Gun debate getting ridiculous

First off, I want to say I take no position on proposed federal firearms regulations. I happen to own firearms and hold my own set of views on their utility and how they should or shouldn’t be regulated.

I understand there are many other citizens of this country and state who do not like guns and would just as soon see them banished from the face of the earth.

There are plenty of legitimate policy disagreements on that particular white-hot issue, and that’s OK.

But when I got this “press release” today from a public relations firm it made me cringe:

Aurora and Sandy Hook: False Flag Operations?

Journey to a Brave New World, by author Dave Watts, looks at hidden evidence that suggest the two tragic shootings could be behind a government gun grab.

“We find numerous reasons to believe that these were staged and deliberate events to create a reaction of hate towards gun owners so that they can come in with the solution and attempt to disarm the people.”

Watts is available for interviews. His book, Journey to a Brave New World, is also available upon request. Can I set up an interview with the author or send you a review copy of the book?

Thanks,

Katy Myers

Reasonable people can have rational disagreements on all sorts of hot-button issues, including gun control.

But Mr. Watts’ attempt to cash in on the Aurora and Sandy Hook massacres by fear mongering and insinuating those heinous crimes were perpetrated by the government for political purposes is irresponsible, dangerous and sick.

A sick kid named Adam Lanza gunned down students and teachers at Sandy Hook. A sick man named James Holmes opened fire on a movie theater in Aurora. These were not covert secret agents carrying out a government plot to murder innocent people so Obama can take your guns. 

Can we please keep our policy debates – at the local, state and federal level — firmly planted in reality? Perpetuating conspiratorial fantasies for the sole purpose of riling fringe elements and fanning anti-government flames is shameful on every level.

Normally I’d put something like this in the file where I keep the letters I get from the guy who’s convinced that NorthWestern energy is using power lines to control his mind and the letters I get from a Florida gal who is convinced magical symbols are the key to unlocking the secrets of the universe.

This difference is those are somewhat amusing, but ultimately harmless, rants of irrational and likely mentally ill people. Mr. Watts is apparently a published author who has a PR firm slinging his book for him. In the minds of some anti-government whackos, that may give him a semblance of credibility.

Ms. Myers, you can strike me from your media list. I’d prefer to not get any more dispatches from crazy town. 

‘Doomsday bill’: Coming to #MTLEG near you?

Every legislative session Montana lawmakers regularly talk about how  ‘North Dakota is doing this’ and ‘We need to be more like Wyoming that…” It seems there’s always a certain level of envy with our neighbors to the east, south and west.

Also each session we tend to see a raft of similarly constructed controversial anti-federal government bills pop up in states throughout our region. Bills to nullify federal laws, empower sheriffs as the supreme law enforcement officials in the land and bills requiring states to do business in gold are just a few that come to mind. Many of these bills seem to be predicated upon the notion that the federal government is an enemy of the states and/or is doomed to collapse in the foreseeable future.

So when I saw this interesting story about a Wyoming lawmaker’s attempt to pass a “doomsday bill” in that state’s legislature, I couldn’t help but wonder if we’ll be seeing a similar bill introduced in the 2013 Montana Legislature:

Fearing an economic and political collapse nationwide, Wyoming lawmakers are moving ahead with legislation to deal with a doomsday scenario -- complete with plans to create a state currency.

“Things happen quickly sometimes — look at Libya, look at Egypt, look at those situations,” the bill’s GOP sponsor State Rep. David Miller told the Star-Tribune in Casper. “We wouldn’t have time to meet as a Legislature or even in special session to do anything to respond.”

According to the Star-Tribune, House Bill 85 would create a state-run “government continuity task force,” to prepare Wyoming for potential disruptions in food and energy to a complete breakdown of the federal government.

Miller is also asking for the task force to look into creating its own state currency in the event the dollar loses value entirely.

 According to the Star-Tribune, the Wyoming House narrowly defeated the bill today by a 30-27 margin.