A pro-Second Amendment organization in West Virginia is outraged over Senator Joe Manchin’s proclamation the time has come to pursue gun control legislation.
“Senator Elmer Fudd should be aware the Second Amendment is not about deer hunting,” said Keith Morgan, President of the West Virginia Citizens Defense League. “We are definitely going to remember this on his next election cycle. It will be my life’s mission to make sure the state does not forget this on his next election cycle.”
Morgan and his organization plan a protest Saturday morning at Manchin’s Charleston office. He says already they have received responses “in the hundreds” who plan to attend the event.
“There’s no such thing as ‘reasonable legislation’ on this,” Morgan said. “The legislation will have absolutely no effect and my thought is anyone who trusts only criminals and government to have effective means of self defense is a fool.”
Manchin drew national attention with his remarks in the wake of the Newtown school shootings on Tuesday.
“We have this horrific, horrific crime against our children. It needs to be dealt with and it needs to be done in the most serious fashion,” Senator Manchin said on Monday’s MetroNews Talkline.
Manchin has always carried the mantra of being a friend of firearms owners. He’s consistently given an “A” rating by the NRA and has routinely won their endorsement, including in the most recent November election. Morgan calls it a consistent mistake by the NRA.
“I’ve been saying since 2004 Manchin is ragingly anti-gun,” Morgan said. “He’s managed to hide that view, but during his tenure as governor, he managed to insure no pro-gun bills of any substance made it out of the legislature.”
Amid ramped up talks of gun control legislation. Gun sales are reportedly soaring. One caller to MetroNews indicated a long line at the Cabela’s gun counter in Charleston. Officials with Gander Mountain, which bills itself as “West Virginia’s Largest Gun Store” had no comment when contacted by MetroNews.
Pittsburgh based Dick’s Sporting Goods suspended all sales of modern sporting rifles at its stores nationwide. Out of respect to the victims, the company also removed all guns from its store closest toNewtown,CT.