Tornado Alley (PROG)

[oldberkeley]

This is the best essay I've read about Trump's latest ignorant outburst. By the excellent writer Evan Osnos, it's a must-read.

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/why-gun-owners-should-reject-trumps-call-to-second-amendment-people

His main point is that gun owners themselves should be insulted:

Many gun owners I know, especially those who are most passionate about defending the Second Amendment, take pride in reminding others that they are law-abiding. They are responsible for their conduct and for the safe handling and storage of a firearm; they try not to lose their tempers, and to argue their ideas with facts and civility. Trump, in this sense, is harming them; by suggesting that, to use his phrase, “Second Amendment people” would turn to violence because their favored candidate loses an election is an insult to gun owners everywhere. By feeding a caricature, Trump is effectively advancing the case of those who would seek to curtail access to guns. Truly protecting the Second Amendment means identifying those who are misusing it for their own political purposes.