KNOW YOUR ENEMY: Brains, Honesty, Integrity and the lack thereof

by Rocco M. Wlodarek

Used with permission.  Edited.

(Guns Save Life) – Ladies and gentleman, I do not mean to sound crass and combative, but I’d like to offer my assessment of our philosophical enemies here in our state on the issue of gun control.

I offer it for informational purposes to meet the somewhat emotional responses I have seen with regard to the influx of Bloomberg dollars the Moms Demand Action group has recently seen, as well as the Everytown group that Bloomberg’s think-tank developed.

I have now met and conversed with five members, including one public spokeswoman of the Moms Demanding Stuff at Illinois Town hall meetings.  These events were often thinly veiled recruiting events for the anti-gunners sponsored by some Illinois General Assembly members.

Some of the conversations have been marvelous – bordering on priceless.

I wanted to give you an idea of the sorts of folks working against our gun rights in these meetings.

Here’s an example:  The representative I spoke with at Rep. Elaine Nekritz’s little shindig could not name the two female teachers killed at Sandy Hook after telling me – at length – how her group’s intense study of the event led to their formation and rise.  In fact, there was a very pregnant pause after my question.

For the next event, I will use pictures to illustrate my point!

Representative Emanuel Chris Welch (D) hosted an expert panel at his “town hall” meeting to denigrate our new concealed carry law and gun ownership in general.

It was suggested to me by this sitting House member  that my questions need to be simplified in order for the panel members to understand them.

Mind you, my questions revolved around violence (predatory violence to be exact) and that is supposedly the area of expertise for these spokespeople.

I was not allowed to speak directly to the panel.  We were told upon arrival that we would have to write out all questions and that the Rep. Welch would read them to the panel.

Nicole Chen of the Moms Demand Action offered an rambling opening statement which was pretty much her only actual contribution.  It went pretty much like this:

“We need different rules for signs.  I just feel that, like, if I wanted to have a handyman or serviceman or something, you know, like, come to my house…  …that he should not be able to bring a gun inside.  I mean, he can’t like, just bring it in?  Do I have to post a sign or call somebody?  This really terrifies me!  Anyone could have a gun!!!  We should, like, only have to put up a sign if we want guns in our homes!  I DO NOT WANT A GUN IN MY HOME, EVER!!!”

You can actually see the posture of Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence hired gun Mark Walsh get defensive and watch the utter contempt cross his reddening face as she prattles on.  And on.

After hearing her speak, I found myself utterly convinced that she should without a doubt never have a gun in her house.  Or pointy things for that matter.

A fellow IllinoisCarry member was present and had this to say about Chen:
“Rocco was on an entirely different educational plane than the MDA rep.  She “felt” she knew facts.  You have to use a velvet glove with them. You may never alter the values of the hard-core zealots but its the curious people attending in the audience which are the ones you may persuade.”

I do not entirely agree. I’m quite convinced by her comments that she is quite well-read. The difference lies in that when I posed questions, I was referencing books by notable experts such as Col. David Grossman, Gavin DeBecker, Charles Remsberg, Massad Ayoob and others.

What’s likely on Nicole Chen’s bookshelf?

My first question for Mark Walsh and Nicole Chen:  “How do you reconcile denying women the ability and means to defend themselves against predatory violence with your public agenda on firearms?”

The bottle-blonde blanches and looks at floor.  Mark stutters for eleven seconds and mumbles that no victims have ever told him that the wished they had a gun.

I asked if he has heard of Petit? Mary Shepard?  No answer.  They would NOT answer.

They cut to my next question:  “How do you see the evolution of the victim selection process over the next two years affecting those of your constituents that choose not to carry?”

Mark looked right at me and I smiled. The Illinois State Police representative smiled.

For a national spokesman he is pretty damn week under the light.

He knew what I was asking, and he knew the answer.  Which is why I asked the question.

Most of the MDA crowd, including Chen, had no Idea what I was talking about. So I clarified:  “Knowing that states that share a similar social demography to Illinois have for the most part all seen an initial drop in predatory violent crime (rape, sexual assault, robbery, armed robbery, battery, aggravated assault) followed by a short return spike as the predators initial evaluation criteria for potential victims adapts to recognize visible indicators of situational awareness… How are you preparing your members to adapt to their increased appeal as soft targets?”

This is not rocket science. It has been evident in twelve of the last states to initiate carry.

Representative Welch is looking at me without speaking.  Chen is looking at the floor, unable to hide under the table.  Mark says he cannot address it because he is not allowed to answer questions outside of the written cards.

The cackling and screamed protests to my question blare on in the background from the denizens of whatever retirement home interrupted bingo to attend.  The rest of my questions were skipped.

Cowardly on their part. Smart maybe, but cowardly.

Rep. Welch looked a little mind blown.

Todd Vandermyde wound up being deferred to for nearly every question on policy.  I doubt his pulse elevated at all during the whole meeting.  He looked as though he was playing poker with eleven-year-olds.

Mark Walsh spent the meeting looking like he would rather be at his own colonoscopy. If I had to observe his body language alone, with no context, I would lay money that he dying to make a break for the rest room to go big potty.

Rocco Wlodarek is the Chief Instructor with Black Flag Firearms Training.  He’s also an NRA Training Counselor.