Some of the gun blogs are mentioning a new group, Handgun Club of America, and encouraging us to check it out.
I just took a cursory glance at their site, and will need to learn more before I can recommend joining.
They say they’re not a “politically-charged grou[p] like the NRA and other firearm organizations.” Instead, they say they “are, if you will, a calm, rational alternative for the 60 million households who lawfully choose to own a handgun.”
Fine. Not everyone can be an activist. There is room for recreational/educational clubs, and they can do much good in promoting an interest in shooting handguns, which can result in an interest in defending the right to own one. But claiming to be a “calm, rational alternative” implies those fighting for the right to keep and bear arms are agitated (fair enough) and irrational (hey, wait a minute...).
This raises a flag for me. An unequivocal statement of support for the Second Amendment--along with some examples to demonstrate their understanding of "shall not be infringed"--would help alleviate concerns.
Just who is behind HCA? Who are the people who want us to send them money? A register.com WHOIS lookup identifies one Josh Manheimer of J.C. Manheimer & Company as the registrant—although it’s not clear if he’s the principal behind the effort or an agent of those who are. I’ve never heard of him—either in the gun rights community or as someone of note in the field of handgun expertise. A Google search on his name turns up nothing in terms of any kind of "street cred" in the firearms community—although I do note he raised $100 for Howard Dean in 2004.
Yeah, Dean used to have an NRA "A" rating (for what that's worth), but he's on record supporting the "assault weapon" ban, the Brady Bill, and ending the "gun show loophole." He also has no problem with states ignoring the Bill of Rights--at least as far as the Second Amendment goes. Manheimer's support--if he is a principal behind HCA as opposed to a paid pr guy-- raises another flag for me.
What Manheimer is is a direct mail copywriter, a pro at crafting words so that people in his target market will want to buy the product or service he has contracted to promote.
That's great. If you want to attract people, you have to know how to do it. His advertising expertise is impressive and the HCA site reflects this.
But that's all style--I have another concern--another flag--about substance: On their “Gun Safety Rules” page, HCA tells us to:
Well, sorry, but if I do that, it becomes useless for emergency defense. This seems to be the same advice we get from Andrew McKelvey’s Americans for Gun Safety, which tells us to: “Keep your ammunition as safe and inaccessible as your firearms.”
And it's the same position adopted by the Brady Center, which has initiated a Legal Action Project because they say “a majority of gun owners living with children do not store their guns locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition.”
We see that when applied uniformly in the real world, such one-size-fits-all policies can result in nasty, brutal things--like pitchfork murders--where minors couldn’t reach a gun to save their lives.
I think HCA needs to address this.
Bottom line: HCA may turn out to be a fine organization. Mr. Manheimer may turn out to be a handgun enthusiast who has created something that will benefit gun owners. He may turn out to be a hired marketing consultant for someone else.
But until we find out who is behind HCA and whether or not they really support the Second Amendment--and how they do so--I can’t recommend giving them any money. Some sport shooters almost got burned by the American Hunting and Shooting Association until some curious folks started checking up on them.
I'll go this far in joining the other gun bloggers who recommend checking out HCA:
Yes, by all means, do so.
I just took a cursory glance at their site, and will need to learn more before I can recommend joining.
They say they’re not a “politically-charged grou[p] like the NRA and other firearm organizations.” Instead, they say they “are, if you will, a calm, rational alternative for the 60 million households who lawfully choose to own a handgun.”
Fine. Not everyone can be an activist. There is room for recreational/educational clubs, and they can do much good in promoting an interest in shooting handguns, which can result in an interest in defending the right to own one. But claiming to be a “calm, rational alternative” implies those fighting for the right to keep and bear arms are agitated (fair enough) and irrational (hey, wait a minute...).
This raises a flag for me. An unequivocal statement of support for the Second Amendment--along with some examples to demonstrate their understanding of "shall not be infringed"--would help alleviate concerns.
Just who is behind HCA? Who are the people who want us to send them money? A register.com WHOIS lookup identifies one Josh Manheimer of J.C. Manheimer & Company as the registrant—although it’s not clear if he’s the principal behind the effort or an agent of those who are. I’ve never heard of him—either in the gun rights community or as someone of note in the field of handgun expertise. A Google search on his name turns up nothing in terms of any kind of "street cred" in the firearms community—although I do note he raised $100 for Howard Dean in 2004.
Yeah, Dean used to have an NRA "A" rating (for what that's worth), but he's on record supporting the "assault weapon" ban, the Brady Bill, and ending the "gun show loophole." He also has no problem with states ignoring the Bill of Rights--at least as far as the Second Amendment goes. Manheimer's support--if he is a principal behind HCA as opposed to a paid pr guy-- raises another flag for me.
What Manheimer is is a direct mail copywriter, a pro at crafting words so that people in his target market will want to buy the product or service he has contracted to promote.
That's great. If you want to attract people, you have to know how to do it. His advertising expertise is impressive and the HCA site reflects this.
But that's all style--I have another concern--another flag--about substance: On their “Gun Safety Rules” page, HCA tells us to:
"Store firearms and ammunition separately. When cleaning a firearm, put ammunition in a separate room or locked up out of reach.
"Stored firearms should be unloaded to prevent accidents when removing from their storage location. Ammunition, especially while cleaning a firearm, should be stored separately."
Well, sorry, but if I do that, it becomes useless for emergency defense. This seems to be the same advice we get from Andrew McKelvey’s Americans for Gun Safety, which tells us to: “Keep your ammunition as safe and inaccessible as your firearms.”
And it's the same position adopted by the Brady Center, which has initiated a Legal Action Project because they say “a majority of gun owners living with children do not store their guns locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition.”
We see that when applied uniformly in the real world, such one-size-fits-all policies can result in nasty, brutal things--like pitchfork murders--where minors couldn’t reach a gun to save their lives.
I think HCA needs to address this.
Bottom line: HCA may turn out to be a fine organization. Mr. Manheimer may turn out to be a handgun enthusiast who has created something that will benefit gun owners. He may turn out to be a hired marketing consultant for someone else.
But until we find out who is behind HCA and whether or not they really support the Second Amendment--and how they do so--I can’t recommend giving them any money. Some sport shooters almost got burned by the American Hunting and Shooting Association until some curious folks started checking up on them.
I'll go this far in joining the other gun bloggers who recommend checking out HCA:
Yes, by all means, do so.