Esquire Columnist's Bashing of Mike Johnson Misses Massive Point

I remember when magazines like Esquire were about men's style and the gentleman's lifestyle. If you wanted to be the most well-dressed man in any room, you probably read it and its sister publication, GQ. They focused on what they focused on and they did it well for decades.

But, like most publications these days, they seem to think they also need to cover politics to some degree, which I guess would be fine if they actually had anything intelligent to offer. Just like Vogue and its offshoots, though, they seem to find people who have nothing to offer at all besides leftist platitudes.

Weird how that always happens, isn't it?

This time, we're talking about leftist talking (or writing) head Charles P. Pierce. He seems to find Speaker Mike Johnson's response to the Shreveport shooting unfulfilling.

It so happens that this atrocity occurred in Shreveport, a city represented by none other than our own Speaker Moses.

“Heartbreaking tragedy in Shreveport this morning—eight children were senselessly killed and multiple others were injured,” Johnson wrote. “My team is in touch with local law enforcement as more details emerge. We’re holding the victims, their families and loved ones, and our Shreveport community close in our thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time. And we are grateful to the Shreveport, Bossier, and Louisiana State Police for their swift response.”

Oh, for the love of God, shut up.

The Indianapolis event was a bit more of a conventional American mass assault. Two people wounded at a White Castle and a third one wounded a few blocks away.

Too many guns. Too goddamn many guns.

Oh, that's a convenient talking point among anti-gunners like Pierce, but I notice that while he includes a block quote from a news story that says the killer was struggling with his mental health, and wonders how "someone in such obvious mental disorder could get his hands on a firearm as easily as he did," he fails to mention that the killer was a convicted felon.

In other words, mental health issues or not, he couldn't lawfully buy a gun. Too many guns? Well, this guy couldn't legally access any of them. Not in Louisiana, nor in any of the 49 other states or in the various US territories. He was a prohibited person, and his prohibited status was due to his shooting at a vehicle because he was mad at the occupants. Even with the rights restoration process set to begin soon, he was unlikely to ever be eligible for it because of that.

How did that fail to make the grade in the any of the remarkably few words the long-time journalist actually wrote?

Look, I know there's going to be a debate about what happened in Shreveport. There's no way around that, and I get it. I expect it.

But there can't be a meaningful discussion if people like Pierce, who are supposed to know better, keep pretending that inconvenient facts simply don't exist. Granted, maybe he flew off the handle after reading the New York Times story he quotes that also fails to note that the killer was a convicted felon, but again, Pierce has been in the journalism game for the better part of five decades. He doesn't get a pass for not doing his homework here, and because of this, we really can't move anywhere in a useful way.

Of course, since it's clear he thinks there are too many guns--which includes the guns that you and I bought lawfully, of course--it's clear that we wouldn't get a meaningful discussion out of someone like him in the first place. After all, they don't really care about the victims. They care about gun control and refuse to consider literally anything else that might come into play, especially increased mental health resources, a proposal anti-gunners have outright mocked for some time.

Opinions are fine, but if you're going to attack Speaker Johnson here, at least don't try to manufacture your own facts. 

Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to lie about gun owners and the Second Amendment. 

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