Why not try a 'pro-gun' self-defense TV show?

[shadowrider]

The mission statement for a new "Authorized Journalist" anti-gun agitprop campaign could not be more clear:

"DCTV’s Beyond Bullets, a new media campaign to quell America's gun violence epidemic, is nearing launch and has stories to tell that are both heartbreaking and empowering. DCTV has hired six early-career video journalists to embed in high-crime communities in all five boroughs. Over the next eight months, they and an army of other young media-makers will produce an ongoing series of reports exploring the tragedy of gun violence and its solutions."

What, in Bloomberg Paradise? Oh, that's right, they get all their guns "illegally" from locales that don't have such draconian restrictions—and curiously, that don't have such a violence problem, either. One of the "solutions" offered by the antis, of course, is to impose nationwide restrictions on all of us—that is, when they're not complaining that recognizing rights throughout the Republic is an assault on "home rule."

http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m4d16-Why-not-try-a-progun-selfdefense-TV-show

[Ken Burch]

1. Don't they have those already?

Seems like there are tons of gun shows on. And if you wanted to start one in your area, you'd have no trouble getting sponsors from the "outdoors" stores near you.

Given, though, that no one is even PROPOSING gun control legislation and that no such legislation will have the votes to get through Congress for years to come, if ever, what's the point? It's pretty damn unlikely that anyone will disarm the nation's gun-owners and the NRA spends plenty of time teaching them how to shoot the things anyway.

[shadowrider]

2. No, these don't exist

It's a "reality" show profiling gun violence. What this article is suggesting is a "reality" show where the use of a weapon diffuses a crime, stops it before it happens. (Many times this does occur WITHOUT a shot being fired). See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x310310 for an example.

[Ken Burch]

3. Well, it wouldn't surprise me if OLN or the network that does "COPS" comes out with one.

n/t.

[SteveM]

15. Check the Democratic Party Platform about gun-control proposals...

in it the Party calls for expansion and permanent reinstatement of the so-called "Assault Weapons Ban." The language remains in the Platform to this day.

Often times "outdoors" or "outdoor channels" are seen as synonymous with gun-ownership, when in reality these shows concentrate on hunting (and fishing). Hunters comprise less than 20% of gun-owners; hence, it is unlikely stores or T.V. networks catering to the hunting community will be interested in what the OP proposes.

The OP is suggesting something unique in highlighting self-defense uses of firearms. Admittedly, it would be difficult even with the money and expertise for production of such were lined up: MSM is institutionally committed to gun-control. A similar problem is seen with those advocating the legalization and regulation of now-illegal drugs. Even advertisements, professionally produced with money-in-hand, have been rejected by MSM in the past. In fact, the Office of National Drug Control Policy has paid cash money to networks if they insert an anti-drug message into T.V. dramas. This made for some stilted script-writing! I don't know if the practice continues.

[shadowrider]

17. Exactly

The OP is suggesting something unique in highlighting self-defense uses of firearms. Admittedly, it would be difficult even with the money and expertise for production of such were lined up: MSM is institutionally committed to gun-control.

That, plus, there's no blood and guts. Stories that end happily (crime averted, gun used, NO shots fired) wouldn't sell in the MSM. They want to blame evil gun owners even if the evil gun owner was defending himself against a high PCP/Meth user who can do significant damage if given the chance.

[TheCowsCameHome]

4. Hmmm, what would they name it?

I'll bet there would be some DUzy material.

[Ken Burch]

25. "Happiness Is A Warm Gun"?

n/t.

[ixion]

5. "What to do if someone comes at you with a banana"

:)

From Monty Python's, "And Now For Something Completely Different"

[Kolesar]

6. What if he's got a pointed stick?...eom

[ixion]

7. Pointed Stick!!?!?? Oh, oh, oh...

we want to learn how to defend ourselves against pointed sticks, do we?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afi7_01GnxY

:rofl: :hi:

[old mark]

8. I don't think the idea would even be considered. There have been lots of anti gun TV series

episodsa, and a "special" movie tracing a single gun's path from one violent act to another...I think that was Canadian, though...

I doubt seriously we will see a realistic look at the millions who own and carry guns for legal purposes.

Too much money to be made by scare tactics and sensationalizing violence...look how the news shows and anti gunners drool over every shooting....


mark

[east texas lib]

10. ..."it's interesting when people die, give us dirty laundry"...Don Henley

Catering to the basest aspects of human behaviour for ratings, ad revenue and plain old shock value. Gotta love it.

[old mark]

19. And it there isn't enough, we'll make some shit up, as in Fox "News"..nt

[onehandle]

9. It could be like 'The Half Hour News Hour.'

Including the canned laugh track.

