I'd like Wayne LaPierre's head on a pike, thank you.

And hey, isn't that a FRENCH name? How could he possibly be the head of a patriotic Amurkkkan org such as the NRA??

How 'bout on a platter...with an apple and sprigs of parsley?...or a mango chutney garnish?

Game of Thrones was good enough to give us GWB's head on a pike last season, perhaps they'll oblige us with Mr. LaPierre in the upcoming season. One can only hope.

Jesus Christ on a stick! If the head of the NRA can't defend himself from a college professor, doesn't that mean that guns are no fucking use after all?

The conservative outrage machine has long ago turned into a parody of a conservative outrage machine. Film it in black and white, with British accents, and you could pass it off as a classic Monty Python skit.

Goldy,
Angry much? LaPierre's head on pike? Is he responsible for Sandy Hook? Hmm?

Look, I'm not an NRA (National Rifle Association, founded 1871) member, defender or firearm owner. I also believe assault rifles should be banned. Like you, I believe owning a firearm renders a life more precarious. However, I don't think gun owners are assholes. And, LaPierre is no more responsible for the horrible tragedy at Sandy Hook than you or I. While I understand yours and Loomis' anger, this particular terror incident is more complicated. From my understanding Connecticut had some of the most stringent anti-gun laws in the nation. That didn't save any of the victims. Evidently, the perpetrator stole those weapons used in the assault from his mother, a gun enthusiast.

Sure, the visceral reaction politically is to hammer at the NRA, a powerful lobby after this massacre. But, they are one of several lobbies. And guns, any guns aren't likely to be outlawed in the immediate future. The problem is humanity and culture (it's also the solution). The USA lives in a gun "culture". As the late musician, Gil Scott-Heron once said in lyrics of a song of his "Everybody's got a pistol, everybody's got a .45. ....this is a violent civilization" No sir, I don't like it. But it is what it is.

I just don't think Loomis' words and the title of this posting will help the matter. What we need is civil conversation with your (and mine!) opponent. We really DON'T want gun owners to be our enemies.

@sperifera "I want Barack Obama's head on a pike". Would you agree that's absurd? Would you want Game of Thrones to have that same option? That stunt was bullshit. You and GOT are ridiculous. Just speaking my mind.

LaPierre is no more responsible for the horrible tragedy at Sandy Hook than you or I.

Yes he is.

Too bad Loomis isn't an English prof instead of a historian. He could have said "hoist with his own petard" and sounded just quaint enough to get away with it.

@lark - If you don't honestly believe that Wayne LaPierre, with his decades-long, zealoutous denial of any reasoned gun control whatsoever (which is how guns like AR-15's get into law abiding hands to be stolen by mental case 20 year olds) has any more culpability or responsibility for Sandy Hook than you and I, then you are not only equally ridiculous, but you're a blind fool.

Like @7 said: Yes. He. Is.

@6 Way to mansplain that one dude. Wait! Tell us again how the NRA, founded 1871, is one of many powerful lobbying groups!

I just love the way that yo morons are really convinced that 40 or 50 people a year getting killed by "assault weapons" justifies stomping all over the constitutional rights of 300 million other people.

Really, you crack me up. You're fucking imbeciles. Keep it going. It's a laugh a minute.

@12 You are an intellectual skid mark on the panties of America.

Maybe so. But at least I'm not queer.

Oh, 5280, you reliably angry crank.

When the Constitution was written, people had the "right" to own other people and women didn't have the "right" to vote. Your "rights" aren't some magical God-given superpower that can never be altered, ever.

Why look, here in commie paradise we the voters decided that gays could enjoy the "right" to get married, and everyone could enjoy the "right" to possess pot. See how that works? If we think your "right" to arm yourself to the teeth to compensate for your inadequate penis has gone too far, we may revoke it.

Oh hey look, 5280! SOME GODDAMN KIDS ARE ON YOUR LAWN! GO YELL AT THEM NOW!

@10: Don't you think it is a bit sexist to claim that someone's opinion does not matter because of their gender?

Also, you seem to be suggesting that factual accuracy and opinionated confidence is a male domain, which is kind of odd. I think women can be factually accurate and confident in their opinions as well. Why don't you?

I just got back from Ibiza, what the hell is going on?

Yell at them? Hell, I'm gonna go shoot them. That's much more fun.

@13 Yes!

@18) NOT funny, Dude.

