Afraid to Face Tough Questions

If you have participated in the pro-gun new media for very long, you’ve probably seen an inside joke tossed around about Reasoned Discourseâ„¢. This stems from the fact that early anti-gun blogs were quickly discovered by pro-gun activists who refuted lies, half-truths, and misstatements in nearly every post. Upon discovering that they could not defend their positions, anti-gun bloggers shut down comments or deleted posts that did not agree with their position, all while accusing gun owners of being unable to handle “reasoned discourse.”

Since those early years online, any time anti-gun advocates try to delete arguments to their positions, it is said that a case of Reasoned Discourseâ„¢ has broken out.

Well, today we’re profiling a case of the Reasoned Discourseâ„¢ that has spread to an anti-hunting organization holding events in the real world. The Humane Society of the United States – the largest anti-hunting & anti-agriculture organization in the country – is targeting farmers in Iowa with various policy proposals to end the practice of keeping animals in pens & cages. However, when media outlets that focus on the agriculture industry showed up to their press conference to ask questions, HSUS blocked them from the room.

Thanks to the speed of social media, the featured photo was taken and shared by reporters who might ask tough questions and were barred from the press conference. It appeared on our radar courtesy of HumaneWatch & the Iowa Farm Bureau.

We know that Reasoned Discourseâ„¢ has been known to break out at press conferences by anti-gun groups, too. When the poorly named American Hunters & Shooters Association held a press conference alongside the NRA Annual Meeting & Exhibits in St. Louis in 2007, former NFL Redskins offensive lineman Ray Schoenke grabbed NRA News reporter Ginny Simone to physically remove her from the event.

As activists, we have a chance to spread the truth about what these organizations are doing to try and shut down conversation about their efforts to ban our favorite pastimes. Spread the word about their dirty tactics through social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter. If you attend a rally or protest and witness this type of thuggery, take a video, snap a photo, or simply document your experience online. Pro-gun blogger Instapundit – a law professor and gadget geek from Tennessee – recommends always having a digital camera on you in case you witness something newsworthy.