Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

The words do not have to be perfect.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Hell hath no fury like a farmer bankrupted.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

You are here: Home / Gun Issues / Gun nuts / GunFondlers Open Thread: PHRASING!

GunFondlers Open Thread: PHRASING!

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MEANWHILE, the rightwing grievance artists have a new #hashtagactivism grievance…

… needless to say, the snarkier responses to #boycottdicks may be NSFW.

Reader Interactions

164Comments

  1. 1.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Frankly, taking the guns first without the slightest concern about these morons who love their toys more than their children is the right attitude to take.

  2. 2.

    Kay

    David Fahrenthold
    ‏

    Verified account
    @Fahrenthold
    10h10 hours ago
    More David Fahrenthold Retweeted Jim Schachter
    I talked with @propublica about a subject I’m digging into now: understanding the full picture of @realdonaldtrump’s loans and mortgages.

    About time. You guys will have to Tweet this a lot when it comes out- they shun propublica for some reason.

  3. 3.

    Adam L Silverman

    Given that this was the firearm equivalent of the bipartisan meeting he held about the DACA fix, no matter what he said was overtaken by events (OBE) as soon as he said it. Just like what he said about taking the heat for fixing DACA. No matter what any senator or congressperson proposes, he won’t support it. Given it’s now 5:40 PM, I guarantee he’s back in the resident and Wayne LaPierre is on the phone screaming at him.

  7. 7.

    MisterForkbeard

    and then proposes creating an unconstitutional police state that can seize weapons from private citizens without due process

    To be fair, Trump is only proposing this for people like Cruz AFTER the fact. In practice, this will be used to disarm brown people.

    @Ruviana: The media pretty much shuns ProPublica. In general, they don’t ever talk about the stuff it uncovers.

  8. 8.

    Adam L Silverman

  9. 9.

    Betty Cracker

    Klobuchar is cracking me up in that video up top. Trump is literally babbling about grabbing guns, the stuff of ammosexual nightmares, and Klobuchar is looking around the Republicans for a fellow sane person she can exchange a “WTF?” look with…

  10. 10.

    jl

    Trump helping Remington with their bankruptcy problems? Or Trump just babbling something he’ll backpeddle later?

    GOP pols sitting there nodding is a great cop-out, since relying on a consistent plan from Trump means they won’t ever have to do anything. They got the tax heist past, and that is pretty close to the End of History for them. The cop-out will work as long as national political affairs reporting remains brain-dead.

  11. 11.

    Bobby Thomson

    Lysistrata’s milk shake brings all the boys to the yard and then ignores them. #boycottdicks

  13. 13.

    JMG

    @Betty Cracker: In the movie “I, Tonya” (highly recommended), there’s a pair of FBI agents who are the investigators of the attack on Nancy Kerrigan who have few lines, but a great bit where they continually avoid making eye contact with each other for fear of dissolving in helpless laughter at what goobers the conspirators are. I imagine all Democratic legislators in meetings with Trump must do the same thing.

  14. 14.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Villago Delenda Est: Agreed. Trump has finally said something sensible. We all know that Republicans who control Congress won’t do a dang thing though. I’ll be pleasantly surprised if background checks get through the “Freedom Caucus”.

  16. 16.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    Once again, Cadet Bonespurs shows us all that he’ll turn on anybody at the slightest whim if he thinks it’ll even marginally help him somehow. What I can’t understand is why anybody, ever, would have signed on with this guy. How fucking hard is it to see that this guy has no regard for anybody else, ever? Why would they think he’s ever going to stick his neck out for them?

  17. 17.

    debbie

    I still applaud Dick’s. Nice to see that somewhere in CorporateWorld, someone is horrified by the consequences of the products they’re selling and is willing to do something about it.

    I have to figure out something I can buy there just to show my support.

  19. 19.

    Anne Laurie

    @Adam L Silverman: For the non-obsessives: “Gentry Breitbart” is Rick Wilson’s name for the National Review. Which is pretty accurate, IMO!

    (Note: I do not necessarily endorse Rick Wilson, professional Republican, but I’m always willing to enjoy Repubs taking potshots at each other… )

  20. 20.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Baka Amerikahito) ? ?

