a forum for liberal pro-gun activism

[ishi]

Announcing the Liberal Gun Forum - a rallying point for Pro-gun perspectives from the Left.

There are many internet gun forums, and while most of them do a great job of disseminating technical knowledge, most of them are rather poor at outreach, especially where liberals are concerned. Many forums end up being an "echo chamber" where the same opinions are heard over and over, often right-wing opinions that have little or nothing to do with the RKBA.

When a liberal wants information about guns, often they have to wade through anti-left posts that discourage participation. This has the unfortunate effect of pushing away people who might otherwise have been amenable to learning about guns, gun safety, and 2nd amendment rights.

This is a forum intended to give voices to thousands of pro-gun liberals in our country. The DC vs. Heller ruling is the perfect occasion to launch the site. We firmly believe that the 2nd amendment should not be a left vs. right issue, any more than the right to free speech or the right to a fair trial. These are core American values, and we recognize that.

ishi

 

[Cave Dweller]

Hopefully this would go a long way toward organizing our like minded liberal brothers and sisters. Maybe they will be able effect change within their party. *crosses fingers*

 

[hso]

ishi,

Are you announcing a forum or are you asking for participants from THR that can help populate the forum as a resource to answer questions and help?

BTW http://www.progunprogressive.com/phpBB2/ was set up a while back by a THR member to do pretty much the same thing.

 

[rocinante]

Not much life on either of those boards. The longest thread had 22 posts and it is about hot chicks not guns or even politics.

I do wish them luck but recruiting has to be a major pain in the posterior. Don't see a mad rush exodus from boards where actual technical information from enthusiast post regardless of the politics.

 

[Deanimator]

Usenet talk.politics.guns might be a place to recruit. There are some pro-gun liberals (like myself) there.

 

[Catherine]

Questions please - PM sent to you. Thank you!

Are you going to allow conservative/libertarian old fashioned Constitution folks on this board?

Are you going to allow gun and political threads and open speech about these issues as long as we don't 'cuss' or insult the other gals/guys?

Are you going to allow open discussions without putting a lock down (Close.) on threads because someone may think it is TOO political or getting that way?

Are your moderators over there mainly you (Do you own this board?) or a group of like minded individuals?

Are your moderators mainly police, feds or people from ALL walks of life and professions? Are you worried about losing a government contract or a job because something may cause a 'controversy'? I am NOT talking about threats and that SORT of thing.

I sent you a PM with more questions since some of the questions may be considered 'political' or OFF TOPIC.

PRO GUN RIGHTS = FREEDOM

Freedom = all amendments, not only the SECOND, and honest/open discussion especially when it comes to the upcoming election.

The Second aka RKBA is NOT a Left or Right or Middle Issue. It is an issue for ALL of us as Americans who treasure what this Republic used to stand for and be!

Freedom - use it or lose it.

Sincerely,

Catherine

 

[Don Lu]

sounds like a goood idea....new forums are hard to get going though, good luck and I wil stop by to give what I can. im a lefty on most thing except guns.

 

[AZAndy]

I was interested in the forum and participated up to about 20 posts or so. This morning, I discovered that a couple-- it may have been more, but I noticed two for certain-- of members had been banned and their posts deleted. (I wasn't one of them.) Apparently, if your posts appear to be of a conservative bent, the moderator summarily disposes of you. Doesn't sound very "liberal" to me, so I asked that my account be closed.

I hadn't noticed anything from the banned posters that was in any way offensive, or even particularly "conservative." I was surprised to see their posts suddenly gone. Personally, I don't want to be in a position of having to guess what the moderator wants me to say and not say.

Best of luck to them anyways, from a disenchanted "liberal."

 

[bestseller92]

I've very conservative myself (with libertarian leanings) but I do think that pro gun liberals are a very important part of the pro Second Amendment community.

 

[hso]

Folks,

This forum isn't for communicating with ishi. Got questions? Send a PM or email or go over there and ask.

****************

The idea of pro-RKBA forums with a specific focus whether it be progressive or conservative, Christian or atheist, Women-only or Men-only, purple or blue is always a good idea since some folks are more comfortable openly discussing with others of a closer philosophy. They tend to be smaller forums with tighter communities that can be more open and freewheeling and still have some semblance of order.

THR will be here for everyone anyway.

 

[Walkalong]

I'm confused. No surprise there right?

This board does allow all folks and is pretty danged good about keeping things polite. It is for gun discussion, not politics. If you are a liberal gun lover, you must expect some views and points you will not like or agree with. It goes with the territory when you are in agreement on one subject and hanging with a crowd that mostly disagrees with your many of your other opinions.

That said, good luck with any other forum you may be trying to start.

 

[kcshooter]

If you are a liberal gun lover, you must expect some views and points you will not like or agree with. It goes with the territory when you are in agreement on one subject and hanging with a crowd that mostly disagrees with your many of your other opinions.

