An Open Letter to the NRA..Guns, Guns & More Guns Is that the Solution?

Davey-D-purple-frameDear NRA (National Rifle Association) we peeped your press conference this afternoon and lemme make sure I understand the main premise.. What we need in this society as follows; Guns, Guns and More Guns.. We need a cop on every corner and armed guard in every school..

We also got from the NRA, that the reason the school kids died tragically in Newtown at Sandy Hook elementary was because the Principal, Dawn Hochsprung who courageously gave her life didn’t have a gun..

If only she had a gun, then the school kids would’ve been saved..That’s the type nonsense you guys always say, but when push comes to shove, it never rally pans out..Most folks unless they been trained gun or not are thinking about getting out the line of fire, not running around like they in a James Bond movie shooting down assailants packing military style assault weapons..

George Zimmerman

George Zimmerman

Sure you NRA types like so-called neighborhood watch George Zimmerman or gun collector Michael Dunn are quick to kill an unarmed Trayvon Martin or a shoot into a car of unarmed teens and kill an unarmed Jordan Davis for playing his music loud or be like Shawna Forde who shot unarmed Raul “Junior” Flores, 29, and his daughter, Brisenia, 9 because she thought they were here ‘illegally’ (they weren’t). Forde and her colleagues in the Minutemen were supposedly ‘protecting the border’.

In these instances and many like them its easy to shoot unarmed folks, but when others are strapped like you are and willing to bust back, you’re doing like everyone else running for cover and then talking smack days later about what you would’ve and could’ve done with a gun.. As the NY Times recently pointed out, there’s been over 60 mass shootings in past 30 years and not one has been stopped by the NRA or armed civilians. You can’t shoot your way out of a problem NRA..So Please Stop all that noise.

Also you all went  and blamed the media and video games for mass shootings. You basically said we need to crack down on that…I’m wondering if you were including the games that your fine organization helped develop like ‘NRA Gun Club‘ or the newest the ‘Medal to Honor‘ video game that our esteemed Navy Seals worked on?

Medea Benjamin

Will the NRA join drone protests since they recruit people who are good at violent  videos games?

Also considering that our military says they need good video game players to operate its new sophisticated equipment which include drones are you suggesting that the protests many of us had against drones is a right? Will the NRA be joining us in that fight against the drone lobby and drone caucus in congress?

Will the NRA hold its criticism when folks speak about violence in entertainment and video games and conclude that our kids have easy access to guns?  Seems like NRA members are usually the first to respond and put down folks who critique our nation’s culture of violence and include in their well thought out solution reduced gun access.. Soon as folks say that then the NRA is out there opposing such critiques. Your solution is we need less violent video games and more guns..

You said that movies are too violent…I guess what you’re saying is that we should be up in arms when favored actor  Clint Eastwood is standing before the world at the Republican National Convention getting the crowd to chant ‘Make My Day‘, a line taken from his violent movie ‘Sudden Impact‘? We’re you guys upset about that? I know I was..

Did the NRA think it was violent back in August when he quoted the Dirty Harry lines or did you cheer along with the other 20 thousand folks? After all it was Clint.. But to hear you guys at the NRA speak today.. Clint’s violent movies led to Sandy Hook..

Dirty Harry..Make My Day

Dirty Harry..Make My Day

When Clint tells folks to ‘Get off His Lawn‘ while holding a shotgun like he did in the movie ‘Gran Torino’, then we should protest and you guys at the NRA will be alongside us..because like you suggested during the press conference, such violent rhetoric is what led to the Sandy Hook massacre..Did I understand that right NRA?

When you talk about violence in music.. You’re talking Toby Keith right? When he tells everyone ‘Cause we’ll put a BOOT in your ass It’s the American way‘ in the song Courtesy of the Red White and Blue?  Is that the type of violence that led to the shootings at Sandy Hook? Was that song ok for Adam Lanza to listen to?

Will the NRA be protesting some of the violent lyrics in NRA member singer Kid Rock‘s songs like ‘Low Life’ and Drinking Smoking where he talks about ‘smacking hoes’, ‘making black music for the white man and how he likes racist jokes ‘ and how his ‘best friend is in the gun rack’? Are those the violent lyrics that led to Sandy Hook..NRA? .

Basically the you guys at NRA wants the whole country to be strapped and once that happens we’ll all be safe according to your logic..Maybe its me, but I’ve been in neighborhoods where everyone is packing and you know what happens? Armed folks shoot other armed folks.. The casualties are usually folks from both sides with innocent people being caught in the crossfire..

Could the NRA have stopped this shoot out at a Reno Casino btw biker gangs?

Could the NRA have stopped this shoot out at a Reno Casino btw biker gangs?