    @jl:

    The cop-out will work as long as national political affairs reporting remains brain-dead.

    Or until they get spanked at the polls this November.

  21. 21.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @Kay: Propublica isn’t a serious organization. They never once reported on Obama putting mustard on his hamburger. That’s why the political press ignores them.

  22. 22.

    debbie

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Given it’s now 5:40 PM, I guarantee he’s back in the resident and Wayne LaPierre is on the phone screaming at him.

    This is a very pleasing image. I hope LaPierre’s head explodes.

  23. 23.

    patroclus

    I have some serious doubts as to whether any of Trump’s “ideas” would have prevented the Bowling Green Massacre.

  24. 24.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Baka Amerikahito) ? ?

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
    Did they report on how Hillary killed Thomas Friedman’s taxi driver, Ben Ghazi, with a katana and how she mismanaged a perfectly legal private email server? If not then they are the most unserious news org evar.

  26. 26.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @JMG:

    Great, great movie. Saw every part of the domestic violence cycle in it, and I left with a lot of sympathy for a deeply flawed young woman.

  30. 30.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    and then proposes creating an unconstitutional police state

    Trump is always pandering to his base.

  31. 31.

    Mnemosyne

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    In retrospect, it makes perfect sense that Kerrigan was the unwitting object of Harding’s rage, because they came from the same social class, but Kerrigan was able to “pass” for middle-class better than Harding did (plus Kerrigan had a stable home life growing up, unlike Harding). Harding wouldn’t have been nearly as enraged at a fellow skater who was genuinely upper-class.

  33. 33.

    kindness

    What I really would have like to have seen is a split screen TV where Wayne LaPierre is on the right, Trump is on the left and Trump announces he wants the government to just take peoples guns. On the split screen Wayne hears what Trump says, has a shocked grizzled look on his face, clutches his heart and topples over leaving an empty split screen.

    Life would be good then.

  34. 34.

    randy khan

    @Mnemosyne:

    I haven’t seen the movie, but one of the positions it apparently takes is that Harding herself didn’t have anything to do with the attack. I wouldn’t be surprised either way, as it was evident from the start that her husband was a galoot.

  35. 35.

    hellslittlestangel

    Oh, for fuck’s sake. Does anyone think the NRA cares about the meaningless drivel that comes out of Trump’s mouth? They know perfectly well that he’s already forgotten his statement about taking guns away. They support him because he’s full of shit. They’re evil, not stupid.

  36. 36.

    Corner Stone

    @kindness:

    On the split screen Wayne hears what Trump says, has a shocked grizzled look on his face, clutches his heart wallet which is in a vest pocket over where a human’s heart would be and topples over leaving an empty split screen.

  37. 37.

    TenguPhule

    Is every middle-aged white pundit in some fucking phantom zone of getting paid big money to be this completely dense in complete fucking perpetuity?

    Yes.

  38. 38.

    TenguPhule

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Frankly, taking the guns first without the slightest concern about these morons who love their toys more than their children is the right attitude to take.

    Not when Trump and Sessions are in charge of it.

  41. 41.

    trollhattan

    So we learn that Dick’s Sporting Goods is EWE rickson’s Applebee’s salad bar. How very informative.

  42. 42.

    Mnemosyne

    @randy khan:

    I haven’t seen it either, but my understanding was that Kerrigan was attacked because Harding hated her and considered her a rival. Whether or not Harding was in on the plan doesn’t really change that, AFAIK.

  44. 44.

    Old Dan and Little Anne

    Just had a sheriff speak at my school to tell staff and faculty what to do in an event of an active shooter. Good times. Run, hide, or fight. And here’s the best part. He had to rush out early. He received a report about a shooting at a middle school about 50 minutes south. Turned out to be a false alarm. This fucking country.

  46. 46.

    retr2327

    Okay, I actually am a lawyer, but this (seizing guns and such, and Due Process case law in general) is a bit removed from my practice area. But IIRC from my distant law school past, due process requirements may be, and frequently are, satisfied by action first, followed by court consideration within a reasonable time period thereafter. In other words, seizing the guns first and then having a hearing within a reasonable time period thereafter is fully consistent with due process requirements, given exigent circumstances.

