I’ve never owned a gun. Not a political statement or safety concern, just never been a part of what nearby family and friends are into. I have many responsible friends and relatives who are gun owners, and I trust them. Guns can be used responsibly for recreation, hunting, just-in-case safety. If I lived in an area where the local law enforcement was 30+ minutes away, I’d consider owning a gun. Except for time in the armed forces, to my knowledge no friend or family members have injured themselves or others with guns. No big whoop.

I believe in the 2nd Amendment. I used to be for the concept of “gun control” until the Bush Administration and Congress pushed its long-in-development (pre-9/11) PATRIOT Act and started breaking our civil rights on surveillance, absurd security policies, and interrogation (Obama Administration? Not much better). The concept of a government turning on its people became more vivid. So the wisdom of the 2nd Amendment became apparent and now I’m on board. Still deliberating on whether citizens should have the right to all types of firearms, and listening to all sides there.

But the National Rifle Association is a fear-mongering pusher of guns that sucks donkey dongs. I’m sure in the topsy-turvy world of many of their donors, where single-parented mixed-race corporate-friendly Barack Obama is a privileged elitist socialist who’s gotten way too uppity, their recent ad resonates. The NRA ad is way over the top, and it’s fun to watch/read the outrage. I don’t agree with all of the hand-wringing below, but some of the reaction is on-the-nose:

The U.S. President has a tough job. That job includes death threats from outside and within the U.S. It’s a job where there’s close to a 10% chance of getting shot and killed. And the President is the Commander-in-Chief, the head of our military forces. Armed protection makes sense. Do school employees have a 1 in 10 chance of getting shot and killed? No. Do the majority of gun owners think arming our schools makes sense? Probably not. Does the gun lobby the N.R.A. represents have an interest in ginning up more out-of-proportion fear to sell millions of more guns? Yes.

And the N.R.A. ads are losing moderates who might otherwise consider what gun owners have to say. If the gubmint does end up taking away guns from citizens, the N.R.A. will deserve much of the blame.