So, fifty-two-eighty thinks its hilarious that 20 1st graders were murdered, then jokes about killing kids on his lawn.
What, exactly, does it take to get banned from the SLOG?
That's not a rhetorical question, Stranger staff. You're encouraging violence if you allow these statements to stand.

Is he responsible for Sandy Hook?

Yes, he is. And so is 5280. And all the other gun nuts in this country who continue to say "well, I'm not extreme, I support a control of X, Y, and Z" but also continue to support organizations like the NRA that make X, Y, and Z impossible.

@6, your argument that Adam Lanza got his guns from his perfectly sane, legitimate, legal gun owner mother does not strengthen your case.

@21, I don't think there is a threshold; I don't think anyone has ever been banned. 5280 would be a lovely candidate, since it's going to be embarrassing for Slog when his deteriorating mental state causes him to actually go out and kill some kids, which seems like it probably will be soon.

It's not "300 million", it's more like 60 million, since only 20% of the population owns guns or wants to. And that number declines all the time. All those jackasses who ran out to Wal-Mart in the wake of the tragedy and bought more guns? They already had an armory. They were not new owners. Sensible people have been abandoning guns for decades, and will continue to do so.

@22 - at the very least, the Stranger needs to remove his comments from this thread. To allow them to stand, to include them in any discussion, is as reprehensible as making them. These comments would have already been deleted from any other forum.
I call on the Stranger staff to do the right thing and remove these vile comments.

@23 to funny! pol pot. the avatar. the rhetoric. the soap box. Shit i almost thought you were serious!

They have to destroy lives to protect "freeedoooom". It's what fascists do.

@24, you are an illiterate boob.

@23 You wouldn't be the first to make that call, and you probably won't be the last. We just get to watch his slow, paranoid spiral continue until the day he downs one too many Jagermeisters and empties a clip into his neighbor's gardener.

5280 @anywhere...

...just a garden variety motherfucking jerk-off troll.

But it's cool to take the livelihood of some guy you don't like, like maybe a creepy (yet law abiding) Reddit moderator?

Don't say the tactic is bad if you only object to the target.

@5280, as I person who makes their livelihood brewing beer, which was constitutionally denied then allowed, I can see where gun owners are coming from. As a producer of a product that is enjoyed by a huge majority with very little negative consequence but sadly does have its tragedies, there is a sense of responsiblity within the industry. A lot of us work with law enforcement to help reduce the risks associated with alcohol.
I think it's only fair that the gun owners start doing the same. If you truly feel that you are responsible as a gun owner then extend that responsibility. Actions speak louder than words. Right now, you guys are coming off as entitled and not caring about your role in American society. It's silly, you're here I'm here. That's not going to change. But if my industry can and does work hard on reducing the harm we create. I don't think you guys can't either.

I do agree with Crooked Timber that Loomis doesn't deserve to lose his job. But their post very much minimizes his rehtoric, which did not just consist of the single "head on a stick" line, but rather a series of pretty unhinged outbursts. Here is a more balanced account:

http://www.popehat.com/2012/12/19/profes…

Fnarf@22: You are a bit off on your statistics. About 1/3 of Americans personally own a gun, about 1/2 have one in their household, and ownsership levels have been relatively steady over the past 20 years. (You could claim a very slow decline if you ignored the most recent statistics, but in the past couple years ownership levels have risen back to where they were in the mid-1990s.)

http://www.gallup.com/poll/150353/Self-R…

@26 despite my handicaps there is no denying the hilarity/layers of irony in @23!

Asking for someone’s head on a stick?

So who is the violent potential murderer. If you don’t like your political opponents just request that they be killed.

Socialism shows it's true colors, which is why Socialist have murdered more people than all American gun owners combined.

@38 And what does she do for all that money? SPAM people all day? That would make her a fucking parasite.

@31 -Do tell us more about the lack of bad things related to alcohol consumption... we are all ears

They must do somthing !!! This guy is a complete dick head, I would like to see one of his close family members shot dead in a shooting! Then see what he had to say about the right to bare arms!! Loose the guns and have a good old punch up!!! Too many inocent sons and daughters, grandchildren, cousins whatever are losing there lives before they've lived!!!
Wayne lapierre you are a disgrace to humanity!! How can you sleep at night!!!! Go fuck yourself with one of your guns and pull the triger !!!
We need change now!!!!!!!!
NOW!!!!!!!!!!