When armed camps go at it we call it gang wars..and whether its Crips and Bloods in Compton going at it or organized crime syndicates like the Gambinos and the Genoveses shooting it out in Brooklyn or biker gangs like Hells Angels and Mongols going at it in Reno, everyone is strapped, guns are drawn and people get shot and killed. Meanwhile you NRA folks are back at the ranch talking about if we had more guns shyt wouldn’t have gone down..To me the outcome is always the same.. Bloodshed..Maybe not mass school shootings but bloodshed nevertheless..

So just so I’m clear, the NRA wants the government to pay for armed guards at every school? You want the government to do this so should we raise taxes? Or cut spending for schools or lower teacher’s salaries? Does this include nursery and day care? What about the fact that we already saw armed guards at school didn’t work when we had Columbine, one of the worst mass school shootings..The good folks over at Gawker pointed this out..You can read about that HERE

If we are going to have armed citizens on every corner as you proposed, does that mean we can bring back the Black Panthers, SNCC, Deacons for Defense, Black Berets, Brown Berets, Young Lords and have them patrol our neighborhoods for folks who misuses their guns and shoot at unarmed civilians? Lemme know whats up NRA so we can get things cracking..

Davey D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZb8EXUrQTo&feature=youtu.be

SFPD Claims Kenneth harding Shot Himself to Death.. The Community Says BS!

Here’s an intense breakdown of the murder of Kenneth Harding, put together by Jazmayne.. It’s composed of witness accounts of the aftermath to the daytime shooting. Featuring the poetry of the late, great Gil Scott Heron.

http://vimeo.com/26708722

Kenneth Harding

Thus far we have few bewildering things going on.. Follow this if you can..We initially heard that SFPD shot an unarmed man when he ran for not having a $2 bus transfer..

Later that night we heard from Police Chief Suhr that the man (Kenneth Harding) had shot at the police but no gun was found..No cops were injured.. By the time 10 o’clock news came on..There were reports that someone had posted a video showing a gun..The police looked at this video and said they would be tracking down a man with a hoodie shown in the video picking up the gun.. Here’s the video…You tell us if this hooded gentleman picked up a gun. You see that about 1;20 minutes into the video.. Also explain to us how police shot a man shooting at them did not secure a weapon that was less than 10ft away from them when they are facing the crowd..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTbJEy7sj_4

Mysterious hooded man picking up gun

The police later tracked down the gun, but did not catch the man who supposedly took the gun. They said they know who he is.. and they will catch him later.. It was interesting that his name was not released so concerned citizens could help bring him to the police.. Up til a couple of days ago this video containing the gun was the main proof the police were offering-showing that Kenneth Harding was armed.

SF police Chief Suhr the day after the shooting announced they had recovered the gun and thanked witnesses for coming forth to letting them know that the man they shot was armed. The next day the police posted signs around the Bayview asking for additional witnesses.

SFPD also announced that the man that they shot was a person of interest in a murder case in Seattle.. This story was put out there as if the SFPD was on the hunt for Harding in conjunction w/ Seattle PD.That was not the case.. All SFPD knew was Harding was a guy who didnt have a $2 bus transfer…By floating this story out, many would be left feeling the police were justified in shooting Harding.. To this day he is still considred a person of interest.. not a person wanted for murder..

Also on Monday July 18th a rally was held where at least half a dozen eye witnesses came forth and talked to various reporters saying they did not see Kenneth Harding shoot at police. This included parents who had kids in the park just 4-5 ft away from where Harding was gunned down. This includes a number of people who were in the plaza which is always packed..We spoke with other reporters, none of them had tracked down witnesses supporting the police version of events.. Here’s a link to our HKR radio coverage

Below is OLM video of some of this coverage…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XYXEnsnZLg

After the Monday press conference.. SFPD claimed they did tests and that gun residue was found on the hands of the Kenneth Harding.. To my knowledge this was not independently verified. Considering that as 3 months ago SFPD had to jettison 57 felony cases for falsifying evidence, one wonders why they wouldn’t be more transparent? Why not go above board to ensure public confidence in the process? We do know on Tuesday there was private closed door meeting with Mayor Ed Lee, the police and a handful of community leaders.. At that meeting there was no independent verification. SF Commissioner La Mesha Irizarry has written about what went down at this meeting.

The most recent updates have SFPD saying that according the SF medical examiner Harding shot himself and thus killed himself.. Many find that outrageous. Harding was running from police and was shot in the back..The police are saying they found gun residue on his hand, but they had to backtrack on the gun story.. The gun they found does not match the residue.. and so now police are still looking for the gun..

We’ll keep you posted as this bizarre tale continues to unfold..