    So the reason Klobuchar is trying to suppress a giggle or two is that Trump has just revealed (once again) that he knows nothing about what he’s talking about . . .

  48. 48.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @TenguPhule: This goes without saying. The NRA’s silence on the killing of Philando Castile tells you everything you need to know about skin tone and the 2nd Amendment.

  50. 50.

    ? Martin

    @Old Dan and Little Anne: I’ve been doing active shooter drills for nearly 15 years now. What’s most notable to me is how things have changed. It used to be ‘hide until the police arrive’. Now it’s very nearly ‘fuck the police – throw down’.

    The training for little kids is unbearable though. They’re told to run around and throw things and make a scene. Not because it will save their lives, but because it makes them harder targets to hit, so the shooter will be forced to go slower buying time for the other kids. The kids have no idea they’re literally being trained to be meat shields.

  52. 52.

    TenguPhule

    @? Martin:

    It used to be ‘hide until the police arrive’. Now it’s very nearly ‘fuck the police – throw down’.

    Its still run first, hide second, fight last over here.

    But I live in a state with really strict gun laws.

  53. 53.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    On MSNBC, Sam Nurnberg, former aide to trump, says he’s sure Donnie Jr told his pappy all about the meeting with the Russians. He’s almost as goofy as Carter Page.

  56. 56.

    beth

    I listened to some of this in the car. I had to turn it off because I nearly drove off the road when Trump had Joe Manchin describe the Manchin-Toomey bill and then told Manchin it didn’t pass “because you didn’t have a President who supported it”. I don’t think I’ve ever hated anyone like I hate this asshole.

  59. 59.

    TenguPhule

    O-M-F-G.

    Someone forged Nobel Peace Prize nomination for Trump — twice

    The protocol for nominating and choosing recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize is one of the world’s most scrutinized and secretive.

    A total of 329 candidates — 217 individuals and 112 organizations — are being considered for this year’s prize, which will be announced in October. The identities of the candidates are kept secret, and indeed, the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awards the prizes, is forbidden from divulging any information about its deliberations for 50 years, and even then, only for scholarship purposes and at its discretion.

    But a wrinkle in this time-honored process — the peace prize was first awarded in 1901 — emerged today, when the committee announced that it had uncovered what appeared to be a forged nomination of President Donald Trump for the prize. The matter has been referred to Oslo police for investigation.

    Moreover, the forgery appears to have occurred twice: Olav Njolstad, the secretary of the five-member committee, said it appeared that a forged nomination of Trump for the prize was also submitted last year — and was also referred to the police. (The earlier forgery was not disclosed to the public at the time.)

    Inspector Rune Skjold, the head of the economic crimes section of the Oslo police, said that investigators had been in touch with the FBI since last fall, which suggests that the forged nominations originated in the United States. He said police believed that the same perpetrator was behind both forgeries.

    They’re coming from the White House!

  62. 62.

    B

    About mailing licenses. They do this in my blue state too but explained it is because the new requirements so it can be used as federal id (such as getting on an airplane) require printing capabilities too expensive to supply at all locations.

  63. 63.

    Mnemosyne

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I’m sure that Junior told Daddy all about the meeting with the Russians. And I bet that Jar-Jar has told Daddy-in-Law all about his secret meetings with foreigners, too.

    The problem is that they were supposed to be telling the US government about those meetings, not Daddy.

  66. 66.

    Old Dan and Little Anne

    @? Martin: today it was run, hide, fight. And he told a cute example of how much it hurts a mother when a baby pulls her earing. So, you know, when you get close enough after dodging bullets, just tug on the psycho”s ear or something.

  67. 67.

    Mnemosyne

    @Sab:

    They do this in California. However, they give you a piece of paper which legally suffices as the DL until the other one is received in the mail. If voting staff refuse to accept that piece of paper as a valid ID, that will be a problem.

  68. 68.

    Cheryl Rofer

    This is good. I suspect that Walmart and Dick’s saw what was happening to the companies that were cozy with the NRA. More will follow.

  69. 69.