Ann Coulter could make jokes about hunting liberals.

What a hoot that would be!

[X_Digger]

11. Closest thing I've seen is showtime's "Lock'n'Load"

The premise is/was (yet to be renewed, on hiatus) a reality show inside a gun store. Hidden cameras around he store are used to profile customers and their stories. Some were kooky, some were boring, some were downright sad (I'm remembering the mom with a black eye carrying a kid on her hip).

[David West]

12. Not reality shows, but....

They aren't reality shows but CBS' Jericho and FOX's Firefly were both very pro-gun. Both were also very short-lived and libertarian... I'm kind of sensing a trend.

Jericho in particular was VERY overtly pro-gun. It was a post-apocalyptic drama set after a nuclear attack took out 20 something American cities, and in it the titular town of Jericho had to defend themselves from multiple attacks by a rogue Blackwater wannabe, criminal gangs, and a neighboring town invading them for resources. Virtually everyone in the small town was armed, and when it came time for them to go to war to defend themselves the most well-prpared survivalist character started passing out dozens of AR-15s and M14s that he had stockpiled in a storage unit. In the final episode the mayor of Jericho attended a constitutional convention for the new nation that was being formed and he lamented the loss of the second amendment. Heck they even fly the Gadsden flag prominently throughout the series.

So yeah, there are at least some pro-gun TV series out there, and not only that but both of those shows are excellent. John Stossel also did a couple of good pro-gun reports on 20/20 when he worked for ABC.

[paulsby]

22. however, the media is incredibly anti-gun in sitcoms and dramas

i can't recall any "normal" character (iow not a PI, cop, criminal, or normalperson placed in weird jeapordy (being chased by govt. agents. etc.) in a drama or sitcom who carries.

not one.

even in frasier, frasier's dad (a retired cop) is never once (as far as iknow) seen strapping on a handgun before he goes out in public

MILLIONS of americans do this every day. it does not exist in teevee land.

the idea of a "normal" person routinely ccw'ing does not exist in sitcoms or dramas.

[safeinOhio]

24. Here's a show with an everyday guy

that straps one on to go out in public.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pcVDmX4ho4

so it does exist in teevee land.

Now if they would just come out with some video games that show folks using guns.

[Katya Mullethov]

13. Tom Gresham axt that very question a few years ago

And it made him some coin too .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-tvoXJUQSE

And he'll be on the radio in an hour or two .

[rfranklin]

14. Actually, NYC has a lower crime rate than many gun happy cities...

So that one just doesn't fly.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate

[The_Commonist]

16. I am so glad I live here in "Bloomberg's Paradise."

We really do pride ourselves, for the most part, on being civilized.

[cowman]

20. Well I'll

tell you what, you can keep Blooming Idiotberg's so called paradise, I'm glad I live in a state that respects all civil rights.

[spin]

18. NYC currently has a rising crime rate ...

hopefully it's a short term blip.

A Rise in Violent Crime Evokes City’s Unruly Past
By RAY RIVERA and AL BAKER
Published: April 11, 2010

Teenagers flashing knives in a spate of high school stabbings. Two men murdered in a brawl aboard a downtown No. 2 subway train. Four people shot and 33 others arrested in late-night melees in Times Square that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg described with a loaded term from the past: “wilding.”

It is impossible to know if the recent increase in violent crime in the city is legitimate cause for concern that the “bad old days” of crime may return, or if it simply represents a blip in a trend line continuing a descent of nearly two decades.

Homicides are up nearly 22 percent in 2010, compared with the same period last year. Shootings are up in the city, to 293 from 257, a 14 percent increase. And there are more victims of gunfire: 351 through April 4, up from 318 in the same period a year ago.

But it is not statistics, but rather the tenor and pace of 2010’s spasm of disorder that are suggestive of a bygone era, and have again raised questions about whether New York City is finally at the end of crime declines.

Add to this a depleted police headcount — and city and state budgets that remain stubbornly unsolved — and crime is suddenly a political hammer: The mayor is lobbying for money from Albany, and state lawmakers are pleading poverty even as they try to close a $9.2 billion budget gap and serve the needs of constituencies from Buffalo to Bridgehampton.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/12/nyregion/12police.html

[cowman]

21. Gun Happy?

Or just cities that respect all civil rights? If thats your idea of gun happy, then I'm glad I live in a "gun happy city"

[PavePusher]

23. "gun happy cities"...

And which ones would those be?

Note also that NYC has some pretty draconian "stop and frisk" policies.

NYC... killing two Amendments at the same time.

[rfranklin]

26. Merely a rhetorical flourish to respond to "Bloomberg Paradise"

But the, fact is, there is no strong correlation between easy access to guns and lower crime, or vice versa.