Mas Ayoob, the famous firearms instructor and writer, offered his thoughts on the upcoming election in Backwoods Home Magazine:
AFTER THE LATEST DEBATE…
Monday, October 10th, 2016
…there IS no debate, at least for people who want to keep their gun rights.
It was sad that neither candidate could give a straight answer to simple questions.
They say the devil you know beats the devil you don’t. This is the first time I can remember where I’ve had to choose the devil I don’t know, because the devil I do know so blatantly hates my kind and everything I stand for.
I am one of the five million plus NRA members Hillary Clinton has declared to be her enemy. She has publicly praised the Australian “gun control” scheme in which the government confiscates firearms legally purchased and responsibly owned by law abiding citizens. Her deep contempt for law enforcement, including her own Arkansas State Police bodyguards in the past and Secret Service agents since, is widely known. More recently, without hearing from the police defense side, she called police shootings “intolerable” – a poor showing of ethics or fairness by a woman who was once an attorney, after she finally passed the bar exam. I’m a cop; I’m a law-abiding gun owner; and I am not inclined to vote for people who hate and demonize me and Americans like me.
On this litmus test issue, Donald Trump has come out for our side. Yes, at one time he supported the “assault weapons ban,” but he has since foresworn that publicly. Hillary Clinton has been implacably anti-gun and anti-police for her entire career. The devil I don’t know can’t possibly be worse than the devil who has made herself clearly known.
I understand why many people I respect are voting for third party candidates. But it’s clear that those candidates can’t win. The “statement” made by voting for them gives only an empty, self-righteous “feel-good” moment to that particular voter, and does not serve the common good. It appears that third party votes will draw mostly from the Trump side, not the Clinton side, and equal a vote for Clinton…not a good thing for those to whom either justice or the right to self-protection is important. If you look at the polls, predicted Trump votes plus predicted third party votes will be enough to defeat Clinton, but predicted Trump votes alone will not.
We remember when Ross Perot was the spoiler whose third party votes gave us eight years of a Bill Clinton presidency, and the ten onerous years of the Assault Weapons Ban.
Which is why I for one am inclined to hold my nose and vote for Donald Trump.
I really like this guy! He is always a good read and offers very well thought out advice.