    Mnemosyne

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Gun nuts are claiming that public opinion is against companies doing this. I’m curious to know where these numbers are supposedly coming from, but not curious enough to click on Erick Erickson’s Twitter followers. They have a real pretty graph for it.

  72. 72.

    Roger Moore

    @Mnemosyne:
    Of course California doesn’t have a voter ID requirement, so being slow at sending your driver’s license isn’t a big deal from a voting rights standpoint.

  73. 73.

    Cermet

    @TenguPhule: First, run if you feel you can; hide but do lock the door if you have one; before one attacks, use every quick to reach object – especially solid ones- you can throw rapidly at the shooter with as much force as possible. Direct attack if that is your only chance and you are trapped.

  74. 74.

    Jay

    @Mnemosyne:

    64% of American households, don’t own a gun.

    There’s more guns than people in the US.

    3% of American’s however, own over half the guns in the US.

  80. 80.

    Uncle Omar

    As for Kruse’s “thoughts and prayers” to the NRA for giving Trump’s campaign $21 million…it wasn’t their money, it came from Putin.

  81. 81.

    different-church-lady

    @? Martin:

    They’re told to run around and throw things and make a scene.

    In other words, act no differently than they usually do?

  83. 83.

    p.a.

    Wherein I write my own script:

    Possum approaches podium for daily briefing. “Look, we all know he’s nuckin’ futs…”

  84. 84.

    Ladyraxterinok

    @debbie: PZ Meyers at his blog pharyngula claims Dicks dropped these after an earlier shooting then quietly started selling them again after media attention went on to a new story.

  88. 88.

    Doug R

    @B:

    About mailing licenses. They do this in my blue state too but explained it is because the new requirements so it can be used as federal id (such as getting on an airplane) require printing capabilities too expensive to supply at all locations.

    Our province has a fancy printed license as well, you get your yellow full size page receipt until it shows up. Any cop that pulls you over gives you the stank eye, but they don’t really have a choice.

  89. 89.

    Baud

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Worshippers clutching AR-15 rifles and some wearing bullet crowns, participated in a commitment ceremony

    I don’t even want to know how they consummate that marriage.

  92. 92.

    Jay

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    “World Peace and Unification Sanctuary in Newfoundland believes the AR-15 symbolizes the “rod of iron” in the biblical book of Revelation.

    The Rev. Sean Moon, who leads the church, prayed for “a kingdom of peace police and peace militia where the citizens, through the right given to them by almighty God to keep and bear arms, will be able to protect one another and protect human flourishing.”

    NEWFOUNDLAND, Pa. — Hundreds of crown-wearing worshipers clutching AR-15 rifles drank holy wine and exchanged or renewed wedding vows in a commitment ceremony at a Pennsylvania church on Wednesday, prompting a nearby school to cancel classes. With state police and a smattering of protesters standing watch outside the church, brides clad in white and grooms in dark suits brought dozens of unloaded AR-15s into World Peace and Unification Sanctuary for a religious event that doubled as an advertisement for the Second Amendment.

    World Peace and Unification Sanctuary in Newfoundland believes the AR-15 symbolizes the “rod of iron” in the biblical book of Revelation.

    The Rev. Sean Moon, who leads the church, prayed for “a kingdom of peace police and peace militia where the citizens, through the right given to them by almighty God to keep and bear arms, will be able to protect one another and protect human flourishing.”

    Moon is the son of the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, a self-proclaimed messiah who founded the Unification Church, which critics regard as a cult. The younger Moon’s congregation is a breakaway faction of the Unification Church, which had distanced itself from Wednesday’s event.”

    https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/hundreds-of-worshipers-gather-at-church-hosting-ceremony-featuring-ar-15s/

  93. 93.

    Steeplejack

    Ari Melber is dragging Trump with video snippets of Trump bloviating on national security:

    09.06.16: “We can’t have someone in the Oval Office who doesn’t understand the meaning of the word confidential or classified.”

    07.27.16: ” I don’t think it’s safe to have Hillary Clinton be briefed on national security, because the word will get out.”

    09.07.16: “One of the first things we must do is to enforce all classification rules.”