So what are you confused about? Obviously you are saying this board is mostly populated by people with a conservative political viewpoint, and that liberals will find some posts not to their taste.

This board does allow all folks and is pretty danged good about keeping things polite. It is for gun discussion, not politics.

While all folks are allowed here, and this is a great forum, it would be nice to have a forum that was more based on a liberal political view for those who find themselves with a more liberal political viewpoint. Then a conservative would have to expect some views and points they will not like or agree with.


I don't consider myself either one, I have many views that are considered left and many that are considered right. However, I do think protection of constitutional rights to be a non-partisan issue, and it amazes me that so many people in our country, regardless of political affiliation, would allow for any constitutionally guaranteed rights to be trampled on from the actions of a few.

And for the OP who is starting the new forum, I would try starting a few thought-provoking posts to maybe get a little more active interest from members and lurkers. Everyone loves to discuss the best claiber, gun, ect. Nothing like a good "which is better, 1911 or Glock" (or AR v AK, or .223 v 7.62, or 9mm v 45) to get a forums post count up, right?

 

[Walkalong]

So what are you confused about?

That anyone would be surprised that there were a lot of conservative viewpoints here and let it bother them.

While all folks are allowed here, and this is a great forum, it would be nice to have a forum that was more based on a liberal political view for those who find themselves with a more liberal political viewpoint.

And I wished them luck getting it going.

 

[dwf6666]

ishi,
I, for one, would be interested on the liberal viewpoint on RKBA. I doubt that I would agree with most since I consider myself a strict constuctionist. That said, I also believe that healthy debate has value to us all. Good luck with your efforts.

 

[xjchief]

There's really no room for discussion on that board. Any viewpoint other than the liberal/socialist view is not welcome. Take my word for it our find out for yourself, it's your time.

 

[jedwi]

Home page says they want "no lapel-pin patriotism". That's enough for me.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I checked out the progunprogressive forum. A lot of vulgarity, attacks, childish name-calling, low blows, and not a very tolerant atmosphere to those with diverse viewpoints(conservatives). I should have/did expect as much.

 

[MrAnteater]

I checked out the progunprogressive forum. A lot of vulgarity, attacks, childish name-calling, low blows, and not a very tolerant atmosphere to those with diverse viewpoints(conservatives). I should have/did expect as much.

I've noticed that about liberal web sites in general. And they claim to be the party of "diversity". Obviously not when it come to thought.

 

[Don Lu]

lets not turn this into a forum bashing thread...if its not for you then just do join..its not so bad here on THR but I've been to many right/ conservative forum where I was made to feel very unwelcomed and uncomfortable b/c of my views...if its not for you just don't visit,but there is no need to speak ngativley here about another forum...isn't that against THR policy anyway?

 

[jedwi]

Don Lu, I have reread all the posts so far....No one has bashed that forum. They, myself included, have made some observations....All seems pretty mild to me....Just trying to make people aware what they might expect....

 

[seed]

I will check out those forums when I have the time. By the way, I am very "left", more accurately a left anarchist/social libertarian. You want to talk about a site not accepting of "left" viewpoints, then you should look at some other places. This site is quite tolerant, especially when compared to...well, I'd rather not say which sites. TFL is also good in that respect.

 

[Don Lu]

Jedwi

You and I may have a different idea of what bashing is....

 

[jedwi]

Don Lu........Agreed

 

[seed]

Don Lu said:

its not so bad here on THR but I've been to many right/ conservative forum where I was made to feel very unwelcomed and uncomfortable b/c of my views...

I agree. I know exactly what you are talking about. The funny thing about those sites (and anywhere, for that matter) is the standard to which non-conservatives are held when they say anything. If you say anything counter to popular (read: corporate-controlled U.S. media pushed) beliefs, you are almost always immediately challenged to produce sources and corroboration...quite a tedious task for internet discussions and not really worth it unless you want to spend a lot of time back-tracking to remember the exact location of every single piece of info you have read over the days, weeks, months and years. On the other hand, the Limbaughs of the world can spew the most complete nonsense they pull out of someone's a** (if not their own) and not have to produce true hard evidence. Drives me insane.

And before any conservatives or reactionaries get angry at me, I will say that this is also true of many so-called "liberals" who are fraudulent in their claims as well. One of the worst examples of which I can think is Alan Dershowitz who is a proven plagiarist and advocate of torture and collective punishment. And when he got challenged for his nonsense, instead of being fired from his chair at Harvard (for plagiarism), he did what he always does when cornered: threatens to sue, side-steps what he says by tweaking a few details (i.e. he lies), and then proceeds to destroy the careers, reputations and lives of his enemies (enemies from the left, by the way). He's a completely vile individual.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Actually, just to clarify, Limbaugh publishes corroborating data on his website. Like if he mentions that the top 50% of income earners pay 97% of the nation's taxes, he publishes the actual IRS reports stating it. Check out his show in person sometimes, or his site. The left-wing bloggers really aren't a very good source.

IBTL