chick-Fil-A how they are doing since coming out against gay marriage. Their business plummeted to such an extent they were forced to make a policy change and will no longer give money to anti-gay charities (at least they say they aren't, but if they ever get caught doing so, they will have a tsunami of bad publicity again). Another brick in the wall is John Schnatter of Papa John's whose business may be on the verge of no longer being viable. As it turns out, people want to eat their chicken sandwich or pizza without politics as a side order. And the public is making those that say idiotic statements pay and pay dearly.
Public opinion dropped off the cliff for Papa John's to such an extent that Schnatter was forced to issue an apology of sorts and to say he had been "misquoted" about his hatred for Obamacare, which is bull. He got caught saying something stupid in the "let them eat cake," range and, had this been a few hundred years ago, would have been dragged out and guillotined by now. Instead, people are telling him he can take his crappy pizza and shove it.
A new study from YouGov BrandIndex, which does research on how various brand names are doing, showed that Papa John's favorability dropped from 32 to 4. Applebee's and Denny's, whose franchise owners also said stupid things about Obamacare, also saw precarious drops with Denny's dropping to a nut freezing zero. It rose to six a few days later after the CEO reminded people that franchise owners don't speak for the whole company but the damage had already been done and I will not be surprised to see a libel/slander suit against John Metz for his idiocy as his comment will cost the entire operation billions in profits. Applebee's dropped 25 points overnight after Zane Tankel, a franchise owner of 40 Applebee's in the New York area, said similar stupid things.
Nobody did worse that Papa John's as Schnatter is the CEO head of all of the company and has virulently disagreed with BrandIndex's report saying sales were near an all time high. Considering that the message boards are filled with hate against the man, as well as both Denny's and Applebees are both describing a huge loss for this quarter, I feel that everything this man says is a total lie. He wouldn't be back tracking on his statements to such an extent if people liked what he said. Nobody is that dumb.
This country has free speech and for good reason. The main thing to remember that you may the freedom to say whatever you want, but be prepared for others to do the same and for their free speech to cut you down if what you said was really, really stupid. Words have consequences and even the rich have to realize it can backfire big time. I will never eat a Papa John's pizza as long as I live, short of starvation. I ask others to join me in this pledge. Schnatter lives in a freaking castle for God's sake. Let's make him pull up that drawbridge so the rest of us don't have to listen to him anymore.
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