    The gypsy Twitter curse extends to Trump’s real-time statements. Who knew?

    I still maintain that the defining image of the Trump era will be a shot of him saying, “You knew I was a snake when you took me in.”

  98. 98.

    Doug R

    @Ladyraxterinok:

    claims Dicks dropped these after an earlier shooting then quietly started selling them again after media attention went on to a new story.

    Dick’s claims they stopped, but now they will stop at their 34 Field & Stream stores as well.

  100. 100.

    Steeplejack

    @TenguPhule:

    See, that wasn’t so hard. Would it kill you to do it when you’re rushing in with the hot breaking news? Of course everyone believes you use only the most reliable sources, but some people might want to follow up for more detail.

  107. 107.

    TenguPhule

    @Doug R:

    What part of “they shall beat their swords into plowshares” and “blessed are the peacemakers” don’t they understand?

    They think peacemakers are Colt 45s.

  108. 108.

    Jackie

    My dearly beloved and adored Dad/Gpa/Great-Gpa passed away early Sunday morning at the young age of 99 1/2 yrs. His greatest wish was to out last/out live Trump. I give Dad 100% credit for all the hell Trump’s gone through the past 48+ hrs continuing.

    Dad so expected to see the 1st woman president (and a Clinton to boot!) and was thrilled to witness our 1st African-American President.

    I know full well Dad’s pushing to make Trump’s life as miserable as possible from “up above.” ?????

  109. 109.

    Eric S.

    @Sab: Illinois is mailing driver’s licenses too. It was explained to me that to create DL that meet Real ID requirements they moved printing to a central location.

  118. 118.

    Lapassionara

    @Steeplejack: Saw that. Someone should do this every night. It was great, and I am sure there are even more clips. Seriously, this was in his telling the worst thing anyone could do to the US of A. “Lock him up!”

  120. 120.

    Steeplejack

    @Steeplejack:

    Which reminds me: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), which was the subject of some discussion here last week, is coming on TCM in about 20 minutes.

  125. 125.

    Doug R

    @Steeplejack:

    Which reminds me: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), which was the subject of some discussion here last week, is coming on TCM in about 20 minutes.

    Our cable company for some bizarre reason only has TCM in standard definition. Often the Academy frame (1:33/1) doesn’t look too bad with the side bars, but widescreen usually ends up inside a large black frame. And often looking like you’re watching through cheesecloth.

  127. 127.

    Jackie

    @WereBear: He was more than wonderful. He was our rock. Our anchor. I’m named after him. His oldest grandson’s (my son) middle name is Houston – Our last name. His oldest great-grandson is Jaxon. He was so adored and respected. Active in Democratic politics to the end.

  129. 129.

    Bill

    @Jay: It gets better- one of the principles of the church, (not sure if it is Moon) owns the Mega-gun store nearby. The church asked that people ‘who were not able to legally purchase a Rod Of Iron’ would be so good as to purchase instead a gift certificate for $700 from that gun store, ‘to show their commitment’. So it’s totally not about the money.

  130. 130.

    geg6

    Wait a minute, folks. WTF is Dense talking about here with that Adam Lanza bullshit? The mom who had amassed a giant arsenal and taken her troubled kid shooting with her because she thought it was therapeutic was failed by law enforcement not taking away her kid’s guns, which she bought? What????

  132. 132.

    debbie

    Ladyraxterinok:

    My understanding is that Dick’s stopped selling them in their stores, but kept selling them online. Now, they won’t even do that.

  133. 133.

    JPL

    @Jackie: No matter how old or young it pains to lose someone. In this case though I might say you go dad and haunt the orange asshole from where ever you are. .

  134. 134.

    Steeplejack

    @Doug R:

    I feel your pain. You might occasionally check to see if your system has added the HD channel. On my system (Cox Cable in NoVA), the HD TCM channel just showed up one day with no fanfare at all.

    The only other consolation I can offer is that most TVs are so large now that even a letterboxed image is bigger than what you would have seen on your old 16" or 20" TV years ago. Cold comfort, I know.

  137. 137.

