My blog article, “Gun dealer bans rentals after suicides” has gotten a strong reaction. A reader named Mark writes the following:
Gregory,
Do all of us Pro2A folks a favor; take a breath…and slow way down.
First of all, put yourself in the position of actually owning a gun range. IF you think that even one suicide on your premises is unacceptable, then you’ll likely put policies in place to prevent even a single suicide from happening. If you believe that it’s white males who come in alone and rent guns to blow their own brains out, your policy will be to not rent to them. (As a business owner, it should be your right to conduct business as you see fit.)
Second, as far as boycotting, I’d much rather go to a range that has policies in place that seek to deter suicides. A perfect safety record will lure me in.
Third, one should never consider putting a dollar amount upon, or making a business decision, that could somehow justify a suicide. That’s just plain nuts.
With all of your venom, I believe that your writing might make good fuel for the very gun control crazies we’re all worried about.
By the way, I’m white and not offended in the policy in the least.
I also think that the citizens should have more and better weaponry than the government.Molon Labe
Ironic, isn’t it? He finishes with “Molon Labe” (Latin for “come and take them”) yet his letter reads like a slave afraid of public opinion. “Let’s not offend our masters, lest they best us.”
Let’s break it down, he argues that we should set policies to prevent suicides, how exactly does that work? How do I know who intends to shoot a target and who’s going to shoot himself? It’s true that if a person looks disturbed and acts erratically, an establishment can refuse service, that’s legal. But it’s not legal to assume every White man is going to kill himself. You can discriminate against an individual, but not an entire class.
He writes that as a business owner I should be able to conduct business as I see fit. Sure, in a 100% libertarian society the KKK can start Ku Klux chicKen and ban Blacks, Jews and Gays from eating there. Yet in this society, only a 100% members-only club can get away with that.
As for putting a dollar amount to suicides, that’s not nuts, that’s business. Operators of scuba diving charters do put a dollar amount based on people that might die, if you go bungee jumping, you have to sign a liability waiver in case the rope breaks and you die. Even at Shooter’s Depot, you sign such waivers every time you shoot. That’s how they protect their bottom line, and as far as I know, nobody has died at Shooter’s Depot.
Mark worries about me fueling the anti-gun crazies, don’t make me laugh, these people fuel themselves, these people consider all gun deaths tragic, even when human garbage gets shot, they cry. Of course, other times they fantasize about shooting us, but that’s the thing about gun haters, they’re never consistent.
Mark writes that he’s White and not offended by this policy. That’s ridiculous, ANYONE with a sense of Justice and balance would be offended. Men of principle would be offended. Ask Colion Noir what he thinks, I’m sure he’d be outraged. The fact that Mark is not offended is offensive in itself.
As for us having better weaponry than the government, why worry about that when you can’t even rent lesser weapons at some gun ranges? Look Mark, maybe someday you’ll be able to buy a fully-automatic weapon without the annual BATF inspection, the Class III license, and all the other BS, but until then, worry about the more immediate fights.
These gun dealers need to be sued by the NRA, GOA, and whatever ambulance-chaser you can find. If they think suicides are expensive, they need to experience litigation.
I can’t imagine any other business that won’t rent to whites, and if gun dealers are willing to start that precedent, then they need to be fought.
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Gregory Smith