    Jackie

    @JPL: Oh, I’m KNOW he’s doing that. He never understood how “those idiots” could have voted Trump into office. He’s a life long Democrat and raised his daughters and grandchildren “properly “ ??

  138. 138.

    Shell

    Take the guns first. Go through due process second,”

    “Sentence first, verdict afterwards,” said the Red Queen.

  140. 140.

    Elizabelle

    Settling in to watch Bridge Over On the River Kwai. Thanks for the head’s up. Never saw it. 1957. Won 7 out of 8 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.

  142. 142.

    Doug R

    @Tenar Arha:

    I still can’t stop thinking about this clip from Beneath the Planet of the Apes ever since I saw these photos this afternoon.

    404 not found. Maybe it’s supposed to be magazine, not clip?

  147. 147.

    Jackie

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): He was awesome. Even his Republican associates/relatives respected and acknowledged his opinions. I’m just so lucky to have had him for 62 yrs. His great-grandchildren range from 9 to 41/2. They will have memories – even if just a little. Dad and I and my son are lucky we inherited very early memory recall. We can recall “snapshots” and brief conversations at about age one ?

  151. 151.

    Fair Economist

    @Jackie:

    We can recall “snapshots” and brief conversations at about age one

    I’m so envious. My dad used to tell me stories of one of his grandfathers who he called “Big” and how much he loved him. After my father died when I was visiting his grave I found out “Big” had died before my father turned three. =:-0 I never found out what the story there was – I assume my father had very early recall (my first memories are from 3, and my first clear ones from when I was almost 4), but I’m not sure.

  154. 154.

    Gretchen

    A gunfondler on my Facebook feed was insisting it was “unconstitutional” for Delta to remove NRA discounts. I pointed out that there is no constitutional right to discount airline tickets. He huffed back that freedom of speech/something that Avis is still giving discounts to ACLU members. I pointed out that all he had to do was join the ACLU to get the discount- it’s available to everyone. I haven’t heard back. They’re not sending their best.

  158. 158.

    BruceFromOhio

    The shooter. The shooter bought a fucking gun at Dick’s. Is every middle-aged white pundit in some fucking phantom zone of getting paid big money to be this completely dense in complete fucking perpetuity?

    This transcends elegance and beauty into something really special and powerful for which I do not have a name.

  160. 160.

    J R in WV

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Holy shit~!!! That’s the strangest “religious ritual” I’ve seen photos of ever. Since throwing babies into Baal’s Furnace! Those people are – way beyond strange. Past odd, into the other universe.

    Wow! I can’t really put into speech my feelings about that. Perhaps needed a fully armed Raptor?

  163. 163.

    retr2327

    @retr2327: So now I’m in the odd position of replying to my own post, because I was curious as to what the acceptable Due Process parameters would be with respect to seizing guns IF there was good reason to believe that the owner might engage in a shooting. So I found this from the US SCT decision in Fuentes (407 US 67, 1972):

    “There are “extraordinary situations” that justify postponing notice and opportunity for a hearing. . . . These situations, however, must be truly unusual. Only in a few limited situations has this Court allowed outright seizure without opportunity for a prior hearing. First, in each case, the seizure has been directly necessary to secure an important governmental or general public interest. Second, there has been a special need for very prompt action. Third, the State has kept strict control over its monopoly of legitimate force: the person initiating the seizure has been a government official responsible for determining, under the standards of a narrowly drawn statute, that it was necessary and justified in the particular instance. Thus, the Court has allowed summary seizure of property to collect the internal revenue of the United States, to meet the needs of a national war effort, to protect against the economic disaster of a bank failure, and to protect the public from misbranded drugs and contaminated food.” (citation and footnotes omitted).

    Judged against that standard, it seems pretty clear that it would be Constitutionally permissible to seize the guns of someone without a prior hearing if there was a proper showing of a threat of imminent harm.

    The reason I find this interesting is that the NRA seems to have managed to convince everyone (including liberals and gun control advocates) that the very idea of seizing the guns of someone who has been credibly identified as a possible school shooter is outrageously unconstitutional, and that only a moron like Trump would even think of it. Well, he certainly is a moron (and an abuser, a crook, etc.), but that doesn’t mean that he’s wrong in this instance.

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